Dr. Grasela co-founded Cognigen in 1992, as the first contract research organization to provide pharmacometrics modeling and simulation services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Over the past 25 years, Cognigen has grown from a small boutique operation pioneering the use of population pharmacokinetic analyses to a 35 person company offering a broad array of consulting services. Cognigen scientists work with 20 to 30 companies per year dealing with 30 to 40 compounds from different therapeutic categories including oncology, neurology, endocrinology, and infectious disease. In 2014, Cognigen was acquired by Simulations Plus, Inc.
In 2003, Dr. Grasela initiated the Pharma of the FutureTM (PoF) program. This was conceived as a research and training initiative to design and implement the workflows and computer systems required to support modeling and simulation activities. The numerous projects performed by Cognigen scientists became a source of raw material for research to improve the quality, timeliness, and impact of M&S results. Click here for more information about the PoF program.
From 1989 to 1995, he served on the faculty of the School of Pharmacy at the University at Buffalo, where he was Associate Professor of Pharmacy, Chairman of the Department, and Director of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology. He received his PharmD in 1979 from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science and his doctorate in Epidemiology from the University at Buffalo in 1999. Dr. Grasela is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.
In 2013, Dr. Grasela was awarded the Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.