About

About Shane Schaffer

Shane J. Schaffer is the Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Cingulate Therapeutics, located in Kansas City, Kansas. Cingulate Therapeutics is a Phase 3 clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that builds and manages several branded next-generation pharmaceutical products. With particular reference to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD), Cingulate spans other therapeutic areas, including anxiety disorders and insomnia.

Dr. Schaffer is a 25-year pharmaceutical industry expert specializing in drug development and commercialization. His thoughtful leadership and entrepreneurial spirit in various business operations, including product launches, brand planning, joint venture brand management, life cycle management, and market development, make him a recognized personality in the biopharmaceutical and marketing space.

Education 

Dr. Schaffer completed his doctoral degree in Pharmacy from the University of Kansas in 1999. Later, he attended Rutgers University’s College of Pharmacy for a post-doctoral pharmaceutical industry fellowship. During his fellowship, he worked for Pfizer Worldwide Marketing and Morris Plains.

Pfizer Worldwide Marketing, New York, NY

Dr. Schaffer joined Pfizer Worldwide Marketing as a Marketing Manager. As a leader, Dr. Shane Schaffer collaboratively developed pre-launch strategies. He initiated the Global Communications Intranet, which helped establish effective communication between medical and marketing stakeholders. Similarly, he assisted in creating and implementing Pfizer Medical and Academic Partnership in Pain Management.

Morris Plains, New Jersey, NJ

At Morris Plains, Dr. Schaffer was designated Project Manager and External Research Manager. As a Project Manager, he led advanced sales training and management development. He worked as a Product Launch Trainer for femhrt®.  As an External Research Manager for the Parke-Davis Medical and Scientific Affairs division, Dr. Schaffer managed and supervised the initiation of Phase IV Medical Research in all marketed brands.

Professional Career

Throughout his career, Dr. Shane Schaffer held several managerial positions at Pfizer, Novartis, and Sanofi—including predecessor companies. He is a versatile leader and strategist who developed and commercialized several billion-dollar brands.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

True to his passion for the pharmaceutical sector, he joined Novartis as a Product Manager in June 2001 for its Ritalin® LA / Focalin™ segments. To foster Novartis’ ADHD franchise, he led the inception and execution of both Ritalin® LA / Focalin™. 

Ritalin® LA & Focaline 

Dr. Schaffer launched Ritalin® LA in 2002 with 166% budget attainment and Focaline with 114% budget attainment. Ritalin® LA and Focaline are medications used for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). His innovative strategies resulted in 90% product awareness within 3 months of launch. For his execution in multiple product launches, he was awarded the Novartis Business Excellence Award.

ADHD Franchise

In 2004, he oversaw all the operations of the ADHD franchise and initiated an innovative faculty development program series that trained over 1,400 speakers in three months. 

He received the PREMIER Award from the Neuroscience Sales Organization for exceptional market and consumer attention work. Additionally, Novartis awarded him the Novartis Ovation “Above and Beyond” Awards in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Sanofi-Aventis

After his work at Novartis, Dr. Schaffer continued to deliver results for Sanofi Aventis and its predecessor companies. Throughout the company’s merger and joint venture phases, he excelled at creating impact with his dynamic professional personality.

Avapro and Avalide 

Dr. Schaffer’s sheer dedication and motivation helped the company in leadership, development, and strategy implementation. Avapro and Avalide had a joint venture with  Bristol-Myers Squibb. He was involved in Professional Promotion, managed Care Marketing Strategy, and executed Salesforce.  

In addition, he participated in recruitment and managed several district sales manager preceptors. As a key contributor to Avalide’s success, he developed, managed, and implemented all aspects of the new Avalide Promotional Campaign. 

Hyalgan, Eligard, and Arixtra 

During Feb 2004 and March 2005, he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager for Hyalgan, Eligard, and Arixtra. He strengthened professional relationships and managed promotion and contract strategies for Hyalgan. In addition, he led the hiring and development of a contract field force of oncology nurse educators for Eligard. Furthermore, to Hyalgan and Eligard, he effectively maintained the motivation of field sales, resulting in 94% budget attainment. He was awarded the Sanofi Star Award in 2004, 2005, and 2006 for his dedication and relationship management.

M|C Communications, Boston

After Sanofi-Aventis, Dr. Schaffer joined M|C Communications LLC as a Consultant in October 2008. He led the development of pre-med business opportunities and led a team of professionals responsible for managing the business of over 12 primary pharmaceutical company targets.

Sabre Scientific Solutions, LLC

Shane Schaffer founded Sabre Scientific Solutions, LLC, in July 2009 and has provided consulting services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He has been involved in significant business activities, such as Commercials, Clinical, LCM, Product Launches, and Leadership consulting.

Cingulate Therapeutics LLC

Dr. Shane Schaffer’s vast professional experience positions him as an influential leader in the biopharma industry. He has been passionate about ADHD, its diagnosis, severity, impact, drug development, and delivery.  This passion for creating a drug-delivery technology for ADHD and anxiety disorders made him establish Cingulate Therapeutics LLC in January 2013. 

He is a registered pharmacist in the State of New Jersey. He believes that Cingulate’s mission to innovate and improve ADHD drug transfer technology can reduce a patient’s dependency on the prescribed medicines. 

Indegene: A Partnership

Cingulate has partnered with Indegene to market its oral ADHD drug medication CTx-1301, which entered the phase-3 trail. Indegene is a famous life science commercialization company that helps companies develop and sell their products. 

What’s next?

Cingulate has planned to bring its drug application by mid-2025 for its main ADHD asset, CTX-1301. As a final step before approval, Cingulate intends to submit a new drug application to the FDA.

Philanthropic Life Beyond Cingulate and ADHD

Beyond his life as a CEO at Cingulate, Dr. Schaffer has been actively involved in charitable work with Folds of Honor Charity. This is a non-profit organization that provides education and scholarships to the affected children of fallen or disabled militants.