Stephen K. Brannan MD

Dr. Stephen Brannan is the Chief Medical Officer of Karuna Therapeutics. He is a neuroscience drug development expert who has held senior positions overseeing both clinical development and medical affairs with more than 15 years of industry experience. Previously, Dr. Brannan was the Therapeutic Head of Neuroscience at Takeda and Vice President for Clinical Research and Medical Affairs at Forum Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Brannan has been active in the development of multiple important central nervous system treatments including Cymbalta®, Exelon Patch®, Trintellix®, and Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression while holding various senior roles at Forum, Takeda, Novartis, Cyberonics, and Eli Lilly. His experience includes drug development, registration, medical affairs, and launch and lifecycle management across psychiatry and neurology programs. Dr. Brannan is a member of several scientific societies and groups, including ACNP, ISCTM (member of the Executive and Scientific Program Committees), ISCDD, AARR, IOM Neuro forum, and CNS Summit (founding member and member of the Leadership Council).

Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Brannan worked on the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) where he specialized in seeing mood and anxiety disorder patients, ran a clinical research unit, and did neuroimaging research at the Research Imaging Center. He has authored over 40 publications and routinely gives invited talks and presentations at industry conferences.

Dr. Brannan received his bachelor’s degree in History and Science from Harvard College, his M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas (Southwestern Medical School), and also trained in psychiatry at UTHSCSA.