October 25, 2017 at 3:28 pm

Notable Alumni | Chemistry Alum Heads Global Regulatory Unit at Celgene Corp.

Editor’s Note: The College of Arts & Sciences launches the Notable Alumni Awards, honoring 37 Notable Alumni in 2017 for broad accomplishments in their careers, a commitment to community service at Ohio University, and valuable contributions to Ohio University, the College of Arts & Sciences, and its students.

From left, College of Arts & Sciences Dean Robert Frank, alum Richard Couch, and President M. Duane Nellis.

Richard Couch ’84 Chemistry

Ohio University alum Richard Couch is Vice President of Global Regulatory CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls), responsible for a department of approximately 25 scientists covering small molecules, biologics, and cell therapies at Celgene Corp., a global biopharmaceutical corporation.

Richard Couch

Couch graduated with a B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1984 from the College of Arts & Sciences at OHIO.

He attended North Carolina State University for graduate work; additionally, he attended Lehigh University, where he earned an M.S. degree in Chemistry in 1996.

Couch began his professional career at Merck & Co. Inc. as an analytical chemist in 1988. He started working in regulatory affairs (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) in 1993.

Couch joined Celgene Corp. in 2005 as an associate director, where he was charged with developingA a CMC Writing organization. At Celgene, he has moved quickly through the ranks.

In 2008, he was promoted to director and placed in charge of the Global Regulatory CMC Department and CMC Writing organization. Couch was subsequently promoted to Vice President, Global Regulatory CMC in 2015, and he is currently responsible for a department of approximately 25 Regulatory CMC Scientists covering small molecules, biologics, and cell therapies.