Dr. Leigh MacConell leads HighTide’s global development programs and is accountable to drive advancement of the Company’s pipeline. Dr. MacConell has over 20 years of global drug discovery and development experience, participated in submission of several NDAs and INDs and oversaw more than 20 clinical trials worldwide. 

Before joining HighTide, Dr. MacConell served as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development at Intercept Pharmaceuticals, where she provided strategic leadership for the global clinical development of obeticholic acid (OCA). During her tenure, she had secured U.S., EU, and Canadian approvals of OCA (Ocaliva^®) for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a rare chronic liver disease. She also was accountable for securing breakthrough status for OCA for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with fibrosis and gaining consensus with U.S. and EU regulatory authorities on precedent-setting clinical development plans in NASH. Prior to Intercept, she served as Senior Director, Medical Research and Development at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she served as clinical lead of their type 2 diabetes (T2DM) portfolio, securing multiple approvals for the treatment of T2DM, globally. 

Dr. MacConell has a Ph.D. in neuroendocrinology from the University of California, San Diego.