Leone Atkinson, MD, PhD

Dr. Leone Atkinson is a Senior Medical Director in Neuroscience and leads the Rare Disease Working Group. In this role, Dr. Atkinson is responsible for consolidating lessons learned, relationships and expertise for rare disease across the organization. She provides scientific and clinical support for a number of clinical trials in Rare Disorders, including Fragile X Syndrome, Mucopolysaccharidosis IV, Late-stage Pompe disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Acute Intermittent Porphyria, and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Before joining Covance, Dr. Atkinson served as a Medical Consultant for biopharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health. From 2007-2010, she served as Executive Director of Clinical Development at PTC Therapeutics where she was responsible for the global clinical development program for ataluren in Duchenne Muscular dystrophy and other rare genetic disorders. Prior to that, she served as a Clinical Research Director at Sanofi-Aventis, where she lead a large clinical program for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and served as Associate Medical Director of Neuroscience at Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Atkinson received her Ph.D. in Medical Genetics from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada. She completed a residency in Neurology and a post-doctoral fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY.

Covance Labs Rare and Orphan Drug Development DNA Strand

Accelerating Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Development: Opportunities for Biomarkers, Diagnostics & Patient Engagement

by Leone Atkinson, MD, PhDupdated on Wednesday, May 19, 2021Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Rare diseases affect more than 350 million people worldwide but patients often face limited options for approved therapies. As a result, many patients have joined advocacy groups first and foremost to connect with others struggling with their rare disease, but also to promote research, unite multiple stakeholders and stimulate new possibilities …

The Evolution of Open-Label Extensions and Rare Disease Studies

by Leone Atkinson, MD, PhDupdated on Monday, February 17, 2020Tuesday, March 22, 2016

When running early development studies, sponsors must consider whether or not to provide open-label, long-term treatment at the end of their randomized, placebo-controlled trial. In the past, sponsors have been hesitant to offer open-label extensions. But with our industry’s increasing focus on patient-centric care, sponsors are now weighing their options to incorporate more …