Dr Christian Heidbreder MA, PhD

Dr Christian Heidbreder, MA, PhD, combines 25 years' of expertise as a highly prominent executive and researcher specialising in Neurobiology, behavioural pharmacology and Addiction Medicine spanning the academic, governmental, and industrial sectors across Europe and the US.

Dr Heidbreder is widely recognised for leading the R&D efforts behind transformative pharmacotherapies, most notably Sublocade®, which is a long-acting injectable buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) and contains the same active medications as Buvidal® in the UK.

During his career, Dr Heidbreder has published over 350 peer-reviewed scientific publications, reviews, book chapters, and published conference proceedings. His foundational work as a researcher bridged prominent international institutions:

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): Conducted pivotal early-career research in Baltimore, Maryland, targeting mechanisms of drug dependency.

Princeton University: Continued academic research in the United States.

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich): Advanced his work in preclinical pharmacology in Switzerland.

Dr. Heidbreder translates his clinical addiction expertise into national public health frameworks via high-profile federal appointments in the United States:

National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA): Serves as an expert council member advising the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on national biomedical and behavioral research policies related to drug abuse.

NIH HEAL Initiative: He serves on the multi-disciplinary working group for the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, which targets the national opioid crisis by funding research to improve prevention and treatment strategies for substance use disorders.

Dr Heidbreder is currently serving as an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.