Geoffrey C. Dunbar

Targacept, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company, which is engaged in the design, discovery and development of a new class of drugs to treat multiple diseases and disorders of the nervous system by selectively targeting Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors, or NNRs. NNRs are found on nerve cells throughout the human nervous system and serve as key regulators of nervous system activity. Targacept was founded by J. Donald deBethizy, Merouane Bencherif, William S. Caldwell and Patrick M. Lippiello on March 7, 1997 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC.