Paul Howe is the Chief Operating Officer at Protega Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical and med-tech company dedicated to responsible pain management through innovative, technology-driven platforms and abuse-deterrent products. With more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, Paul brings a proven track record of driving commercial growth, operational excellence, and product innovation across public and private life sciences organizations.Prior to joining Protega, Paul served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Commercial Strategy at Talphera, Inc. (formerly AcelRx), where he built and led a high-performing commercial team, secured key formulary wins, and drove significant sales growth. He also led the successful sale of a drug-device asset to Alora Pharmaceuticals.Throughout his career, Paul has held senior leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline, XenoPort, and Reliant Pharmaceuticals, and began his pharmaceutical career at Sanofi (Aventis and Hoechst Marion Roussel). His expertise spans business management, new marketing channels, and manufacturing process improvement, with a passion for developing therapies used in medically supervised settings that improve patient outcomes.