Key Points
- Eleftheria (Ria) Kioupritzi has joined Philip Morris International as Director Scientific Affairs (Corporate Affairs).
- She previously served as Roche's Senior Scientific Communications Director, Neuroscience and Rare Diseases and worked extensively in spinal muscular atrophy.
- Earlier roles at Biogen and Roche included competitive intelligence and monitoring of clinical, regulatory and commercial developments, as well as pipeline and launch work.
- During her period working in Roche's SMA field, Evrysdi received its initial FDA approval in 2020, an expanded indication in 2022 and approval for a tablet formulation in 2025.
2Firsts
September 22, 2026
Eleftheria (Ria) Kioupritzi has joined Philip Morris International (PMI) as Director Scientific Affairs within Corporate Affairs, moving into the tobacco and nicotine sector after more than 15 years in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Kioupritzi announced the appointment on LinkedIn. Before joining PMI, she worked at Roche, where public professional records list her most recent position as Senior Scientific Communications Director, Neuroscience and Rare Diseases.
Career Spanned Pipeline Intelligence, Regulatory Monitoring and Scientific Communications
Kioupritzi's background spans drug-development intelligence, competitive analysis, medical-affairs-related work and scientific communications.
Earlier in her career at Roche, she worked in global competitive intelligence supporting multiple pipeline assets and participated in cross-functional teams covering product lifecycle management, international medical activities and rare-disease launch preparation.
Her work included tracking development programmes and competitive activity and supporting decision-making around early-stage clinical assets.
Kioupritzi later worked at Biogen in EU+ Customer and Market Insights and competitive intelligence. Public career information describes responsibilities that included monitoring competitors across clinical, regulatory and commercial fronts and assessing the implications for Biogen's portfolio and market strategy.
That experience places regulatory intelligence alongside scientific communications in her professional background, rather than positioning her solely as a communications executive.
After returning to Roche, she moved further into neuroscience and rare diseases. Public records list her as Senior Scientific Communications Director, and she spent several years working in the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) field.
Evrysdi Passed Several FDA Milestones During Her Time in SMA
Kioupritzi's work in Roche's SMA field overlapped with several U.S. regulatory milestones for Evrysdi (risdiplam), the company's SMA medicine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved Evrysdi on August 7, 2020, for patients aged two months and older with SMA. The FDA described it as the second drug approved for the disease and the first oral treatment.
The application received Fast Track designation and Priority Review as well as orphan-drug designation and a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher.
In May 2022, the FDA expanded the label to include infants under two months old. FDA records show the approval extended the U.S. indication across pediatric and adult SMA patients.
In February 2025, the FDA approved a New Drug Application for a 5 mg Evrysdi tablet, adding a formulation that can either be swallowed whole or dispersed in water.
FDA labeling records now list both oral-solution and tablet formulations for Evrysdi.
Kioupritzi's scientific-communications work in the SMA field therefore took place around a medicine undergoing repeated FDA review, label expansion and formulation development. Public information reviewed by 2Firsts, however, does not show that she was a member of Evrysdi's regulatory-submission team or personally led formal interactions with the FDA.
Moving From Pharma Scientific Communications to PMI Scientific Affairs
Kioupritzi's new Scientific Affairs position sits within PMI's Corporate Affairs organization.
PMI has not publicly disclosed her detailed responsibilities, reporting line or whether she will cover specific products or markets.
The company's scientific framework for smoke-free products includes product-design controls, toxicological testing, clinical studies, consumer-perception and behavioral research, and post-market assessment.
PMI says its product-development and assessment methods were partly inspired by approaches used in the pharmaceutical industry and aligned with U.S. FDA guidance for Modified Risk Tobacco Product applications as well as Good Laboratory Practice and Good Clinical Practice principles.
PMI products including IQOS and ZYN have gone through U.S. FDA tobacco-product regulatory pathways, including marketing authorization and MRTP review.
That creates professional overlap with Kioupritzi's earlier experience in pharmaceutical pipeline work, regulatory intelligence, medical engagement and scientific communications.
PMI Continues to Build Smoke-Free Scientific Capabilities
PMI has continued to invest in research and scientific assessment around its smoke-free portfolio.
The company says it has invested more than $16 billion since 2008 in the development, research, scientific substantiation and commercialization of smoke-free products and employs more than 1,600 scientists, engineers and technicians in related work.
Its research capabilities span toxicology, clinical science, systems toxicology, consumer-behavior studies, post-market assessment and regulatory science.
PMI also publishes research through peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences and its PMI Science platform.
Kioupritzi's career before joining PMI covered drug-development pipelines, competitive intelligence, regulatory monitoring, rare-disease medical engagement and scientific communications. Her move from Roche's neuroscience and rare-disease organization into PMI Scientific Affairs adds another pharmaceutical and life-sciences profile to the scientific functions supporting the tobacco industry's expanding smoke-free portfolio.
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Cover Image: Eleftheria Kioupritzi / LinkedIn
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