Trek veteran Rene Echevarria is on the verge of signing onboard ABC's new medical drama series, Meds.

Echevarria would join the freshman series as showrunner and executive producer as part of a two-year deal he is negotiating with Touchstone Television, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The deal also includes the opportunity for the former Deep Space Nine writer to create and develop his own series.

Created by Gary Tieche and Marc Platt, Meds focuses on the daily struggle of two doctors working at a managed care hospital where the motto is "Medicine could be a lucrative business if it weren't for all those sick people."

The series, which will air 10:00pm Wednesdays, stars 'Black Hawk Down' actor William Fichtner and 'The Mummy's' John Hannah as the two doctors, Kellerman and Dalgety. Also featured in the cast are award-winning Australian actress Jacqueline McKenzie, Robert Joy (Yerid in 'Workforce, Part II') and Gilmore Girls' Edward Herrmann.

Echevarria made his Trek debut in The Next Generations's third season, penning the much-loved episode 'The Offspring.' He eventually jumped across to Deep Space Nine, rising to the rank of supervising producer while writing episodes such as 'Trials and Tribble-ations,' 'Children of Time,' and 'Honour Among Thieves.' After DS9 ended, Echevarria joined the short-lived Now and Again, and then the sci-fi series Dark Angel, which was recently cancelled by the FOX network (story).

The original Hollywood Reporter article is available here, while further information on Meds can be found at the ABC web site.

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