The Top 25 Biotech CEOs of 2020

The Healthcare Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 Biotech CEOs of 2020. These exceptional individuals were selected after thorough evaluation of their career accomplishments and demonstrated leadership capabilities over a sustained period of time.  We paid particular attention to CEOs who dedicated themselves to developing deep domain expertise, running organizations of high integrity, and who were mission driven in solving critical health problems.  Candidates were also evaluated based on cultivating an innovative culture, company milestones achieved, and producing commendable financial results.  Please join us in congratulating this year's awardees.

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1. John Crowley
Amicus Therapeutics
Cranbury, NJ

Biotech executive John Crowley is the chairman and chief executive officer at Amicus Therapeutics. Over 15 years at the biopharmaceutical firm, Crowley has grown the workforce from four employees to over 500 with global operations spanning 27 countries. His illustrious career accelerated in 1998 when his two children were diagnosed with Pompe disease, an often severe and fatal neuromuscular disorder. He took it upon himself to find a cure and left his position as a director at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Crowley subsequently co-founded Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a startup dedicated to research and development for Pompe disease, which he credits to saving his children's lives. Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Geeta Anand has celebrated his incredible journey in her book, The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million-And Bucked the Medical Establishment-In a Quest to Save His Children. The major motion picture, Extraordinary Measures, is also inspired by his story.

From 2005, he spent 11-years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, assigned to the United States Special Operations Command, and is a veteran of the global war on terrorism. Today, Crowley celebrates over 20 years in the biotech space with stints as the CEO at Orexigen Therapeutics and SVP at Genzyme Therapeutics.

 

2. Paul Hastings
Nkarta Therapeutics
San Francisco, CA

Since joining Nkarta Therapeutics, Paul Hastings has led the company as its president and chief executive officer bringing with him a wealth of experience. With over 30 years of biotech and pharmaceutical expertise, Hastings has been charged with building the company's scientific process and driving the strategic visions as well as the next phase of the company's growth. Hastings' specific experience in leading successful development, as well as commercial-stage oncology organizations, is set to propel Nkarta onto its next stage of evolution.

Prior to joining the cell therapy company, Hastings served as the director of ViaCyte, the lead independent director of Pacira Pharmaceuticals for over eight years, and as the president and CEO at an emerging biotech company OncoMed Pharmaceuticals. This is in addition to over 33 years as the chair and CEO at Youth Rally Committee, and stints at Proteon Therapeutics, California Life Science Association, and Relypsa. Hastings also held a series of management positions at Genzyme Corporation, including the president of the company's Europe sector and president of Genzyme Therapeutics.

 

3. Jeremy Levin
Ovid Therapeutics
New York, NY

Since joining Ovid Therapeutics in 2015, Jeremy Levin has played a vital role at the biopharmaceutical company. "The people at Ovid create a bridge to opportunities for those affected by rare neurological diseases," Levin states on the company's website. "The reason we get out of bed each morning is to bring life-changing therapies to families and communities with few or no therapeutic options." Levin takes his responsibilities seriously and echoes this in his role as the chairman of The Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the largest biotechnology trade organization in the world.

The South African-born doctor and research scientist has dedicated his life's work to medicine and is recognized as one of today's most influential thought leaders in biotech. Before joining Ovid, Levin was the president and CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the world's largest pharma companies, a member of the executive committee of Bristol-Myers Squibb, head of global business development and strategic alliances at Novartis, and chairman and CEO of Cadus Pharmaceuticals. Levin is also a highly sought after speaker, with a keen focus on company-patient relationships, innovation, and propelling digital health and biotech.

 

4. Ted Love
Global Blood Therapeutics
San Francisco, CA

Ted Love has spent more than two decades in broad management roles and over a decade as a practicing physician. After early retirement, he reentered the industry to help address growing concerns and disparities in the sickle cell disease community, with a focus on underserved patient populations. Today, Love is the president and chief executive officer at Global Blood Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company determined to discover, develop, and deliver innovative treatments.

Before joining GBT in 2014, he served as the executive vice president, research and development, and technical operations at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where he was instrumental in initiating and completing numerous clinical trials. He has also held positions at Nuvelo as the company's president and chief executive officer. Here he led the growth of the company to a market capitalization of $1 billion. Most notably, Love has overseen the development, strategy, and execution leading to approvals of Rituxan®, Herceptin®, Xolair®, TNKase®, Raptiva, and Avastin®. In addition to his role at GBT, Love serves on the board of directors at Amicus Therapeutics, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, and Portola Pharmaceuticals.

 

5. John Maraganore
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Cambridge, MA

For over 18 years, John Maraganore has served as the chief executive officer and director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of RNA interference therapeutics for genetically defined diseases. Before joining Alnylam, Maraganore was the senior vice president of strategic product development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, responsible for the company's product franchises in oncology, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases.

Previously, he spent 10 years at Biogen as the director of market and business development as well as servings a senior scientist at Zymogenetics. Maraganore's leadership is recognized to be at the cutting edge of science and medicine. His unparalleled expertise has been attributed to building dynamic companies. He currently services as the chair of the board for Agios Pharmaceuticals, where he is credited as a critical resource as the company invests in research and developing medicines for patients with cancer and other diseases. Maraganore is recognized for his invention and development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin), which prevents blood clots for patients during angioplasty.

 

6. Armando Anido
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Devon, PA

In 2014, specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative cannabinoid treatments, Zynerba Pharmaceuticals tapped industry veteran Armando Anido to join as its chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Anido boasts more than 30 years of executive, operational, and commercial leadership experience in the biopharma industry. The industry thought leader has an impressive resume, with prior positions at Respira Therapeutics on its board of directors, the managing director at A2 Healthcare Consulting, and the chief executive officer at Nupathe.

Anido also held roles as president, chief executive officer, and director at Auxillium Pharmaceuticals; the board of directors at Adolor, EVP of sales and marketing at MedImmune and three years at GlaxoSmithKline as its VP of CNS marketing. At NuPathe, he led the company through FDA approval of its product, Zecuity®, the first transdermal patch for migraine. Under his leadership, sales at Auxilium grew from $42 million in 2005 to more than $260 million in 2011, driven by the rapid growth of Testim® gel, and market capitalization increased from $200 million to more than $900 million.

 

7. Martin Babler
Principia Biopharma Inc.
San Francisco, CA

Martin Babler joined Principia Biopharma in 2011 as its chief executive officer and added the role of president in 2019. As he approaches almost a decade at the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Babler has played an instrumental role in driving success. He's also spearheaded the company's new focus on inclusivity, diversity, and the advancement of the biotech industry. Prior to joining Principia Biopharma, Babler was the president and chief executive officer of Talima Therapeutics and spent eleven years at Genentech most notably as the vice president of immunology sales and marketing.

It was at Genentech, where he built and led the commercial development segment as well as the cardiovascular marketing organization to success. Before this Babler held several positions at Eli Lilly and Company spanning sales management, global marketing, and business development for over seven years. In addition to his role at Principia Biopharma, Babler serves on the Emerging Companies Section and Health Section Governing Boards of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

 

8. Charles M. Baum
Mirati Therapeutics
San Diego, CA

Charles Baum joined Mirati Therapeutics in 2012 as the company's president, chief executive officer, and board member. The clinical-stage oncology company develops targeted drug products to address the genetic, epigenetic, and immunological promoters of cancer and has experienced success under the doctor's leadership. Baum was instrumental in moving the company to the United States as well as listing the company on NASDAQ. He's been praised for creating a world-class precision oncology leadership team, but most of all, for developing Mirati into a renowned company.

Previously, Baum was senior vice president for biotherapeutic clinical research within Pfizer's worldwide research and development division. His almost decade-long stint at Pfizer saw Baum serve a multitude of positions, including as the vice president and head of oncology development and as chief medical officer for Pfizer's biotherapeutics and bio innovation center. Preceding his role at Pfizer, Baum was responsible for the Phase I-IV development of various oncology composites at Schering-Plough, including temozolomide (Temodar®), which was approved for the treatment of patients with advanced brain tumors.

 

9. Nessan Bermingham
Triplet Therapeutics
Boston, MA

Founder and chief executive officer of Triplet Therapeutics, Nessan Bermingham has been with the company since its inception. Though, this isn't his first rodeo. The self-professed "serial biotech entrepreneur" also founded Korro Bio and Intellia Therapeutics. He served as Intellia's President and CEO from inception until December 2017. Triplet was formed to create a new treatment paradigm for repeat expansion disorders, including Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy, spinocerebellar ataxias, and others. Bermingham has proudly taken the company from its conception to IPO, boasting over 200 employees.

Bermingham has over 20 years of experience in life sciences startups and investments, spanning small molecules, biologics, medical devices, and diagnostics. As a venture partner at Atlas Venture and managing partner at Omega Funds, he successfully invested in and led multiple investments across the United States and Europe. Today, he balances his role with being a venture partner at Atlas Venture as well as a chair of the board of directors of F-star and Akrevia Therapeutics. Previously he was an independent advisory board member of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and Merck Serono KGaA.

 

10. Alan Ezekowitz
Abide Therapeutics
San Diego, CA

In 2011, South Africa-born physician and former cricketer Alan Ezekowitz co-founded Abide Therapeutics with Professors Dale Boger and Ben Cravatt from the Scripps Research Institute. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on developing first-in-class drugs for serious diseases that are consistently overlooked. Before creating Abide, Ezekowitz served as the senior vice president and franchise head, bone, respiratory, immunology, muscle, dermatology, and urology at Merck Research Laboratories. Here, he was at the helm of drug discovery and the development process from target identification through proof of concept.

Ezekowitz has served on several boards and committees, including the chair position of the executive committee on research at Massachusetts General Hospital, the board of directors of the Partners Healthcare System, and the MassGeneral Physicians Organization. In 2008, he was honored with the establishment of the R. Alan Ezekowitz Professorship in Pediatrics at the Harvard Medical School. As one of the earliest investigators in the field of innate immunity, Ezekowitz is respected as an industry thought leader.

 

11. Douglas Ingram
Sarepta Therapeutics
Cambridge, MA

Since joining Sarepta Therapeutics as its president, chief executive officer, and board member in 2017, David Ingram has been propelled by his shared mission. "We know why we get up every day and work as hard as we do," Ingram shares on the company's website. "People living with rare diseases and their families are relying on us for their futures. We're in a position to extend and change the lives of so many people." Sarepta is at the forefront of medical research and drug development, with a focus on genetic medicines to treat rare neuromuscular and central nervous system diseases.

Armed with over two decades of experience in the biopharma sector, Ingram plans to lead Sarepta and upend the entire medical system with fresh and innovative ideas. Prior to joining the company three years ago, Ingram served as the president and chief executive officer of Chase Pharmaceuticals which under his leadership developed programs that profoundly improved the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer's disease patients. Before this, he was the president at Allergan, a Fortune 500 healthcare company. Ingram balances his current role with being a board member at Endo International, Pacific Life, and as the vice-chairman of Nemus Biosciences.

 

12. Robert Gould
Fulcrum Therapeutics
Cambridge, MA

Drug discovery scientist, Robert J. Gould joined Fulcrum Therapeutics as the company launched in 2016. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is focused on transforming gene regulation in disease. The company uses patient cells that are either donated through tissue biopsy or using induced pluripotent stem cells. It leverages screening tools like the CRISPR/Cas9. Since joining, Gould has served as Fulcrum’s president and chief executive officer, where he's used his interest in clinical development spanning several therapeutic areas.

Before joining Fulcrum, Gould was a director at HemoShear Therapeutics, the chief executive officer at Epizyme, and a director at Broad Institute. This is in addition to his almost 23 years at Merck, where he held a multitude of leadership roles, the most senior of which was his position as vice president of licensing and external research. Gould was the driving force behind the advancement of over 20 compounds from discovery into clinical development, including drugs for age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that causes vision loss in millions of elderly Americans every year.

 

13. Rick Winningham
Theravance BioPharma
San Francisco, CA

Rick Winningham has served as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of Theravance Biopharma since its spin-off from Innoviva in June 2014. The biopharmaceutical company focuses on the discovery, research, development, and commercialization of small molecule medicines. Its products include telavancin under the VIBATIV brand, revefenacin under the TD 4208 brand, and neprilysin.

Notably, he served at Innoviva as the chief executive officer from 2001 to 2014 and chairman of the board of directors from 2010 to 2014. Before this, Winningham spent 15 years at Bristol Myers Squibb as president of oncology/immunology/oncology therapeutics network and also as president of global marketing. He balances his current role with being a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization's board of directors and serves on the Health Section Governing Board Standing Committee on Reimbursement. Previously, he served as a director and subsequently chairman of California Healthcare Institute, chairman of California Life Sciences Association, and is a former member of the board of directors of Jazz Pharmaceuticals and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals.

 

14. Rogerio Vivaldi
Sigilon Therapeutics
Cambridge, MA

Lauded as a "rare disease pioneer," Rogerio Vivaldi joined Sigilon Therapeutics as its chief executive officer in 2018. The biopharma company discovers and develops immune-privileged living therapeutics. Vivaldi’s deep therapeutic and commercial expertise and understanding across a range of therapeutic modalities and drug development spans over 25 years of experience. As a trained physician, he’s spent 18 years in patient care with a specialization in endocrinology.

Previously, Vivaldi was the executive vice president, chief global therapeutic operations officer at Bioverativ, which was acquired by Sanofi in 2018. He also held leadership roles at Spark Therapeutics, where he worked to commercialize the company’s gene therapeutics and Genzyme, where he spent over 17 years. Notably, Vivaldi co-founded and served as the chief executive officer of Minerva Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing products for patients with neuropsychiatric diseases. The Brazillian-born doctor isn’t just an industry veteran but renowned for his research which has been a catalyst in the treatment of rare diseases. He has also garnered a reputation as a devoted advocate for patients with chronic diseases.

 

15. Mark Enyedy
ImmunoGen
Boston, MA

Mark Enyedy joined ImmunoGen as president and chief executive officer in 2016, bringing with him over 25 years of experience across general management, business development, and legal experience in the biotech space. His proven leadership skills, combined with his deep experience building science-based oncology businesses, play a vital role at ImmunoGen, which focuses on the development of antibody-drug conjugate technology to treat cancer.

Before joining Immunogen, Enyedy was the executive vice president and head of corporate development for Shire Pharmaceuticals, the biotech company whose brands and products include Vyvanse, Lialda, and Adderall XR, before it was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2019. Here he led the company’s strategy, corporate planning, M&A and provided oversight for the company’s pre-Phase 3 portfolios. His prior role as the chief executive officer of Proteostasis Therapeutics was preceded by a 15-year stint at Genzyme, where he was the president of the transplant, oncology, and multiple sclerosis divisions. Enyedy also serves on the board of directors of Akebia Therapeutics and The American Cancer Society of Eastern New England. He previously served on the board of directors of Fate Therapeutics and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals.

 

16. Jackie Fouse
Agios Pharmaceuticals
Cambridge, MA

In 2018, it was announced that widely-respected biotech executive Jackie Fouse would become the new chief executive at Agios Pharmaceuticals. Fouse sees Agios as one of the “next great science-focused companies” in the industry. Notably, Fouse has served as a member of the company's board of directors since 2017. Prior to joining Agios, Fouse was a formidable force at Celgene, where she spent seven years beginning as the chief financial officer, and later the president of the company’s global hematology & oncology and chief operating officer.

Fouse is highly regarded by Wall Street and her name was been linked with almost every high profile executive opening in the biotech industry since she left Celgene in 2017. She also previously served as the chief financial officer of agribusiness and food company, Bunge Limited. Before this, she served as senior vice president, chief financial officer, and head of corporate strategy at Alcon Laboratories, a leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical device company. She’s also held a range of senior leadership roles with international companies, spending almost a decade of her career in Switzerland.

 

17. Scott Garland
Portola Pharmaceuticals
Corte Madera, CA

Scott Garland joined Portola Pharmaceuticals in 2018 as its president and chief executive officer. With over 20 years of experience in broad executive leadership roles, Garland has a proven record of success particularly with driving multiple billion-dollar product launches. Garland began his career at Merck as a sales representative before moving onto Amgen where he held several sales and marketing roles. Here, he supported the launch of Aranesp® (darbepoetin alfa), a bone marrow stimulant that can treat anemia caused by kidney failure or chemotherapy.

In 2002, Garland moved to Genentech where he spent close to a decade and spearheaded full-scale commercial franchises for two multi-billion therapies: Avastin® (bevacizumab), which is used to treat various cancers and Rituxan® (rituximab), used to treat certain types of cancer and certain autoimmune diseases. He then held positions at Exelixis, as chief executive officer and Relypsa, where he was the chief commercial officer before being appointed president. Garland is currently a member of the board of directors for Karyopharm Therapeutics, a company focused on hematologic diseases and oncology.

 

18. Kurt Graves, Chairman
Intarcia Therapeutics
Boston, MA

Kurt Graves joined Intarcia Therapeutics as chairman, president, and chief executive officer almost 10 years ago. Under his leadership, the biopharma company has transformed its business goals and successfully raised over $1 billion in capital through what the Intarcia calls “very creative financings and strategic partnerships.” The company became a unicorn in 2015 and Graves was also simultaneously recognized across the industry as a global thought-leader.

He started in the industry as a sales representative at the multinational pharmaceutical company, Merck. It was his first major break in the life sciences industry and Graves took advantage of his opportunity. Within two years at the company, the then-chairman and CEO had heard about Graves who would eventually go on to have an illustrious career spanning over 20 years. After Merck, he worked at AstraZeneca, eight years at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and held the role of chief commercial officer and head of corporate and strategic drug development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Today, Graves balances his role at Intarcia with being a board director at Achillion and chairman of the board at Radius.

 

19. Emil Kakkis
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
Novato, CA

Medical geneticist, Emil Kakkis has been a pioneer in the development of treatment for rare diseases. In 2010, he founded Ultragenyx where Kakkis is also the chief executive officer and president. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is committed to bringing to market novel products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare diseases. Under Kakkis's leadership, the company went public in 2014 on NASDAQ. Today, Ultragenyx has two approved therapies for rare diseases, Crysvita® for XLH and Mepsevii® for MPS VII.

Throughout his career, Kakkis has been recognized for his work in developing novel treatments and working on policy issues affecting rare disease treatment development. Before founding Ultragenyx, Kakkis was the chief medical officer and development consultant at BioMarin. Here, he guided the development and approval of two more treatments, MPS VI and PKU and contributed to the development of approved and development-stage products of four other rare diseases: CN2, MPSIVA, PKU, Achondroplasia. In addition to his role at Ultragenyx, Kakkis is the president at EveryLife Foundation, a nonprofit biotech with the goal of accelerating the development of gene therapies for people with rare inherited diseases.

 

20. Samarth Kulkarni
CRISPR Therapeutics AG
Cambridge, MA

Samarth Kulkarni joined CRISPR in 2015, during the early stages of the company as its chief business officer. After being appointed the role of president and chief business officer, Kulkarni was announced as its chief executive officer in 2017. In this role, he leads the strategic direction of the company and oversees its US operations in addition to strategy, business development, investor relations, and external communications. CRISPR was created to translate CRISPR-Cas9, a breakthrough gene-editing technology, into transformative medicines for serious human diseases.

Previously, Kulkarni was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led the pharmaceutical and medical products practice. Here, he also helped lead the biotech practice, where he focused on topics ranging from strategy to operations and led initiatives in areas such as personalized medicine and immunotherapy. Prior to his almost decade-long tenure at McKinsey & Company, Kulkarni was a research scientist at the University of Washington for six years. He also currently serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Casebia Therapeutics, a joint subsidiary formed by CRISPR Therapeutics and Bayer.

 

21. Brett Monia
Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Carlsbad, CA

Chief executive officer Brett Monia is also a founding member of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, which launched in 1989. For over 31 years, Monia has been credited with his research into the medicinal chemistry and mechanisms of action of RNA-targeting modalities to treat human diseases. Monia has also established several preclinical and clinical programs, many of which have resulted in clinical proof of concept in various therapeutic areas, including oncology, metabolic disease, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and rare diseases.

In 2019, he was appointed to the company's board of directors. Monia serves as a senior editor for the journal Nucleic Acid Therapeutics and has published over 150 primary research manuscripts, reviews, and book chapters, and he is an inventor on more than 100 patents. He balances his role with also being a member of the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Diabetes Association, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Society of Hematology, and serves on the board of directors for the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society.

 

22. Robert Mulroy
Partner Therapeutics
Lexington, MA

Chief executive officer Robert Mulroy is also the co-founder of oncology startup Partner Therapeutics. Since its launch in 2017, Partner has focused on the development and commercialization of therapies that improve the treatment of cancer, and acquired Leukine® from Sanofi. Mulroy resigned as Merrimack Pharmaceuticals chief executive officer in 2016 to tap into his biopharma expertise with a new venture. Under his leadership, the FDA approved Merrimack's drug, Onivyde, which is used in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Merrimack was acquired by Ipsen in early 2017 for $575 million.

Previously, Robert was the chief executive officer at Atlantic Biosciences. Mulroy has also worked as a consultant in the field of international development and has served as an advisor to multiple start-up companies in the biotech industry. At Partner, he has used his experience in drug discovery, development, approval and launch, capital raises and financial transactions to develop and commercialize approved and late-stage treatments. "We formed PTx to address gaps in treatment and improve the cost-effectiveness of cancer care through a mission-driven organization focused on exceptional execution on behalf of patients.”

 

23. Mark Pruzanski
Intercept Pharmaceuticals
New York, NY

In 2002, Mark Pruzanski co-founded Intercept Pharmaceuticals and has served as its chief executive officer, president, and as a member of the board of directors since its inception. The biopharmaceutical company focuses on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat progressive chronic liver diseases, like cirrhosis, portal hypertension, primary sclerosing cholangitis and also intestinal disorder, bile acid diarrhea. With over 15 years of experience in life sciences, venture capital and strategic consulting Pruzanski is a well-respected industry thought leader.

His experience spans roles at Apple Tree Partners, an early-stage life science venture capital firm which he co-founded in 1999. Before this, he was at Oak Investment Partners as an entrepreneur-in-residence. He currently also serves on the boards of the Emerging Company Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, in Washington, D.C. He is co-author of a number of scientific publications as well as a notable inventor of numerous patents relating to product candidates and scientific discoveries.

 

24. Howard Robin
Nektar Therapeutics
San Francisco, CA

In 2007, Howard Robin joined Nektar Therapeutics, a research-based development stage biopharmaceutical company as its president and chief executive officer. He brought over 25 years of experience, which included proven success in managing clinical development and commercial operations. Founded in 1990, the San Francisco-based company uses proprietary PEGylation and advanced polymer conjugate technologies to modify the chemical structure of substances.

Before joining Nektar, Robin served as president and chief executive officer of Sirna Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering RNAi-based therapies for serious diseases and conditions, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), hepatitis C, and Huntington's disease. Under Robin’s leadership, Sirna successfully re-launched creating significant shareholder value that led to its acquisition by Merck for $1.1 billion. Prior to this, he spent 20 years at Berlex Laboratories, where he was responsible for the development of Betaseron® (Interferon beta-1b) for multiple sclerosis and Fludara® (fludarabine phosphate) for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, as well as generating annual global sales in excess of $800 million.

 

25. Nancy Simonian
Syros Pharmaceuticals
Wayland, MA

The founding chief executive officer of Syros Pharmaceuticals, Nancy Simonian has a proven record of value creation in the biotech space, which has been celebrated across the industry. She joined Syros in 2012, which is redefining the power of small molecules to control the expression of genes to develop therapies for cancer and monogenic diseases. Since her appointment, Simonian has led the transformation of the company from a discovery-stage firm with a pioneering platform into a publicly-traded clinical-stage company with multiple product candidates.

Before Syros, Simonian was the chief medical officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals where she led the development of the company’s clinical pipeline, including NINLARO® for hematologic malignancies and ENTYVIO® for inflammatory bowel disease. As the president of clinical development at Biogen, she oversaw the development of AVONEX® and TYSABRI® for multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. She currently serves as a board director of Seattle Genetics and at Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Her career began as a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School and neurology staff at Massachusetts General Hospital.