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Biotech CEOs: Can Scientist-Founders Remain In Charge?

A New Breed Of Scientist-Founder: PhD-Carrying Entrepreneurs Who Want To Translate Their Ideas Into Companies

 
• By Melanie Senior

Founder-CEOs do not typically remain at the helm as biotechs mature. Exceptions to that rule are multiplying, though, especially in Europe as companies aim directly for Nasdaq.

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When do scientific founders stay at the helm of their biotech businesses? • Source: Shutterstock

There are several high-profile examples of biotech leaders who have seeded, nurtured and grown their companies into profitable, sustainable organisations. Josh Boger founded Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 1989 and was CEO for twenty years, building a $43bn behemoth. Jean-Paul Clozel, with wife Martine and two co-founders, built Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. into Europe’s largest, most successful biotech, finally succumbing to a $30bn offer from Johnson & Johnson in 2017. Art Levinson – not a founder, but a very early employee at Genentech Inc. – was promoted from R&D chief to CEO in 1995, defying skeptics to build the industry leader. The message from these success stories: science rules, not just at the start, but all the way.

These individuals are exceptional, however. Few combine the broad skill set (and dogged perseverance) required to discover and fund a...

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