Profiles
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Permission granted by Michelle Werner
Her son’s DMD diagnosis shook her world. As a biotech CEO, it was also an epiphany for better rare disease R&D.
Five years ago, Michelle Werner received her son’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy diagnosis with fear and desperation. Now, as CEO of Alltrna, she’s finding better ways to develop treatments.
Michael Gibney • April 8, 2025 -
Permission granted by Pfizer
Former Pfizer CSO Mikael Dolsten on writing his next chapter, embracing AI and asking the ‘big questions’
Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s former chief scientific officer, is embarking on a journey of curiosity and interconnectedness in his post-Big Pharma career.
Michael Gibney • April 1, 2025 -
Permission granted by Novavax
The industry heavyweight behind Novavax’s push to bounce back
As it returns from the brink, the vaccine developer has brought in Dr. Ruxandra Draghia-Akli — and her industry and public health chops — to lead R&D.
Alexandra Pecci • March 25, 2025 -
Permission granted by Ron Tilles, Kevin Mercuri
Left to clean up after ‘pharma bro’ Shkreli’s arrest, former Turing CEO Ron Tilles reckons with the past
While Martin Shkreli smirked his way through a public securities fraud investigation, Ron Tilles became interim CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, ready or not. Here’s his story.
Michael Gibney • Nov. 14, 2024 -
Permission granted by Sernova
CEO with type 1 diabetes works to deliver ‘world’s first’ functional cure
Sernova’s technology helped type 1 diabetes patients achieve insulin independence in early- and mid-stage trials.
Alexandra Pecci • Nov. 5, 2024 -
Courtesy of Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Now a biopharma powerhouse, Vertex’s R&D bedrock could deliver tomorrow’s blockbusters
From its landmark CRISPR approval to its potential breakthrough drug for pain, Vertex’s development approach, led by chief scientific officer Dr. David Altshuler, is paying off.
Michael Gibney • April 30, 2024 -
Permission granted by Gates MRI
The pharma ‘fixer’ now helping Gates MRI’s tuberculosis battle
After getting her start as a nurse, Debra Weiss worked her way up the corporate ladder and is now COO of Gates MRI, which just launched its first phase 3 trial for tuberculosis.
Alexandra Pecci • March 22, 2024 -
Permission granted by Natalie Ferguson/American Gene Technologies
HIV isn’t ‘solved,’ but a doctor who treated some of the first patients hopes to finally deliver a cure
From San Francisco in the 80s to a gene therapy prospect, Dr. Marcus Conant looks back on his long fight against the virus — and if the industry is close to ending the epidemic.
Michael Gibney • March 5, 2024 -
Permission granted by Gianluca Pirozzi
Behind a big-name rare disease biotech, an exec draws from personal experience
The personal impact of rare disease has shaped Gianluca Pirozzi, a senior vice president at AstraZeneca’s Alexion, as a parent and drug developer.
Alexandra Pecci • Feb. 27, 2024 -
Permission granted by Roivant
Rise of the chief investment officer: Why the unique role works for Roivant
Dr. Mayukh Sukhatme, president and chief investment officer for Roivant, discusses the long game of partnering and business deals in biopharma.
Alexandra Pecci • Dec. 18, 2023 -
Stock via Getty Images
Three years after an FDA rejection, DBV sees a path for its peanut patch
Despite lower-than-expected demand for a competing treatment, DBV’s chief medical officer says the company’s topical skin patch could be a game-changing option for patients.
Karissa Waddick • Sept. 22, 2023 -
Permission granted by Armon Sharei
‘Not all rainbows and unicorns’ — a former CEO dishes on his rocky biotech ride
Armon Sharei took his startup SQZ from a graduate project at MIT to a Big Pharma partnership worth $1B+. Despite the company’s stumbles, Sharei’s enthusiasm for biotech’s future remains.
Michael Gibney • Sept. 7, 2023 -
Courtesy of Empress Therapeutics
Why this scientist left Janssen to help ‘revolutionize’ small molecule drug discovery
Murray McKinnon, CSO of Empress Therapeutics, believes its drug discovery platform holds the key to treating and detecting many diseases.
Alexandra Pecci • Sept. 6, 2023 -
Permission granted by Vivian Cheung Lab
A rare disease researcher aims to tackle disability discrimination in new lawsuit
How a pediatric neurologist is advocating for herself and the disabled community in a legal battle with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Alexandra Pecci • Aug. 22, 2023 -
Permission granted by Afaxys
Putting purpose over profits, this pharma takes on the important issues
Afaxys is a self-described “socially conscious” contraceptive healthcare company serving an unusual demographic for pharma: the public health sector.
Alexandra Pecci • Aug. 1, 2023 -
doug4537 via Getty Images
A pharma banking on the success of past blockbusters
180 Life Sciences is on a mission to see if the anti-TNF technology that produced a blockbuster could work for a range of other conditions.
Kelly Bilodeau • July 31, 2023 -
Permission granted by Freya Biosciences
What the 2014 Ebola outbreak taught this biotech CEO about persuasion
A former WHO epidemiologist is applying lessons learned during the Ebola epidemic to her work leading a company at the forefront of women’s health: the reproductive microbiome.
Alexandra Pecci • July 18, 2023 -
Permission granted by GSK
Duty to serve: an Army officer’s unexpected path to GSK
How Court Horncastle, SVP, business unit head of the anti-infective and respiratory team at GSK, applies lessons from combat to his work in antibiotics.
Alexandra Pecci • June 21, 2023 -
Stock via Getty Images
Is America ready for a new kind of opioid?
Tris Pharma’s CEO is “betting the company” on a pain reliever with the power of an opioid and a lower chance of addiction.
Alexandra Pecci • June 12, 2023 -
Stock via Getty Images
BIO’s CEO digs into the hot-button issues facing the industry
Rachel King took the reins at BIO during a rocky time. Now, after steadying the ship, she’s brought the trade association’s focus back to the industry’s most pressing priorities.
Alexandra Pecci • June 5, 2023 -
Permission granted by Patricia Hurter
A day in the life of a pharma exec: Lyndra’s Patricia Hurter
How the CEO starts each day with a ride on one of her horses, reduces daily meetings and uses her network to get through crises like the SVB Bank collapse.
Meagan Parrish • May 17, 2023 -
Permission granted by Daniela Marino
This ‘hot-blooded’ CEO is aiming to transform the way burn victims heal
Cutiss CEO Daniela Marino is funneling her bold personality and expertise in regenerative medicine into a startup developing bioengineered skin grafts.
Alexandra Pecci • May 9, 2023 -
Permission granted by Peter Kirk
The 99 seconds that changed this CEO’s life
Peter Kirk’s marathon story of inspiration and perseverance.
Taren Grom • April 21, 2023 -
Stock via Getty Images
A CMO’s quest to tackle infectious diseases leads him to an eye condition that’s often overlooked
How an “international” childhood sent Dr. José Trevejo, Tarsus’s chief medical officer, on a mission to fight infectious diseases.
Alexandra Pecci • April 18, 2023 -
Permission granted by Invivyd Therapeutics
He helped launch the Pfizer COVID vaccine — now this startup CEO is hunting a lingering pandemic foe
All of the COVID-19 mAbs have been pulled from the market. But Dave Hering, CEO of Invivyd, hopes to change that.
Meagan Parrish • April 11, 2023
