Rajat Mishra is the CEO of Prezent
The modern biotech industry is a goliath in international markets, having burgeoned into a worldwide industry over the last 25 years. This growth is far from over, given that the industry grew from USD 366.7 bn in 2022 to USD 412.2 bn in 2023.
However, biotech isn’t just about delivering market growth. The industry is responsible for helping to deliver a range of life-changing treatments and therapies that promise to develop new treatment options for the most prevalent diseases and help to improve patient outcomes. For example, the biotech industry is predicted to launch several advances in cell and gene therapies and personalized mRNA vaccines for cancers like melanoma in 2024, building on years of progress in this field.
Yet it’s important to remember that these incredibly promising new therapies exist due to excellence in the industry. While some companies and leaders will go down in history for these achievements, the names of many other team members go unnoticed.
Further, it’s not only the researchers and medical experts working to develop biotech solutions that make this possible. The industry is also being fueled by leaders driving innovation with AI, operational executives, and marketing experts. These pioneers are working to ensure these new technologies can be integrated into healthcare pathways and reach the medical professionals and patients who need access to them.
Industry insiders say artificial intelligence, if correctly incorporated into research, could create breakthroughs in drug discovery, enabling more patients to receive medication. Innovative executives—furthering AI-driven strategies company-wide—play a key role here.
Here we present our curated selection of 10 examples of biotech excellence in 2024.
Company: Guardant Health
Name: AmirAli Talasaz
Title: Co-CEO
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Guardant Health, founded in 2012, is a precision medicine company focused on guarding wellness and giving every individual more time free from cancer. The company is transforming patient care by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics.
AmirAli Talasaz, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Guardant Health, is an entrepreneur in the genomics and clinical diagnostics fields. Prior to co-founding Guardant Health he was Senior Director of Diagnostics Research at Illumina.
Company: Arcellx
Name: Ben Lei
Position: Head of Marketing
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Arcellx, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company reimagining cell therapy by engineering innovative immunotherapies for patients with cancer and other incurable diseases. Arcellx believes that cell therapies are one of the forward pillars of medicine and Arcellx’s mission is to advance humanity by developing cell therapies that are safer, more effective, and more broadly accessible. Arcellx’s lead product candidate, anito-cel (formerly CART-ddBCMA), is being developed for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (rrMM) in a Phase 2 pivotal trial. Arcellx is also developing its dosable and controllable CAR T therapy, ARC-SparX, through two Phase 1 programs, ACLX-001 for rrMM and ACLX-002 in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome.
Ben Lei serves as Arcellx’s Head of Marketing and is focused on bringing their lead candidate to market. When focused on a launch, there is little time that can be wasted. Lei added, “AI is not just about solving the world’s major problems but we can find great utility with AI to just make our day-to-day work more efficient. Solutions that can streamline common activities like developing presentations so that we have time to focus on strategy and execution will always be welcome.”
Company: Novartis
Name: Jason Williams
Position: Associate Director US IDMT Program Management, Oncology Medical Affairs, Strat & Ops Breast Cancer
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Novartis is an innovative medicines company that is on a mission to improve and extend people’s lives by reimagining treatments. The company’s medicines already reach more than 250 million people worldwide. With innovative solutions, Novartis aims to empower patients, healthcare professionals, and societies in the face of serious disease
Jason Williams is the Associate Director at Novartis for US program management, oncology medical affairs and strategy and operations for breast cancer, progressing to this critical role with more than 22 years of experience at the company. Across these areas, Williams works to drive project planning and execution excellence that enables the medical team to deliver the oncology pipeline and open patient access through realistic planning, seamless execution, compliance, and data-driven digital solutions.
Company: Adaptive Biotechnologies
Name: Julie Rubinstein
Title: President and Chief Operating Officer
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Adaptive Biotechnologies is a leader in immune-driven medicine that looks to improve individual’s lives by learning from their immune systems. The company’s immune profiling platform translates insights from adaptive immune systems with scale and precision. Working alongside clinicians, drug developers and academic researchers, the organization looks to develop products that transform the way diseases are diagnosed and treated.
Julie Rubinstein is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Adaptive Biotechnologies, and currently oversees its Life Sciences Research, Clinical Diagnostics, Drug Discovery, Corporate Marketing, and Business Development divisions. She was also part of the company’s executive team that took the company public in 2019.
Company: Edwards Lifesciences
Name: Kevin Crevecoeur
Position: Senior Director Strategy & Marketing EEMEAC
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Edwards Lifesciences is a global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease, as well as critical care and surgical monitoring. Serving patients in over 100 countries, the company thrives on discovery and expanding the boundaries of medical technology. The company’s roots first date back to 1958 when Miles Lowell Edwards, a retired engineer with a background in hydraulics and fuel pump operations, set out to build the first artificial heart which stemmed from his own experience with rheumatic fever as a teenager. Driven by a passion to help patients, the company collaborates with the world’s leading clinicians and researchers to address unmet healthcare needs, working to improve patient outcomes and enhance lives.
Kevin Crevecoeur is a Senior Director of Strategy & Marketing at Edward Lifesciences. He has over 10 years of experience working in international FMCG and healthcare companies. Kevin’s ability to make innovative and results-oriented decisions is helping Edward Lifesciences enter markets effectively to ensure patients can receive the best solutions for their heart conditions. He is responsible for developing and executing strategic plans to drive growth, overseeing product lifecycle management, and crafting comprehensive marketing strategies for the Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Canada region.
Company: Glaukos
Name: Lisa Jensen
Position: Sr. Director of Marketing
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Glaukos works relentlessly to create and deliver transformative therapies for patients struggling with glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. The company’s focus is on developing and leading the global ophthalmic market with novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases.
Lisa Jensen serves as the company’s Sr. Director of Marketing. A results-driven marketing leader with over 15 years of experience leading and energizing teams, Jensen has demonstrated success in improving brand positions, launching products, creating brand strategies, and differentiating campaigns that help to ensure Glaukos treatments advance the existing standard of care and enrich the lives and treatment alternatives for patients worldwide.
Company: Servier Pharmaceuticals
Name: Mark Yunger
Position: Head of IT
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
As a privately held Oncology leader, Servier is committed to finding solutions for patients living with difficult and hard-to-treat diseases. Governed by a non-profit foundation, the company’s oncology portfolio consists of first-in-class and best-in-class medicines designed to bring transformative precision therapies to a greater number of patients.
Mark Yunger, Head of IT at Servier Pharmaceuticals, has long been dedicated to innovation in the industry. Having received his PhD from Northeastern University, Mark is responsible for all aspects of leveraging IT to advance Servier Pharmaceuticals’ business. He works closely with R&D, manufacturing, commercial, and corporate functions to accelerate therapies in the pursuit to improve patients’ lives.
Company: Gilead Sciences
Name: Na-Ri Oh
Position: Global Head HBV and HDV Commercial Product Strategy
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative medicines. From pioneering virology medicines to a growing offering in oncology, the company aims to deliver medicines that seem outside of the realm of possibility. In addition to treatments, Gilead Sciences also strives to remedy health inequities and break down barriers to care.
Helping to lead this change is Na-Ri Oh, the Global Head of HBV and HDV Commercial Product Strategy. Her mission is to bring life-changing therapies to patients with unmet medical needs, especially in infectious and rare diseases. Na-Ri Oh is currently leading the global launch of the first-in-class HDV treatment Hepcludex and the strategy for marketing all of Gilead’s market-leading HBV treatments. To do so, she leverages her clinical expertise, portfolio planning skills, and data-driven innovation to optimize the commercialization of pipeline and commercialized assets.
Company: Roche
Name: Sanjana Bose
Position: Enabling Lead, Ecosystem Insights, GPS
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
As a pioneer in healthcare, Roche has been committed to improving lives worldwide since the company was first founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof have made Roche the leader in personalized healthcare, offering differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a frontrunner in diabetes management.
Sanjana Bose is the Enabling lead, Ecosystem Insights, GPS at Roche. She has her MBA and was earlier the Head of Global Business Planning & Insights at Vifor Pharma.
Company: BeiGene
Name: Yasser Ali
Position: Vice President, Commercial Operations and Business Analytics
LinkedIn Profile: Link here
BeiGene is a global oncology company that is discovering and developing innovative treatments that are more affordable and accessible for cancer patients worldwide. In addition to a broad portfolio, BeiGene is also expediting the development of a diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics by focusing on internal capabilities and external collaborations. The company is committed to radically improving access to medicine for the patients who need it, fueled by a growing team of more than 10,000 colleagues working across five continents.
Yasser Ali is the Vice President of Commercial Operations and Business Analytics for the company. He is an experienced business analytics and operations professional with extensive skills that include working with pharmaceutical data, sales force size and structure, developing competitive intelligence and business investor relations support. This broad range of complementary skills ensures that Ali helps to drive forward the overall progress of the company to continue on this impressive trajectory.
This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company
