BIO names its vice chair and Amicus founder John Crowley as next CEO
Biotechnology Innovation Organization vice chair John Crowley will become the next CEO of the industry’s advocacy and lobbying organization on March 4, picking an insider from its board after searching for more than a year.
Crowley, who founded and led Amicus Therapeutics for 17 years as CEO and chair, will replace Rachel King, the DC-based group said Tuesday morning. King has been in the BIO post on an interim basis after the sudden departure of Michelle McMurry-Heath last October.
His arrival will come at a pivotal moment in the biotech industry as it reels from two years of funding woes that have sidelined many drug candidates; lawsuits over the Inflation Reduction Act and debates about drug pricing; concerns over patient access to life-saving therapies; and other factors that BIO’s biotech members expect the organization to speak out on.
Outside of BIO, Crowley has made a name for himself in the industry after creating a biotech to save his two youngest children, who were diagnosed with the rare lysosomal disorder Pompe disease in the late 1990s. Amicus has won FDA approval for two drugs: Galafold for Fabry disease in 2018, and earlier this fall — after many regulatory delays — the combination of Pombiliti and Opfolda for Pompe disease.
BIO’s board had been interviewing candidates for the permanent CEO post when Crowley mentioned to his fellow board members two months ago that he’d like to apply, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. His daughter had collapsed and required CPR just days earlier, the WSJ reported, noting it sparked a realization for Crowley that rare disease drugs need to do better.
“There is massive unmet need, and the whole ecosystem just isn’t coming together,” Crowley told the Journal. The work of Crowley and his wife, Aileen, to get a treatment made for their children was portrayed in the 2010 movie “Extraordinary Measures.”
Crowley will hand off the Amicus chairman seat to the 500-employee biotech’s lead independent director Michael Raab. Amicus has grown to a $3.25 billion market cap company that is working on follow-up treatments in Fabry and Pompe, as well as CLN3 batten disease and other earlier-stage research.
The 1,000-member lobbying and industry organization has faced many of the tensions felt by the industry as a whole, as members large and small have been split on issues such as diversity, drug costs and the enactment — over companies’ strong objection — of the Inflation Reduction Act and its price-control measures.
In the announcement, Crowley made multiple mentions of the agriculture sector — a signal that BIO may try and broaden its membership there at a time when many medical biotech companies are closing after running out of funding.
“While my life’s work has centered on creating life-changing and lifesaving medical therapies, I am excited about advancing these critical issues in agriculture and the environment for our society, as well as growing the membership base that drives our mission,” Crowley said.
The incoming CEO told the Journal that he hopes to “prevent bad laws and promote good laws and policies.” He’ll advocate for lower out-of-pocket costs, work on affordable drug policies and “put patients at the center,” he told the outlet. Crowley also said the FDA needs more resources to make quicker decisions on drug approvals.
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