Novartis Breaks the Biotech/Pharma Divide
June 2007
Novartis Breaks the Biotech/Pharma Divide
Interview with Jeremy Levin
Novartis Breaks the Biotech/Pharma Divide
In this exclusive interview, Fintan Walton talks to Jeremy Levin, Global Head of Strategic Alliances for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), about the switch in the location of NIBR's headquarters from Switzerland to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jeremy explains Novartis' desire to create a company that combines the innovation of its surrounding biotech community with the established drug discovery and development capabilities of a pharmaceutical company. He also describes the challenges involved in maintaining the 400 collaborations with 120 biotech companies in over 22 countries that Novartis has entered into since 2003. In addition, Jeremy outlines the benefits of fusing the multitude of skills, technologies and capabilities of biotech companies, and discusses the rationale behind Novartis' deal making.
About Jeremy Levin
Jeremy Levin is the Global Head of Strategic Alliances for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), and is responsible for evaluating and managing alliances with academia and biotechnology, interfacing with the venture community and establishing strategic collaborations to further NIBR's research mission.
From 1996 to 2000, Jeremy served as the Chairman of Physiome Sciences, and he was appointed as Physiome's President and Chief Executive Officer in 2000. From 1998 to 1999 he was Managing Director of Perseus Capital, and from 1992 to 1998, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cadus Pharmaceutical, where he also served as Chairman from 1996 to 1998. Before 1992, Jeremy was a Vice President at IG Laboratories, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genzyme. In these positions, he developed and led multiple collaborations with partners from academia and biotech through to major pharmaceutical companies.
About Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) is Novartis' global research organisation, responsible for the company's drug discovery and development in areas of unmet medical needs. The research organisation is headed by Prof. Mark Fishman and, since May 2002 , has been headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It has a major research facility in Basel, Switzerland, its former headquarters. Other key research sites are located in Horsham, UK; Vienna, Austria; Tsukuba, Japan; East Hanover, New Jersey and Shanghai, China.
