Jeffrey Leiden Biography and Net Worth

Dr. Leiden has served as Chair of our board of directors and as a member of our board of directors since March 2022. Dr. Leiden has served as the Executive Chairman of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX), or Vertex, since April 2020, after serving as a director since July 2009. Dr. Leiden previously served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Vertex from 2012 through March 2020. Prior to joining Vertex, Dr. Leiden served as Managing Director at Clarus Ventures, a life sciences venture capital firm, from 2007 to 2012 and as President, Chief Operating Officer of Abbott Laboratories from 2000 until 2005. Dr. Leiden is a physician and scientist who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of people with serious diseases. While at Abbott Laboratories, Dr. Leiden led the development and commercialization of HUMIRA^® for multiple autoimmune diseases. During his time at Vertex, the company delivered a number of leading medicines to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with certain forms of the disease, including KALYDECO^®, ORKAMBI^®, SYMDEKO^® and TRIKAFTA^®. While serving as Chief Executive Officer of Vertex, the company also built a robust pipeline of drug candidates in specialty markets, including pain, sickle cell disease and type 1 diabetes, and entered into important collaborations, like with CRISPR Therapeutics AG, which led to the discovery and development of the first CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing therapy, CASGEVY™, approved for two human genetic diseases, sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. Dr. Leiden is the lead director of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, and the Chairman of the Board of Casana Care, Inc. and previously served on the board of directors of Shire plc, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX). Dr. Leiden received his B.A. in biological sciences, his Ph.D. in virology and his M.D. from the University of Chicago.