A Leadership Call to Action for Biotech

In this episode of Pharmaceutical Executive’s podcast series Leading Edge with Ken Banta, Jeremy Levin, D.Phil, MB BChir, co-founder and executive chairman of Ovid Therapeutics, joins Banta, The Vanguard Network founder and CEO, for a wide-ranging and candid discussion on the challenges confronting the U.S. biotechnology industry and the leadership required to strengthen its future.

Drawing from his book, Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust, Levin argues that biotechnology is facing pressures that extend well beyond the traditional cycles of capital and investment. The outspoken and longtime biopharma leader points to eroding public trust in science, instability surrounding the institutions that underpin therapeutic innovation and the accelerating rise of China as a biotech competitor — all while maintaining that the U.S. has the capabilities to compete if industry leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders act with greater purpose.

The conversation turns squarely to leadership and the industry's relationship with the public. Levin challenges pharma and biotech executives to communicate more clearly what their organizations contribute to patients and society, but stresses that communication must be backed by meaningful action. “Leadership is more than saying things out loud,” he notes.

Highlights of the discussion with Michael Christel, MJH Life Sciences group managing editor, include:

• A critical crossroads. Levin outlines the forces he contends are threatening the U.S. life sciences ecosystem and why he sees the current environment as more than another industry cycle.
• Leadership requires action. The discussion examines why rebuilding public trust can't be accomplished through messaging alone. Levin believes executives need to publicly demonstrate accountability through their decisions.
• “Mission without method is a waste of time.” Levin also explains why purpose and patient focus are essential but insufficient without the strategy, execution and discipline needed to turn them into results.
• Rethinking the boardroom. Banta and Levin explore the responsibility of corporate boards in structuring executive incentives, balancing shareholder and societal value and finding CEOs who combine patient-centered purpose with the ability to build successful businesses.

Prior to founding Ovid, the physician-scientist-trained Levin, a South African native, was president and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Previously, he was a member of the executive committee of Bristol Myers Squibb, where he devised and led the “String of Pearls” strategy that resulted in the transformation of the company. Before BMS, he was global head of strategic alliances at Novartis.

Levin practiced medicine at university hospitals in England, South Africa and Switzerland. He earned a first-class bachelor’s in zoology, winning the University Prize, and, subsequently, was awarded a master’s degree and doctorate in chromatin structure at the University of Oxford. Thereafter, he earned his medical and surgical degrees from the University of Cambridge, where he won the Kermode Prize for his work on Captopril.