Speaker Profile
M.D., Ph.D., President, CEO & Chairman, Vertex
Biography
Dr. Leiden has served as a member of Vertex’s board of directors since 2009 and as Chairman and CEO since 2012. Under his leadership, Vertex has delivered the first and only precision medicines to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). It is his mission and the basis of the company’s research priorities to bring transformative medicines to people with CF and other serious diseases. Dr. Leiden is a cardiologist and molecular biologist who received his degrees from the University of Chicago. He pursued a career in academia as Professor of Medicine and Chief of Cardiology at the University of Chicago and then as Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. He served as President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Abbott Laboratories and as Managing Director at Clarus Ventures, a life sciences venture capital firm dedicated to developing new treatments by founding innovative biotech companies.
