James C. “Jim” Mullen (born ca. 1958) was the president and CEO of

Biogen Idec Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of therapies for the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. History ...

until he retired effective June 8, 2010. At the same time, he started he would retire from the board at the end of his term. In 2011, he was named CEO to drug manufacturer Patheon, based in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, as well as to their board. He stayed there until August 29, 2017.

Education

Mullen has a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

and a Master of Business Administration from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. He has been a trustee at Villanova since 2001.

Biogen

Mullen began his tenure at Biogen in 1992 and worked his way up the ladder. In 1992, he became the VP of Operations followed by VP international in 1996. Mullen became COO and president in 1999 and CEO in 2000. In 2000, he became CEO of Biogen Idec. His tenure as CEO has been described this way: "Although the firm flourished in the early part of his tenure, it has struggled more recently to coax new products from its pipeline. In a May proxy filing,

Carl Icahn Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American financier. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach. Icahn takes l ...

noted that Mullen was paid $60.8 million in total compensation, combining salary, bonus, and stock options over the preceding five years, while Biogen’s stock declined from $66.61 to $47.63 0% in valuein that time." In 2005, the last time they brought a new drug to market (

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

treatment Tysabri). Tysabri was "quickly pulled from the market after it was linked to a life-threatening brain infection in a handful of patients". When it returned in 2008, it brought in $589 million which was far less than anticipated. This led to

demanding changes as he tried to gain more control over the board.

References

1950s births American health care chief executives American chief operating officers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Villanova University alumni Living people Chief executives in the pharmaceutical industry {{US-CEO-stub