In an exclusive interview, Jean-Paul Clozel, former head of Actelion and now CEO of exciting biotech newcomer Idorsia, discusses his new company’s unique drug discovery methodology, the pressure of past success, and how he hopes to usher in a new era of collaboration to tackle disease.
In August 2016, when we interviewed you as CEO of Actelion, you made quite a clear statement that you were not interested in selling the company! A few months later, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) acquired Actelion for USD 30bn. This deal is somewhat unique in that no-one was laid off, J&J acquired Actelion’s sales arm, there was no disruption to the project pipeline, and the development part was spun off. Please tell us about the deal and whether you think this is a sign of things to come.
"We want to integrate all the modern technology at Idorsia, which includes discovery, development, and future marketing."
