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The Billion Dollar Molecule, authored by Barry Werth, was published in 1994 with the subtitle "One Company's Quest for the Perfect Drug." When named one of the best business books of 1994 by Business Week, the magazine noted "Barry Werth's account of the human drama attending the evolution of a promising startup has more in common with a John Grisham thriller than with dreary tomes on modern science." An Amazon.com review of the book reads, "From test tubes to the Wall Street IPO and beyond, this is the riveting true story of a start-up pharmaceutical company -  scientifically accurate, yet written with an attention to plot, timing, dialogue, and development of character more characteristic of the best thrillers."

The book described how Joshua Boger left Merck, Fortune's Most Admired Company at the time, to found an extremely risky start-up with the belief that drugs could be designed rather than be discovered by screening. He recruited Rich Aldrich, Roger Tung, and others who shared the passion and enthusiasm for advancing drug discovery, and who demonstrated the fortitude to endure the trials and tribulations of an underfunded start-up that was competing in a race against better-equipped commercial and academic rivals.

The result was Vertex, one of the seminal firms in the Massachusetts biocluster, and one which blazed a scientific and funding model for many of the biotechnology companies that followed. We have all benefitted from Vertex, and invite you to MassBio on May 25th, from 4 to 6 pm  (reception following) as Joshua Boger, Rich Aldrich, and Roger Tung discuss their experiences and lessons learned at Vertex, update us on what they are doing now, and provide their perspectives on the road ahead.

About the Speakers

Joshua Boger, Ph.D.
Dr. Joshua Boger is the founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX).  He retired as Vertex's Chief Executive Officer in May 2009, after over 20-years with the company.  He continues to serve on the Vertex Board.  Prior to founding Vertex in 1989, Dr. Boger held the position of Senior Director of Basic Chemistry at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Rahway, N.J., where he headed both the Departments of Biophysical Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry of Immunology & Inflammation.

He holds a bachelor of arts in Chemistry and Philosophy from Wesleyan University (Connecticut) and a master's and doctorate degrees in Chemistry from Harvard University.  His postdoctoral research in molecular recognition was performed in the laboratories of the Nobel-prize winning chemist, Jean-Marie Lehn in Strasbourg, France.  He is the author of over 50 scientific publications, holds 32 issued U.S. patents in pharmaceutical discovery and development, and has lectured widely in the United States, in Europe and in Asia on various aspects of drug discovery and development.

Dr. Boger is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT), Immediate-Past-Chairman of BIO (the biopharmaceutical industry trade association), a founding Director and Chairman of NEHI, the Network for Healthcare Innovation (a non-profit, healthcare-policy research organization based in Cambridge. MA), a founding Director and Co-Chairman of the Progressive Business Leaders Network (a non-profit, non-partisan business organization), Chair of the Board of Fellows of the Harvard Medical School and Chair of the Board of the Celebrity Series (Boston's premier performing arts series). He serves on numerous additional non-profit boards.




Richard H. Aldrich
Mr. Aldrich is a partner in Longwood Founders Fund, a life sciences venture fund he co-founded in 2010.  Prior to Longwood, he was General Partner of RA Capital, a biotech hedge fund he founded in 2001. Mr. Aldrich joined Vertex Pharmaceuticals at the time of it’s founding, and held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer .  He managed all of Vertex’s commercial, planning and operating functions from 1989 to 2001. Prior to joining Vertex, Mr. Aldrich held several management positions at Biogen Inc.    Mr. Aldrich has co-founded and helped build several successful biotech companies including Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Concert Pharmaceuticals and Alnara Pharmaceuticals.   He also serves on the Board of Directors for both the Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary and the Greater Boston YMCA.  Mr. Aldrich received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.


Roger Tung, Ph.D.
Dr. Roger Tung, Co-Founder President and Chief Executive Officer of Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc., co-founded the Company in April 2006 based on his independent research.  Before Concert, Dr. Tung worked in venture-backed start-up and major pharmaceutical companies, including Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he was a founding scientist and Vice President of Drug Discovery, and Merck, Sharp and Dohme. Dr. Tung co-invented and headed discovery of Vertex’s two commercial HIV protease inhibitor products, Lexiva® and Agenerase®.  He has also overseen the discovery of late-stage clinical agents for the treatment of hepatitis C, cystic fibrosis, and other indications. Dr. Tung received his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from Professor Daniel H. Rich.

Agenda
4 pm                 Registration
4:30-6 pm         Presentation
6-8 pm              Reception