Christopher Viehbacher, who will start as Biogen’s CEO on Monday, knows that running Biogen may be one of the toughest jobs in the pharmaceutical industry. But he said in an exclusive interview with STAT that after years of working as an investor, and coaching and mentoring other executives, he missed being on the playing field himself.
“I’m not the type of guy to go run something that is smoothly running,” Viehbacher said. “That’s not my thing.”
Biogen, certainly, has been beset by troubles over the past two years, as the disastrously failed rollout of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm disrupted its business, cleared its executive suite, and made its stock price gyrate. But Viehbacher said that he is also struck by the things that make it unique. One of the first biotechnology companies, he said, Biogen has had the “perseverance” to go after tough diseases. He has known many of the board members, as well as Biogen founder Phil Sharp, for years.
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