IDIX’s Board of Directors
[Updated ages of directors as shown in recent DEF14A filing.]
IDIX’s BoD consists of nine directors as follows:
• Five independent directors: Charles Cramb, Wayne Hockmeyer, Thomas Hodgson, Tamar Howson, and Denise Pollard-Knight who are, respectively, the CFO of Avon Corp., the founder of MedImmune (acquired by AstraZeneca in 2007), the former COO of Abbott Labs, a healthcare consultant, and a healthcare venture capitalist.
• Three directors designated by Novartis: Robert Pelzer, Steven Projan, and Anthony Rosenberg.
• JP Sommadossi, IDIX founder and CEO.
All directors stand for reelection annually. Directors other than Sommadossi are listed below in alphabetical order.
Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., age 54; director since 1998:
Dr. Sommadossi is the principal founder of Idenix and has served as the chairman of our board of directors since our inception and as our president and chief executive officer since November 2000. During the period from November 1999 to November 2000, Dr. Sommadossi served as our executive president and chief scientific officer. Dr. Sommadossi served as a professor of pharmacology, toxicology and clinical pharmacology and associate director of both the Center for AIDS Research and the Liver Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine from June 1992 to November 2000. Dr. Sommadossi took a sabbatical and then unpaid leave from the University of Alabama from November 1999 to November 2002. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Sommadossi served on the Research Agenda Committee of the AIDS Clinical Trial Group. Dr. Sommadossi holds a Pharm.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Marseilles, France.
Charles W. Cramb, age 63; director since 2003:
Mr. Cramb has served as the executive vice president, finance, technology and chief financial officer of The Avon Company, a global beauty products company, since November 2005. Prior to joining The Avon Company, Mr. Cramb served as the chief financial officer at The Gillette Company, a worldwide consumer products company, from July 1997 to November 2005. From July 1995 to July 1997, Mr. Cramb served as a corporate vice president and corporate controller of The Gillette Company. He is also a member of the board of directors of Tenneco Automotive Inc. Mr. Cramb holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Wayne T. Hockmeyer, Ph.D., age 65; director since 2002:
Dr. Hockmeyer founded MedImmune, Inc., a biotechnology company, in April 1988 and served until October 2000 as the chief executive officer of MedImmune. [MedImmune was acquired by AstraZeneca in 2007.] Dr. Hockmeyer also serves as a director of Advancis Pharmaceutical Corporation and GenVec, Inc. Dr. Hockmeyer was recognized, in 1998, by the University of Florida as a Distinguished Alumnus and in 2002 was awarded a Doctor of Science honoris causa from Purdue University. Dr. Hockmeyer holds a B.S. from Purdue University and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
Thomas R. Hodgson, age 68; director since 2002:
Mr. Hodgson, who is retired, served most recently, from September 1990 to January 1999, as president and chief operating officer of Abbott Laboratories, a diversified healthcare company. From 1983 to 1990, Mr. Hodgson served as the president of Abbott International and from 1978 to 1983, Mr. Hodgson served as the president of the Hospital Products Division of Abbott Laboratories. Mr. Hodgson is a director of The Travelers Companies Inc. Mr. Hodgson holds a B.S. from Purdue University, an M.S. from the University of Michigan, an M.B.A. from Harvard and an honorary doctorate degree in engineering awarded by Purdue University.
Tamar D. Howson, age 61; director since 30-Mar-2010:
Ms. Howson is a partner at JSB-Partners, an advisory firm serving the life sciences industry. Ms. Howson has extensive experience in licensing, collaborations and M&A transactions in her 20-year career as a corporate and business development executive and advisor to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Prior to joining JSB-Partners, Ms. Howson was executive vice president of business development at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals where she led the company's partnering and licensing efforts. From 2001 to 2007, Tamar was senior vice president corporate and business development at Bristol Myers Squibb overseeing M&A, licensing and research collaborations across all businesses. Ms. Howson worked at SmithKline Beecham from 1991 to 2000, where she was senior vice president and director of business development. responsible for worldwide in-licensing and business development. Ms. Howson holds an M.B.A from Columbia University, a M.S. from City College of New York and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Technion in Israel.
Robert E. Pelzer, age 56; director since 2003:
Mr. Pelzer is general counsel of Novartis’ US subsidiary and is one of the three directors designated by NVS. Prior to his appointment at Novartis in March 2002, Mr. Pelzer was general counsel at DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company from 1998 to December 2001. Prior to that time, Mr. Pelzer held various positions with The DuPont Company. Mr. Pelzer holds degrees in Commerce and in Law from the University of Alberta. He is admitted as barrister and solicitor in the Province of Alberta, Canada, and as Solicitor in England and Wales.
Denise Pollard-Knight, Ph.D., age 50; director since 2003:
Dr. Pollard-Knight has served since April 2004 as head of Nomura Phase4 Ventures, an affiliate of Nomura International plc, a leading Japanese financial institution. From January 1999 to March 2004, Dr. Pollard-Knight served as head of Healthcare Private Equity at Nomura International plc. From January 1997 to January 1999, Dr. Pollard-Knight was a member of Rothschild Asset Management Ltd., an investment management firm. Dr. Pollard-Knight holds a Ph.D. and BSc (Hons) from the University of Birmingham in England. Dr. Pollard-Knight completed post-doctorate work as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.
Steven Projan, Ph.D., age 57; director since Feb 2009:
Dr. Projan has served as global head of infectious diseases for the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Inc. since September 2008. Prior to joining Novartis, from 1993 to August 2008, Dr. Projan held several positions at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, including his most recent position as vice president of biological technologies. Dr. Projan holds a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Columbia University.
Anthony Rosenberg, age 56, director since Jun 2009:
Rosenberg has been head of Business Development and Licensing at NVS since 2005 and is a member of CEO Dan Vasella’s inner circle. He joined Sandoz (NVS’ predecessor company) in 1980 in the UK, where he held various leadership positions in sales and marketing, business development, and strategic planning. In 1994, Rosenberg moved to Basel, Switzerland (NVS’ HQ location) as product manager for Clozaril. He became head of Global Marketing Primary Care and later was head of the Transplant and Immunology business unit. Rosenberg has overseen major licensing transactions in the respiratory, dermatology, CNS, transplant, ophthalmology, and antiviral areas. Rosenberg has a BSc in biology from University of Leicester (UK) and an MSc in physiology from University of London.
