Alan Lewis's enthusiasm for drug hunting and a desire to work at the forefront of science have seen him chart a 36-year career in the drug industry. As the next head of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in New York, he plans to use his industry ties to help bring novel treatments for type 1 diabetes to market quickly. See CV
Lewis, whose father was a pharmacist in Wales, studied biochemistry and physiology at the University of Southampton, UK, but was most excited by his pharmacology course. He did a PhD in pharmacology at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, and then studied as a postdoc at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, where he worked on animal models of asthma.
It was visa troubles rather than science that proved pivotal in Lewis's next career move. His wife's visa problems cut short his stay as a research associate at Yale University, but led to new opportunities. Lewis decided to join industry, first at Netherlands-based drug maker Organon Laboratories, where he designed drugs to suppress or augment the immune system. "I really loved the focus and directed-goal orientation of drug hunting," he says.
Lewis then joined Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Princeton, New Jersey, where as vice-president of research he helped develop the antidepressant Effexor, an immunosuppressant used in transplant therapy. Buoyed by the potential of the biotechnology industry, Lewis moved to Signal Pharmaceuticals, a small company in San Diego, California, that he helped grow from 9 to 90 people. Still energized with entrepreneurial zeal, Lewis joined Novocell, also in San Diego, which develops insulin-producing cells from embryonic stem cells to treat diabetes.
Leading the nonprofit JDRF is part of a natural career progression, says Lewis. "Passion drives what we do at industry — and at non-profits," he says. Steven Gilman, chief scientific of Cubist Pharmaceuticals in Lexington, Massachusetts, was initially surprised that Lewis was leaving industry, but says it makes sense given his drive to develop treatments. "Alan's passion for making an impact on patients' lives is evident to all who know him, and he'll use that to help the JDRF work towards new treatments," says Gilman.
And with the industry exploring ways to develop an artificial pancreas that can control blood glucose levels, Lewis is optimistic that better treatments for type 1 diabetes are not far away.
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2006–08: President and chief executive, Novocell, San Diego, California
2000–06: President, Signal division of Celgene, San Diego, California
1994–2000: President and chief executive, Signal Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, California
