Named among Top 25 Biotech CEOs of 2021
Excerpted from The Healthcare Technology Report
The past twelve months, more than any other period in recent history, have showcased the outstanding talent, ingenuity, and determination of the world’s leading biotechnology executives and their organizations. Responding proactively to the day’s most pressing needs, these CEOs lean in, take on daunting risks head-on and boldly charge forth for the benefit of healing not only the vulnerable segments of our population but in some cases humanity at large.
Each of this year’s honorees has made remarkable strides for the biotechnology industry, from leading the quest to develop vaccines for the novel coronavirus to changing the way the industry develops and tests new treatments. From hundreds of nominees, these executives have stood out for their continued dedication to patient care, and for their significant contributions to the advancement of medicine.
Number 6 on the list, Brother Amit Munshi, UCR ’90 is the president and CEO of Arena Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company founded in 1997 and located in San Diego, California. The company’s pipeline contains drugs targeting autoimmune diseases, vascular diseases, and pain. Arena underwent a major pivot five years ago, prioritizing its pipeline and focusing on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In addition, Arena was recognized in 2019 when the company received the Deal of the Year Award for its global licensing agreement with United Therapeutics for Ralinepag, in development for pulmonary arterial hypertension, with an $800 million upfront payment.
Much of Arena’s current success has to do with Munshi, who took the helm as President and CEO in 2016, bringing with him more than twenty-five years of global biopharmaceutical industry experience in executive management, business development, product development, and portfolio management. Previously, Munshi served in multiple leadership positions for several companies in the biopharmaceutical industry, including Epirus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Percivia LLC, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., and Amgen Inc. In addition to his duties at Arena, Munshi currently serves on the boards of Pulmatrix, Inc., Enterprise Therapeutics Ltd, and Galecto, Inc.
For his many contributions and successes, he received the 2020 Entrepreneur of The Year Award from Ernst & Young. As an undergraduate, he earned a BA and BS in economics from the University of California, Riverside, and his MBA from the Peter Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
See this 2018 LifeSci TV YouTube interview with Amit Munshi.
