Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> September 23, 1998
JERRY R. MITCHELL is CEO, President and Chairman of the Board of
Directors of ClinTrials Research, Inc., a clinical drug development
company in Nashville, Tennessee. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees
from Vanderbilt University in 1968 and 1969, respectively, and completed
residency training in internal medicine at Cornell University Medical
Center in New York. Dr. Mitchell then became a member of the staff of
the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at N.I.H. in Bethesda and
subsequently was named Chief of the Section on Clinical Pharmacology and
Metabolism (1973-77). He joined the faculty of Baylor College of
Medicine in 1977 as a Professor of Medicine and held the position of
Director, Center for Experimental Therapeutics. In 1989, he was
appointed Corporate Vice President for Research and Development at The
Upjohn Company. He became President of Upjohn Laboratories in 1990, a
member of Upjohn's Board of Directors in 1991, and subsequently Vice
Chairman of the Board in 1993. In these positions, Dr. Mitchell was
directly responsible for the $600 million annual operating budget for
Upjohn Laboratories and, as one of three members of the Office of the
Chair, was strategically responsible for the Company's overall $3.5
billion budget. In November 1995, Dr. Mitchell left Upjohn to co-found
with William Upjohn Parfet a drug safety and pharmaceutical development
company, MPI Research. In December 1996, he co-founded MPILEX Partners,
L.P., a 50:50 joint venture to develop oncology drugs, with ILEX
Oncology, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas. He also served as a member of
the Board of Directors of ILEX Oncology, Inc. until joining ClinTrials
Research in 1998. Dr. Mitchell has served on a number of national
science committees, including: the National Academy of Sciences ' Drug
Research Board of Problems of Drug Safety (1974-76); the Food and Drug
Administration (F.D.A.); Advisory Committee for Gastrointestinal Drugs
(1976-79); the N.I.H. Pharmaceutical Sciences Committee (1980-84); the
N.I.H. Pharmacology Study Section (chairman, 1987-89); the PhRMA
Foundation Scientific Advisory Committee (1990-96); the National Academy
of Sciences ' National Academy of Engineering ' Institute of Medicine
Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR)) (1994-96);
and the Association of Professors of Medicine ' Industry Roundtable
(1994-96). Dr. Mitchell is a member of many professional organizations,
including: the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics (ASPET); the American Federation for Clinical Research; the
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases; the American
Society for Clinical Investigation; the Association of American
Physicians; and the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and
Therapeutics. He recently was elected to lead ASPET as President from
1998-2000. Dr. Mitchell's research has focused on drug discovery and on
mechanisms of drug toxicity by chemically reactive intermediates,
including oxygen and the important protective role of glutathione
against these toxicities. He has serves as a Visiting Professor and
delivered lectureships at major medical centers throughout the world. He
has received many professional awards and honors, including receipt of
the prestigious John Jacob Abel Award from ASPET in 1977. He is the
author of some 200 research publications and in 1990 was designated a
'Citation Superstar' in 'The Scientist' newspaper by the Institute for
Scientific Information/Science Citation Index, with a ranking of 151
overall among all scientists worldwide. Profile
anticipate in your sector of the health care market over the next
several years?
Dr. Mitchell: I think it's clear that
