Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> September 14, 2001
JEAN-PIERRE SOMMADOSSI, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of
the Board of Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has over 20 years' experience
in the development and evaluation of drug therapies for the treatment of
infectious diseases and is recognized as a world leader in HIV and
hepatitis drug discovery and development. Dr. Sommadossi has played a
pivotal role in each stage of the drug development process (discovery
through post-marketing) of several of the most widely prescribed HIV
drugs currently marketed. Dr. Sommadossi has served as a consultant or
scientific advisory board member for numerous pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies involved in the area of antiviral therapeutics
as well as investment banks, venture capital firms and governmental
agencies. Dr. Sommadossi served on the faculty of the University of
Alabama at Birmingham's School of Medicine beginning in 1985 and became
Full Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1992. Dr. Sommadossi
served on the Research Agenda Committee of the AIDS Clinical Trials
Group (ACTG) and as Principal Investigator for several major
international clinical trials. Dr. Sommadossi has authored over 150
scientific publications and holds more than 20 patents related to
treatments in the area of infectious disease. Dr. Sommadossi has co-
founded international scientific conferences and serves on the editorial
boards of numerous scientific and medical journals. He holds a PhD in
Pharmacology and a Pharm D from the University of Marseilles, France. Profile
TWST: Can we start out with a history and a quick overview of NovirioPharmaceuticals?
Dr. Sommadossi: I am the principal Founder. I founded Novirio a little
more than three years ago, in May