Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> December 13, 1999
JOSHUA BOGER, Ph.D. is the Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer
and Chairman of the Board of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. Prior
to founding Vertex in 1989, Dr. Boger held the position of Senior
Director of Basic Chemistry at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories
in Rahway, NJ, where he headed both the Departments of Biophysical
Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry of Immunology & Inflammation. During
his 10 years at Merck, Dr. Boger developed an international reputation
as a leader in the application of computer modeling to the chemistry of
drug design and was a pioneer in the use of structure-based rational
drug design as the basis for drug discovery programs. Dr. Boger holds a
Bachelor of arts in Chemistry and Philosophy from Wesleyan University
(Connecticut) and a Master's and Doctorate degree in Chemistry from
Harvard University. His postdoctoral research in molecular recognition
was performed in the laboratories of the Nobel prize winning chemist,
Jean-Marie Lehn in Strasbourg, France. He is the author of over 50
scientific publications, holds 30 issued U.S. patents in pharmaceutical
discovery and development, and has lectured widely in the United States
and in Europe on various aspects of drug discovery and development. Profile
Dr. Boger: Vertex is an emerging pharmaceutical company. We are now in
our 11th year, founded in 1989 around the principle that there
