Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> May 29, 2000
JOHN A. SPEARS was named President and CEO of Novavax, Inc. in May 1999,
succeeding Mitchell J. Kelly who served as Interim President and Chief
Executive Officer since September 1998. Mr. Spears was also elected to
the company's Board of Directors. Prior to joining Novavax, Mr. Spears
was President and CEO of Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Vion was created in
April 1995, when Mr. Spears merged two small privately held
biotechnology companies and took the company public in August 1995.
Before heading up Vion, Mr. Spears was President and CEO of MelaRx
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the predecessor companies to Vion. He
established corporate operations for the company, completed several
rounds of private financing and negotiated a five-year research support
agreement with Yale University. From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Spears was Senior
Vice President of Immunex Corporation where he was responsible for sales
and marketing, new business development and professional services. At
Immunex, Mr. Spears launched their first proprietary product, which
included creating the company's specialized oncology sales force. While
at Vion and Immunex, Mr. Spears negotiated several major strategic
alliances with multi-national pharmaceutical companies, which included
substantial up-front licensing fees, milestones, and royalties. Mr.
Spears also held management and research positions with several large
pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers, Lederle and Ayerst
Laboratories. Profile
describe what you see as the business and company today.
Mr. Spears: Novavax is a publicly traded company, traded on NASDAQ
