CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gurnet Point Capital, an investment firm focused on the healthcare and life sciences sectors that was founded by Ernesto Bertarelli and is led by Christopher A. Viehbacher, today announced the creation of Boston Pharmaceuticals, a fully-integrated drug development company that will offer an innovative alternative model for drug development and commercialization.
By leveraging the executive team’s network of external partners and service providers, the company will develop and launch products from drug development companies and labs worldwide. Through careful selection of disease areas and mechanisms of action, Boston Pharmaceuticals intends to build a valuable portfolio of clinical stage products focused on delivering medicines that greatly improve current treatment options to provide patients with breakthrough solutions for complex diseases.
The company will be led by two executives with deep experience in the development and commercialization of novel medicines – Christopher Viehbacher, the Managing Partner of Gurnet Point Capital and the former CEO of Sanofi, as its Chairman, and Dr. Robert Armstrong, the former head of external R&D at Chorus (Eli Lilly), as its CEO.
A unique fund founded by Ernesto Bertarelli and led by Christopher Viehbacher. Its mission is to help entrepreneurs build their businesses through the investment of long-term capital as well as the experience and expertise of the fund’s team. Gurnet Point Capital invests across all stages of product development through to commercialization, and represents a hybrid of venture and private equity investment strategies. These strategies rely on the core tenet that even the earliest of technologies needs to present a clear commercial thesis, both benefiting patients and the healthcare system as a whole. The fund has an initial allocation of $2 billion.
Christopher A. Viehbacher is the Managing Partner of Gurnet Point Capital, the healthcare and life sciences investment fund established in 2013. The former CEO of Sanofi, during his six year tenure with the company Viehbacher completed over $30 billion of acquisitions, including Genzyme. Prior to Sanofi, Viehbacher spent 20 years with GlaxoSmithKline, ultimately as President of GSK's North American pharmaceutical division. He was a Member of the Board of Directors of GSK plc and Co-President of GSK's Portfolio Management Board. Viehbacher began his career with Price Waterhouse Coopers and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Viehbacher has been Chairman of the Board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), as well as President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. He has received France's highest civilian honor, the Legion d'Honneur.
Rob Armstrong is the Chief Executive Officer, board member, and co-founder of Boston Pharmaceuticals. With over twenty years of experience working in research and development in the biopharmaceutical industry, Rob has been involved in the discovery and clinical development of programs across multiple disease areas.
Prior to working in industry, Rob was a tenured Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles. Rob received his BS in chemistry at UCSD, his Ph.D. in chemistry at CSU, and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard.