Jeremy Levin

Biography

Dr Jeremy Levin is the Chairman and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, Inc., a private company developing novel medicines for orphan diseases of the brain. Dr Levin has extensive experience in the global pharmaceuticals industry, leading companies and people to develop and commercialize medicines that address compelling medical needs worldwide. He has been voted one of the 25 most influential people in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Ovid, Dr Levin served as President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA). Previously, he was a member of the Executive Committee of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) where he had global responsibilities for strategy, alliances and transactions. In this role, he devised and led the BMY’s “String of Pearls” strategy, which resulted in the transformation of the company. Prior to BMY, he was Global Head of Strategic Alliances at Novartis (NYSE: NVS). In this role, he established and managed strategic collaborations with multiple companies around the world. Dr Levin has served on a number of public and private company boards over the years, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of BioCon, Ltd (NSE: BIOCON) and privately held ZappRx. Dr Levin is the recipient of a number of awards including the Kermode Prize for work on novel hypertension drugs, the Albert Einstein Award for Leadership in Life Sciences, the B’nai B’rith Award for Distinguished Achievement for commitment to improving global health care and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. 

Research Interest

Biocon's major areas of research now include cancer, diabetes, and other auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Because of the high percentage of people in India who chew betel or tobacco, India accounts for eighty-six per cent of oral cancer in the world, known locally as "cancer cheek". Diabetes is prevalent, and people who do not wear shoes are at risk to have a minor scrape or injury develop into gangrene, or "diabetes foot".Biocon is also working on drugs to treat psoriasis, a skin pigment disease which can result in social ostracization.