Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> November 1, 1999
STANLEY T. CROOKE, M.D., Ph.D. is Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Isis Pharmaceuticals. Isis is a development stage
biopharmaceutical company that is focused on a new paradigm in drug
discovery, antisense oligonucleotides. Since Dr. Crooke and his
colleagues founded Isis in 1989, the company has grown rapidly,
completing its initial public offering in May 1991, and has reported
broad progress in antisense technology and its rapid conversion to
therapeutic product opportunities. Isis was the first company to
commercialize an antisense drug and has achieved a number of important
corporate collaborative relationships. Dr. Crooke is currently a member
of the Board of Directors of SIBIA, La Jolla, California, GeneMedicine,
Inc., Houston, Texas, EPIX Medical, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc., La Jolla, California. He is a member of the
IBC Advisory Council, Current Drugs Advisory Board, the Editorial
Advisory Board of Journal of Drug Targeting and Antisense Research and
Development, the Editorial Board of Gene Therapy and Molecular Biology.
He is also Editor-in-Chief of Current Opinion in Anticancer Drugs and
Section Editor for Biologicals and Immunologicals for Expert Opinion on
Investigational Drugs. He has been appointed by the American Association
for Cancer Research to serve as a member of the California State
Legislative Committee. Prior to founding Isis, Dr. Crooke was President
of Research and Development for SmithKline Beecham Corporation (SKB)
where he directed the activities of nearly 3,000 scientists, physicians
and support staff for SmithKline & French laboratories, the
pharmaceutical arm of SKB. He also coordinated the research and
development activities of SKB including its instruments, diagnostics,
animal health and clinical laboratory businesses. Prior to joining SKB,
Dr. Crooke helped establish the anticancer drug discovery and
development program at Bristol Myers, which succeeded in bringing to
market a significant number of drugs. At Bristol, he established
numerous licensing and collaborating agreements and developed the
Bristol-Baylor Laboratory. During his career, Dr. Crooke has supervised
the development of 17 drugs currently on the market and others in
development. In addition to his involvement in the pharmaceutical
industry, Dr. Crooke also maintains active academic positions. He is an
adjunct professor at University of California, San Diego and San Diego
State University, and has won a number of teaching awards. He has
authored over 400 publications and has edited 18 books. Dr. Crooke is
active in molecular and cellular biology and pharmacology of antisense
oligonucleotides. Profile
just to kind of set the stage for the readers?
Dr. Crooke: Isis is a 10-year-old development stage
