Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D.
Founder & Ex-CEO, Idenix Pharmaceuticals
Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., the Principal Founder of Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: IDIX) and a co-Founder of Pharmasset, Inc (NASDAQ: VRUS), and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Idenix Pharmaceuticals from November 2000 to November 2010. From 1998 to November 2000, Dr Sommadossi has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and then as Executive President and Chief Scientific Officer. Under his leadership, the company has raised more than $450 million in private and public equity financings and entered into multiple strategic partnerships, including those with Sumitomo and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as well as a landmark biotechpharma transaction with Novartis Pharma AG in 2003. Throughout this time, Idenix discovered, co-developed and co-launched Telbuvidine(Tyseka/Sebivo) for the treatment of Hepatitis B, and established a major clinical pipeline of antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS.
Prior to founding Idenix, Dr Sommadossi was on the Faculty of The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine since March 1985 . He has served as a Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology as well as an Associate Director of both the Center for AIDS Research and The Liver Center from June 1992 to November 2000. Dr Sommadossi has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and holds more than 50 US patents related to the treatment of Cancer and Infectious Diseases . Dr Sommadossi holds a Pharm.D. and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology form the University of Marseilles in France. He was a postdoctoral Fogarty Fellow at the National Cancer Institute and The Medical College of Virginia and is a recipient of a Faculty Award from The American Cancer Society. Dr. Sommadossi currently is a Senior Advisor to PureTech Ventures.