The Mover: Leuchtenberger looks to drive positive change at Rib-X
By Lynette F. Cornell, Special to Mass High Tech
Mark Leuchtenberger
President and CEO, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Education: B.A., English, Wake Forest University, MBA Yale University
Quote: "Find people you respect intellectually and you enjoy being with every day."
Mark Leuchtenberger is a New England biotech figure with deep roots in the industry. But he didn't originally set out to be in the biotech sector or even in the business world at all.
Shortly after earning a degree in English from Wake Forest University, he worked at a scholarly publication before joining a public television station. After eight years, he wanted to reconcile his altruistic vision with a need to produce actual change for people. To pursue this goal, he earned his MBA at Yale University and went on to land a job as a senior consultant at Bain & Co.
"I just wanted to be more viscerally involved in changing people's lives," which brought him to the biotech sector, he said.
Soon, he was working as an executive at Biogen Inc. (now Biogen Idec Inc.), for what he describes as the 12 most transformational years of his life. He helped bring Avonex, a drug for treating multiple sclerosis, to market and later became the vice president of sales, marketing and business development. "Changing the treatment landscape for MS patients is very rewarding," he said. "To be a part of that was just a real blast."
After Biogen, he landed at Therion Biologics Corp., a company researching cancer vaccines, where he served as president and CEO. After a series of disappointing clinical trial results, Leuchtenberger joined Targanta Therapeutics, Inc., a company specializing in antibiotics to treat serious infections. He led Targanta to a successful IPO in 2007 and its acquisition by The Medicines Company in 2009.
The acquisition was a bumpy one, involving a suit brought against the company by its shareholders. The shareholders opposed the transaction, claiming that Leuchtenberger was not acting in their best interest.
In late March, New Haven, Conn.-based biotech company Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Inc. brought on Leuchtenberger to be its president and CEO, in charge of bringing a diverse portfolio of antibiotics to market. In a risky market made worse by economic factors, Leuchtenberger has a challenge before him. The key to success, he said, is to "let the biology speak."
"You have to work every day to eliminate any of the variables outside of the biology," he said. If you do that, he said, even if the project fails, your investors will understand that you did all you could.
Leuchtenberger tries to eliminate outside variables in other aspects of his life as well. As a sometimes-successful fisherman, he applies his business savvy to the natural world with varying degrees of luck. "I can reduce the variables, but I can't make the fish come to me," he said. When he's not donning a business suit or chasing fish, the 53-year-old husband and father grabs fresh air by windsurfing and coaching his daughter's soccer team.
For those looking to follow in his footsteps, he says find a good team. "Find people you respect intellectually and you enjoy being with every day," he said.
Mark Leuchtenberger
President and CEO, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Education: B.A., English, Wake Forest University, MBA Yale University
Quote: "Find people you respect intellectually and you enjoy being with every day."
Mark Leuchtenberger is a New England biotech figure with deep roots in the industry. But he didn't originally set out to be in the biotech sector or even in the business world at all.
Shortly after earning a degree in English from Wake Forest University, he worked at a scholarly publication before joining a public television station. After eight years, he wanted to reconcile his altruistic vision with a need to produce actual change for people. To pursue this goal, he earned his MBA at Yale University and went on to land a job as a senior consultant at Bain & Co.
"I just wanted to be more viscerally involved in changing people's lives," which brought him to the biotech sector, he said.
Soon, he was working as an executive at Biogen Inc. (now Biogen Idec Inc.), for what he describes as the 12 most transformational years of his life. He helped bring Avonex, a drug for treating multiple sclerosis, to market and later became the vice president of sales, marketing and business development. "Changing the treatment landscape for MS patients is very rewarding," he said. "To be a part of that was just a real blast."
After Biogen, he landed at Therion Biologics Corp., a company researching cancer vaccines, where he served as president and CEO. After a series of disappointing clinical trial results, Leuchtenberger joined Targanta Therapeutics, Inc., a company specializing in antibiotics to treat serious infections. He led Targanta to a successful IPO in 2007 and its acquisition by The Medicines Company in 2009.
The acquisition was a bumpy one, involving a suit brought against the company by its shareholders. The shareholders opposed the transaction, claiming that Leuchtenberger was not acting in their best interest.
In late March, New Haven, Conn.-based biotech company Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Inc. brought on Leuchtenberger to be its president and CEO, in charge of bringing a diverse portfolio of antibiotics to market. In a risky market made worse by economic factors, Leuchtenberger has a challenge before him. The key to success, he said, is to "let the biology speak."
"You have to work every day to eliminate any of the variables outside of the biology," he said. If you do that, he said, even if the project fails, your investors will understand that you did all you could.
Leuchtenberger tries to eliminate outside variables in other aspects of his life as well. As a sometimes-successful fisherman, he applies his business savvy to the natural world with varying degrees of luck. "I can reduce the variables, but I can't make the fish come to me," he said. When he's not donning a business suit or chasing fish, the 53-year-old husband and father grabs fresh air by windsurfing and coaching his daughter's soccer team.
For those looking to follow in his footsteps, he says find a good team. "Find people you respect intellectually and you enjoy being with every day," he said.