Novato, Ca., USA - September 23, 2010, Novato, Ca., USA - BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced the appointment of William D. Young and Kenneth M. Bate to its board of directors.
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Mr. Young is a Venture Partner at Clarus Ventures of San Francisco and Boston. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Biogen Idec in January 2010 and began serving as a Director of IDEC Pharmaceuticals in 1997. From 1999 to October 2009, Mr. Young was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Monogram Biosciences, Inc., a pioneer in the field of personalized medicine. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Young served as Chief Operating Officer of Genentech, Inc.
Mr. Young joined Genentech in 1980 as Director of Manufacturing and Process Sciences and became Vice President in 1983. He was promoted to various positions and, in 1997, became Chief Operating Officer, taking on responsibility for all development, operations and sales and marketing activities. Prior to joining Genentech, Mr. Young was with Eli Lilly & Co. for 14 years.
Mr. Young holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and a M.B.A. from Indiana University and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue University. He is also a Director of Theravance, Inc. Mr. Young was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1993 for his contributions to biotechnology.
Mr. Bate is President and Chief Executive Officer of Archemix, a privately-held biotechnology company engaged in discovering and developing aptamer therapeutics to treat chronic and acute diseases. From 2006 to 2009 Mr. Bate was with NitroMed, Inc., most recently as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. From 2002 to 2005 he was with Millennium Pharmaceuticals where he was chief financial officer and headed the firm's commercial organization.
Prior to Millennium, Mr. Bate co-founded JSB Partners, a banking and advisory services firm for biopharmaceutical and life sciences companies. From 1990 to 1996 he was with Biogen, Inc first as chief financial officer then as head of the commercial organization responsible for launching its multiple sclerosis business. ■