Legends lost: 2021’s departed comprise an industry dream team 

Remembering the foundational leaders who shaped an ecosystem of innovation

The banker. The lawyer. The visionary. The teacher. The chemists. The CEO who helped put biotech on Washington’s radar. More than a half dozen leaders whose accomplishments helped shape the industry’s foundation passed on last year, but their legacies will endure in the generation they trained and the examples they set.

Frederick Frank, one of the founding fathers of biotech investment banking, transformed the sector by constructing the first Genentech-Roche deal.

Alan Mendelson, the fiercely loyal biopharma counsel, was a mentor to biotech lawyers, CEOs and VCs.

John Martin, the visionary leader, transformed Gilead from a fledgling antisense company into an antiviral pathfinder whose drugs turned HIV into a manageable condition and cured HCV.

Tachi Yamada, who served at the highest levels of leadership among global pharmaceutical companies, global health non-profits and venture, was most of all a teacher.

Richard Lerner, the longtime president of Scripps Research and recipient of “Spain’s Nobel,” revolutionized the field of antibody development and cut the trail for some of the best-selling drugs in history.

Another chemist, Robert Grubbs, won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the olefin metathesis method in organic synthesis.

G. Kirk Raab, who led Genentech at a pivotal point in the company’s history, helped put biotech on the map in Washington.

The paths they forged helped create the foundations on which thousands of innovators are creating the drugs that will benefit the patients of tomorrow. In this package, BioCentury delves into each of their stories.