Jeremy Levin

Jeremy Levin (Hebrew: ג'רמי לוין; born 1954) is a South African-born biopharmaceutical executive and medical doctor. In 2018, one publication put him among the most influential figures in the biopharmaceutical industry;^[1] in 2023, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th Annual Scrip Awards in London.^[2]

Jeremy Levin
ג'רמי לוין
Born	1954 (age 70–71) South Africa
Alma mater	Oxford University, Cambridge University
Occupation(s)	Chairman and CEO, Ovid Therapeutics Inc
Spouse	Margery Feldberg (m. 1987)
Children	2
Parent	Leah Levin

Biography

Jeremy Levin was born in South Africa, where his family had a farm, De Hoek Farm, in Piketberg, Western Cape. His father Archie (died 1977) was a political journalist. His mother, Leah Levin (died 2024), was an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex^[3] and was appointed OBE for services to international human rights in 2001. She served on the board of the United Nations Association, Anti-Slavery and International Alert, and was director of JUSTICE from 1982 to 1992.^[4] Ms. Levin also served on Boards of Redress, Readers International, and the International Journal of Human Rights.^[5] She is the author of UNESCO's Human Rights: Questions and Answers, one the world's widely disseminated books on human rights.^[6] He is the brother of David and sister Michal Levin.^[7]

After the Sharpeville massacre, Levin's family left South Africa and moved to Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe).^{[citation needed]} In 1965, his father was given a day to leave the country.^{[citation needed]} The family arrived in Britain knowing nobody, settling in London. Levin attended Holland Park School,^[8] then matriculated at Wadham College, University of Oxford, where he gained a First Class BA Honors degree in zoology, and a Master of Arts (MA) and doctorate (DPhil) in cell biology and chromatin structure from the Oxford University's Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. He subsequently received an MB, BChir degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) from the University of Cambridge.

Before entering business, Levin practised medicine, working at university hospitals including the Hammersmith Hospital in London, Groote Schuur in Cape Town, South Africa and Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1986, Levin came to America, where he has worked in the biopharmaceutical industry. While living in Washington, D.C., Levin met Margery Feldberg, daughter of Stanley Feldberg, co-founder of TJX Companies. They married in September 1987 and have two daughters.^[9] He has lived in New Milford, Connecticut, since the 1980s, where he and his wife own De Hoek Farm and raise Black Angus cows.^[10]

Business career

Levin is the chairman and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics Inc.^[11][12], which is developing targeted small-molecule therapies that seek to reduce seizures with fewer side effects. It is also working on drugs to restore neuronal homeostasis, targeting conditions such as epilepsy and cerebral cavernous malformation.

Before joining Ovid, Levin served as president and CEO of Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA), one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.^[13][14] Previously, he was a member of the executive committee of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), where he had global responsibilities for strategy, alliances and transactions.^[15] In this role, he devised and led BMY's “String of Pearls” business development strategy. Levin acquired Medarex Inc. in July 2009, turning BMY into a leader in immunooncology.^[16][17][18] Prior to this, Levin was head of global business development and strategic alliances at Novartis (NYSE: NVS), and previously served as chairman and CEO of Cadus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.^[19][20]

Levin serves as the chairman of the board of OPTHEA and is on the board of directors at Graviton and Gensaic.^[21][22][23] Levin was elected chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in 2019; he has since stepped down.^[24]

Levin frequently speaks at biopharmaceutical conferences about companies' relationships with patients, innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry, expanding mergers and acquisitions, globalising the biopharmaceutical industry, and propelling interface of the digital health and biopharmaceutical industries and leaders. In a 2018 speech at the Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA Program in Tel Aviv, Levin described how emerging leaders in shape the future of healthcare and technology.^[25][26] At the Keck Graduate Institute’s (KGI) 25 Years of Innovation Speaker Series, he discussed “the Innovation Symphony” and values that are crucial for the future of biomedical innovation.^[27]

Levin wrote the first book on the biotechnology industry's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Biotechnology in the Time of Covid-19: Commentaries from the Front Line.^[28] The book includes commentaries from industry leaders about their experiences during the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of biotechnology in responding to global health crises.

Social and political activism

Levin is a social and political activist. He has been an outspoken advocate for developing and sustaining democracy in the United States, Israel, and other parts of the world. Levin has spoken against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Levin has spoken against Hamas and in relation to its attacks on Israel.

Levin has been an advocate for women's rights, particularly in the healthcare sector. He was involved in the legal battle surrounding mifepristone, a medication used in medical abortions, when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court.^[29]

Awards and recognition

In 2012, FierceBiotech called him one of the most influential people in biopharma.^[30]

Levin has received awards, including:

• The Kermode Prize for work on novel hypertension drugs^[31]
• The Albert Einstein Award for Leadership in Life Sciences^[32]
• The B'nai B'rith Award for Distinguished Achievement for commitment to improving global health care^[33]
• The Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary^[34]
• Scrip's Lifetime Achievement Award^[35]
• PharmaVoice Red Jacket^[36] and Legacy Leader^[37]