Entrepreneur Jim Mullen ’80 Will Talk About Jobs in Biotechnology

Troy, N.Y. — James Mullen ’80, president and CEO of Biogen Inc., will offer advice to students, scientists, and aspiring entrepreneurs seeking careers in biotechnology on Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Heffner Alumni House.

The event is free and open to the public.

Mullen will discuss the evolution of the biotech field, identify career opportunities, and discuss future trends. The lecture, titled “The Forest and the Trees: My Perspective on the Biotechnology Industry,” is the second in Rensselaer’s Biotechnology Management and Entrepreneurship Seminar Series. It is sponsored by Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management and Technology and the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, and co-marketed by the Center for Economic Growth and the New York Biotechnology Association.

Mullen’s global pharmaceutical company genetically engineers and distributes AVONEX, or Interferon beta-1a, a groundbreaking drug that treats relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The corporation’s focus on biology research has enabled it to develop products relating to an array of related disorders, from severe forms of psoriasis (a chronic skin condition), to rheumatoid arthritis, to a range of autoimmune diseases.

“Jim Mullen is a leading expert in the biotechnology industry who — with his experience and knowledge-can speak about trends and the future of the field, and then place them in perspective,” said Shreefal Mehta, a Rensselaer research assistant professor and the series organizer. “Anyone who wants to learn about career development and technology in biotech should definitely attend.”

Mullen graduated from Rensselaer in 1980 with a bachelor’s of science degree in chemical engineering, and went on to take several positions at SmithKline (now GlaxoSmithKline). He left his successful career there to get in on the ground floor of the manufacturing and distribution of AVONEX for Biogen in 1989.

For more information on the series, visit http://scte.mgmt.rpi.edu/bioentrepseries/index.html or contact Mehta at 276-2852 or mehtas@rpi.edu.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A