Dr. Leonard Bell is the Chief Executive Officer and principal founder of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Under his leadership, Alexion has grown to become a leading global biopharmaceutical company with fully integrated research, discovery, development, commercial and manufacturing capabilities.
Dr. Bell brings a unique combination of scientific, clinical and business skills to Alexion. He is one of the Alexion scientists that developed the first in a new class of therapies to inhibit terminal complement, a protein that regulates the body's immune response. He played a critical role in the regulatory submission, approval and introduction of Soliris® (eculizumab), the company's first product, in 2007. He continues to guide the company's expansion into major markets worldwide, as well as its ongoing research and development programs focused on hematological diseases, cancer and autoimmune disorders. Dr. Bell led Alexion through an initial public offering in 1996, and he has secured financing totaling approximately $800 million to fund development and operations since the company's inception in 1992. Today, Alexion is a profitable, rapidly growing global biopharmaceutical firm.
Drawing on his experience as a practicing physician, Dr. Bell has fostered a corporate culture focused first and foremost on patients. Every day, Alexion employees work with a sense of urgency to develop and deliver life-changing therapies to patients with severe, life-threatening and often rare diseases. The company is committed to the objective that each patient who needs treatment should receive access to it.
Prior to founding Alexion, Dr. Bell was an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pathology and co-Director of the Program in Vascular Biology at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Bell also served as an attending physician at the Yale-New Haven Hospital. He remains on the faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pathology.
Dr. Bell's work has resulted in more than 20 scientific publications and nine patent applications. On behalf of Alexion, he accepted one of the pharmaceutical industry's highest honors, the Prix Galien USA 2008 Award for Best Biotechnology Product for Soliris. He has been recognized with numerous academic and professional accolades, including the Physician Scientist Award from the National Institutes of Health and Grant-in-Aid from the American Heart Association. Dr. Bell received his bachelor's degree from Brown University and M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine.