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Dr. Birnbaum is cofounder of Achillion Pharmaceuticals and has served as the company’s Senior Vice President of Research since February 2000. He is an acknowledged industry leader for his successful management of an array of major drug discovery and development programs. Dr. Birnbaum most recently was the Senior Vice President for Strategic R&D Operations for Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute from 1998 to 2000. Previously, he served as the Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development, the largest division of the BMS organization, from 1990 to 1998. Dr. Birnbaum also served as the Executive Vice President for all therapeutic areas in the Bristol-Myers Pharmaceutical Research Division where he was responsible for a broad range of programs including infectious diseases, oncology, neurosciences, cardiovascular and dermatology. During this period he spearheaded the successful early development of ddI, d4T, cefepime and cefprozil. Prior to BMS, he was a Vice President in the Merck Research Laboratories for several years and was involved in the discovery of many important infectious disease therapies including cefoxitin, norfloxacin, imipenem and ivermectin. Dr. Birnbaum has received numerous awards including the Selman A. Waksman Award, the Merck Board of Directors Scientific Award for development of the ivermectin family of antiparasitic drugs, and the Daniel Drake Medal from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. In recognition of his contributions to antimicrobial chemotherapy Dr. Birnbaum was elected Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology in 2000. Dr. Birnbaum is a founding member of the Advisory Council of the Harvard University Malaria Initiative and a Trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation in New Brunswick, NJ. Dr. Birnbaum holds doctoral and masters degrees in microbial physiology and genetics from the University of Cincinnati and an undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. | 