John F. Crowley
Subject of Extraordinary Measures
John Crowley is an American entrepreneur and a true inspiration. He is presently the Chairman & CEO of Amicus Therapeutics..
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John Crowley is an American entrepreneur and a true inspiration. He is presently the Chairman & CEO of Amicus Therapeutics, based in Cranbury, N.J. Amicus is a $3 Billion, 600 person publicly held biopharmaceutical company working on the development of drugs to treat a range of human genetic diseases. His involvement in the biotech industry goes back over a decade and stems from the 1998 diagnosis of his two youngest children, Megan and Patrick, with Pompe disease: a rare and fatal neuromuscular disorder. Crowley embarked on his journey as an entrepreneur to find a treatment that would save his kids’ lives – and the lives of thousands of others.
Following their diagnosis in 1998, Megan and Patrick were given just months to live. Frustrated with the pace of Pompe research, and wanting to do whatever he and his family could to change the course of their children’s prognosis, Crowley walked away from it all as he quit his job as a marketing director at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Crowley traveled the world over, competing against time as well as business, medical, and scientific establishments that were slow to move and even slower to accept his hard-charging determination.
Grasping at one last hope, he helped to co-found in 2000 a five-person start-up biotech company called Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, focused exclusively on developing a treatment for Pompe. In less than a year, the company went from $1 million angel investor financing to $27 million in venture capital financing, and was then acquired for nearly $200 million by Genzyme Corporation. On January 9, 2003, Patrick and Megan began to receive an experimental enzyme therapy developed by Genzyme that has saved their lives. They continue to fight the battle against Pompe one day at a time.
Crowley and his wife of 20 years, Aileen, are the authors of a personal memoir of their family’s journey: Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope and Joy.
The Crowley family has been featured on the cover of The Wall Street Journal; on The Today Show and numerous other TV shows; and is the subject of a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geeta Anand, The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million – And Bucked the Medical Establishment – In a Quest to Save His Children. A major motion picture inspired by Anand’s book and the Crowley family entitled Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford and Keri Russell, was released in theaters nationwide in 2010. In 2011, the Crowley family was the recipient of the Family Exemplar Award from the University of Notre Dame. John travels the country as a sought-after inspirational speaker sharing the extraordinary story of his family’s fight against Pompe.
A commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Crowley is assigned to the United States Special Operations Command and is a veteran of the global war on terrorism, with service in Afghanistan. He graduated with a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard. He is also a member of the University Council on Science & Technology at Notre Dame, serves on the executive committee of the National Board of Directors of the Make A Wish Foundation of America, and is a founding Board member of the Global Genes Project. Crowley is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
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MEDTRONIC
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BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
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SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
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GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
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WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
Risk & Innovation: Reflections on Drug Research
Chasing Miracles: When Drug Research Is Personal
Never, Never, Never Quit: Lessons from an Entrepreneur
Videos
Neuman College Commencement Speech - John F. Crowley
Amicus Therapeutics - John F. Crowley
Books
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