James C. "Jim" Mullen (born c. 1958) is an American business executive. He is the executive chairman at genome editing company Editas Medicine since 2018, where he served as CEO between 2021 and 2022. He was formerly the president and CEO of Biogen Idec until his retirement effective June 8, 2010, and later served as CEO of drug manufacturer Patheon from 2011 to August 29, 2017.
Education
Mullen holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration from Villanova University. He has been a trustee at Villanova since 2001.
Career
Biogen / Biogen Idec
Mullen joined Biogen in 1992 as Vice President of Operations, later becoming Vice President of International in 1996. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer and President in 1999, and became CEO in 2000. Following the merger of Biogen and Idec Pharmaceuticals in 2003, he became CEO of the combined entity, Biogen Idec. His tenure was marked by early success but later challenges, including a stagnant product pipeline. The multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri was pulled from the market in 2005 after being linked to a life-threatening brain infection; it returned in 2008 but generated $589 million, far below expectations. Activist investor Carl Icahn pushed for board changes, citing a decline in Biogen's stock from $66.61 to $47.63 over five years while Mullen received $60.8 million in total compensation. Mullen announced his retirement as CEO effective June 8, 2010.
Patheon
In 2011, Mullen was named CEO of Patheon, a contract pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Durham, North Carolina, and joined its board. He remained in that role until August 29, 2017.
Editas Medicine
Mullen became executive chairman of Editas Medicine, a genome editing company, in 2018. He served as its CEO from 2021 to 2022, after which he continued as executive chairman.
Advent International
Mullen was appointed as an operating partner at Advent International, a private equity firm, bringing over 40 years of biopharma industry experience.
