Ron Cohen on corporate culture
From Amplifying Scientific Innovation® Video Podcast with Dr. Ron Cohen, CEO, Acorda Therapeutics · · TheSophiaConsultingFirm
“Everyone in this company is practicing medicine — I tell that to everyone, whether you're on the administrative staff, a lawyer or in finance: consider that you're practicing medicine with all of the privilege but also responsibility that that entails; that means you always think about what is best for the patient along with the other sometimes conflicting responsibilities of being a public company.”
On , Ron Cohen, Former CEO at Acorda Therapeutics, spoke about corporate culture during Amplifying Scientific Innovation® Video Podcast with Dr. Ron Cohen, CEO, Acorda Therapeutics on TheSophiaConsultingFirm.
About Ron Cohen
In a March 2022 podcast interview, Ron Cohen, then President, CEO, and Founder of Acorda Therapeutics, discussed the company's history and challenges. He stated that the company lost its patents on the drug Ampyra after a judge overturned them, a decision he described as "capricious" and "unfair," noting the same patents were upheld in Europe. He said the company subsequently lost most of its revenue from the drug and had to restructure multiple times. Cohen also described the launch of an inhaled form of levodopa for Parkinson's disease in March 2019, which he called a "vital drug," but said commercial and reimbursement challenges followed the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cohen shared his perspective on company culture, stating that everyone at the company should consider themselves as "practicing medicine" with a responsibility to prioritize what is best for the patient. He also recounted the creation of a spoof Twitter handle, "ron cohen's hair," which he said became a "little piece of biotech history." On diversity and inclusion, Cohen said it "needs to be done locally at every company" and that leadership teams need to "get religion about this," while cautioning against creating resentment.