Ron Cohen on venture financing
From Amplifying Scientific Innovation® Video Podcast with Dr. Ron Cohen, CEO, Acorda Therapeutics · · TheSophiaConsultingFirm
“It took five years to get venture financing — we bootstrapped and ultimately raised about eight million dollars in the first five years — and it took us 15 years from that point to get our first drug developed and approved.”
On , Ron Cohen, Former CEO at Acorda Therapeutics, spoke about venture financing 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.