Biotech CEO Sisterhood: Named CEO of Acadia Pharmaceuticals in September, Catherine Owen Adams describes taking the leap from a career in 'pharma' to running an independent, commercial stage biotech

Interviewed by Sisterhood editorial board member Julia Owens, Catherine Owen Adams shares her career journey, and discusses the perceived and real differences between pharma and biotech. She introduces us to Acadia Pharmaceuticals and talks about what it has been like in the job so far.

Biographies

Catherine Owen Adams joined Acadia Pharmaceuticals as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors in September 2024.

Ms. Owen Adams brings over 30 years of executive-level experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Acadia, she served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S., at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where she led a $20 billion commercial business, overseeing a broad and diverse portfolio of promoted brands across Oncology, Cardiovascular, and Immunology. Before that, she held the role of Senior Vice President, Head of Major Markets at BMS, where she led commercial operations across 19 countries in Europe, Japan, and Canada, managing 6,000 employees during BMS’s merger with Celgene.

Her 25-year tenure at Johnson & Johnson encompassed a range of leadership positions across global, U.S., and European markets. Beginning in 2018, she served as President of Janssen Immunology U.S., where she led the successful launch of groundbreaking treatments for Crohn’s disease and psoriasis, and also directed the development of Johnson & Johnson’s biosimilars strategy. Prior to that, she was President of the U.S. Infectious Diseases business, where she oversaw key pipeline assets in HIV, RSV, Influenza, and Hepatitis B. Throughout her career at Johnson & Johnson, Ms. Owen Adams built deep expertise across marketing, sales, R&D, and venture operations, spanning both pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

She began her pharmaceutical career at AstraZeneca, starting in manufacturing. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Manchester and is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (MRPharmS) as well as the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Ms. Owen Adams currently serves on the Board of Directors of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, and AssistRx, a privately held healthcare technology company. She previously served on the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Compensation Committee for Optinose PLC, a publicly held specialty pharmaceutical company, and was a board member of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospitals, a nonprofit healthcare organization.

Her career is distinguished by a steadfast commitment to business excellence, diversity and inclusion, and women’s leadership. She was recognized as a Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Luminary in 2019 and was inducted into the 2022 MM+M Hall of Femme.

Dr. Julia C. Owens is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive and board member with over 25 years of experience, who currently works with multiple biotech companies and venture capital firms. She is founding CEO of Verto Therapeutics, an early-stage drug discovery company. She is also Chairman of Sena Therapeutics, a women’s health company, and an advisor to GV (Google Ventures), specializing in women’s health investments. Additionally, she is a board member for EVOQ Therapeutics and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). She serves on the Leadership Council of the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute and the Investment Advisory Board of the Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund.

​Her previous roles include CEO of Ananke Therapeutics and nearly a decade as founder and CEO of Millendo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MLND). Earlier in her career, she held senior roles in business and corporate development at Tularik Inc., QuatRx Pharmaceuticals, and Lycera Corp.. Dr. Owens holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, and a B.S. in Chemistry and B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Dedicated to empowering female leadership, Dr. Owens co-founded the Biotech CEO Sisterhood to support and advance women in the biotech sector.