Jeremy Levin
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Ovid Therapeutics
Jeremy Levin, D.Phil, MB BChir, is co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ovid Therapeutics, a public company developing medicines for epilepsies and seizure-related disorders. He is concurrently chairman of Ceryvyn Therapeutics.
Before Ovid he was President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Prior to Teva he sat on the executive committee of Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was the architect and lead of the String of Pearls strategy. He came to Bristol from Novartis, where he was global head of strategic alliances. He has served on the boards of Biocon and Lundbeck, and has served on the board and executive committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, which he formerly chaired.
He earned a first-class degree in zoology and then a master’s degree and doctorate in chromatin structure at the University of Oxford, and his medical and surgical degrees at the University of Cambridge. He has practiced medicine at university hospitals in England, South Africa and Switzerland, and is the author of Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jeremy Levin
Who is Jeremy Levin?
Jeremy Levin is co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ovid Therapeutics, a public company developing medicines for epilepsies and seizure-related disorders. He has also served as chairman of Ceryvyn Therapeutics. He was previously President and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and before Teva he sat on the executive committee of Bristol-Myers Squibb.
What is Jeremy Levin known for at Bristol-Myers Squibb?
Jeremy Levin was the architect and lead of the String of Pearls strategy at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he sat on the executive committee. He came to Bristol-Myers Squibb from Novartis, where he was global head of strategic alliances. On Open Door Salon he described the napkin he wrote to force through the Medarex acquisition: “I, Jeremy Levin, will resign from Bristol-Myers Squibb in the event that the CTLA-4 trial does not succeed.”
What is Jeremy Levin’s academic and medical background?
Jeremy Levin earned a degree in zoology and then a master’s degree and a doctorate in chromatin structure at the University of Oxford. He took his medical and surgical degrees at the University of Cambridge, and he has practiced medicine at university hospitals in England, South Africa and Switzerland. He is the author of Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust.
Which boards has Jeremy Levin served on?
Jeremy Levin has served on the boards of Biocon and Lundbeck. He has also served on the board and executive committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, which he formerly chaired. His executive career has been at Ovid Therapeutics, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Novartis.
What does Jeremy Levin say about biotech capital?
Jeremy Levin holds that biotech innovation continues and relocates. On Open Door Salon he put it this way: “innovation won’t stop. It absolutely won’t. It’ll simply migrate.” He points to family offices as a source of biotech capital: “Their interest is novel, long term, and they’re making bets, not inconsiderable, and they should be considered.”
On Open Door Salon
“Sara Jane Demy and Jeremy Levin on Where Biotech Money Goes When Venture Capital Stops”
Sara Jane Demy & Jeremy Levin · August 19, 2026
Episode page & show notes on Open Door Salon
In this episode
- There's no other industry like this
- Introduction
- The troops without supplies
- What the war does to the industry
- Hormuz: plastics, fertilizer and food security
- Is China gaining from the war?
- Why CEOs now trust Chinese clinical data
- The question isn't if China leads, it's when
- What disruption did to the US innovation engine
- Innovation won't stop, it will migrate
- What gets repaired and what doesn't
- The A-B-C round model isn't there anymore
- Back to basics: be fearless
- Advice for people still inside government
- Is the foundation still standing?
- The hardest decision of your career
- The resignation written on a napkin
Topics
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