John LaMattina

John LaMattina, PhD, is a senior partner at PureTech Health and was previously President of Pfizer Global Research and Development and Senior Vice President of Pfizer, Inc. During his 30 year career at Pfizer Inc., Dr. LaMattina held positions of increasing responsibility for Pfizer Central Research, including Vice President of US Discovery Operations in 1993, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Discovery Operations in 1998 and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Development in 1999.

During Dr. LaMattina’s leadership tenure Pfizer discovered and/or developed a number of important new medicines including Tarceva, Chantix, Zoloft (PTSD), Selzentry and Lyrica along with a number of other medicines currently in late stage development for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and pain. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and U.S. patents. In addition, Dr. LaMattina is the author of “Drug Truths: Dispelling the Myths About Pharma R&D”. Dr. LaMattina received the 1998 Boston College Alumni Award of Excellence in Science and the 2004 American Diabetes Association Award for Leadership and Commitment in the Fight Against Diabetes. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire in 2007.

In 2010 he was the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management. Dr. LaMattina received a B.S. in Chemistry from Boston College in 1971, and received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1975.

He then moved on to Princeton University as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Professor E. C. Taylor. Dr. LaMattina serves on the Board of Directors of PureTech Health, Ziarco Pharmaceuticals, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Vedanta Biosciences, is Chairman of the Board of Gelesis, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Trevena pharmaceuticals. He is the author of Devalued and Distrusted – Can the pharmaceutical industry restore its broken image? and an author of the Drug Truths blog at Forbes.com.