Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) announced that CEO and Co-Founder Sheila Mikhail received an award from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business for outstanding professional achievement. As a 1993 finance MBA graduate with honors, Mikhail was recognized with the 2022 Entrepreneurial Award.
“This 2022 Entrepreneurial Award is meaningful as the Booth School of Business is a top-ranked business school,” said Mikhail. “The recognition is a reflection of the accomplishments that could not be possible without the support of a world-class team at AskBio. We continue to advance our research, clinical candidates and manufacturing capabilities.”
An accomplished biotech leader
Mikhail earned a JD with honors from Northwestern University, a finance MBA with honors from the University of Chicago and a BS with highest honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She co-founded AskBio in 2001 with Dr. R. Jude Samulski, who is one of the leading pioneers of AAV gene therapy technology. Since co-founding AskBio, and under the leadership of Mikhail, the company, including its manufacturing facilities, has grown to employ over 700 biotech professionals operating in five countries.
Eighteen months after closing a Series A funding round of $235 million in April 2019, Mikhail orchestrated a $4 billion acquisition by Bayer AG in October 2020. Under Mikhail’s leadership, AskBio is flourishing. The company features an expansive gene therapy technology toolbox, three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in San Sebastian Spain and a robust therapeutic pipeline, all at various clinical stages, to treat Pompe Disease, Limbe Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple System Atrophy, Congestive Heart Failure, Huntington’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.
Booth School of Business Alumni Award
“In my view, Sheila is one of the most accomplished Biotech executives in the industry,” commented Dr. Samulski, AskBio’s Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “The 2022 Entrepreneurial Award by University of Chicago Booth School of Business is a testament of her unparalleled business acumen combined with her significant command of genetic science”
The Distinguished Alumni awards are only available to graduates of Chicago Booth. The Entrepreneurial Award is in recognition of a person who has demonstrated professional achievement of the highest caliber in the management and formation of a successful enterprise and received accolades from colleagues and peers for outstanding leadership and administrative abilities.
About AskBio
Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a wholly-owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, is a fully integrated gene therapy company. It remains dedicated to developing life-saving medicines that cure genetic diseases. AskBio maintains a portfolio of clinical programs across a range of neuromuscular, central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic disease indications with a clinical-stage pipeline. It includes therapeutics for Pompe disease, Parkinson’s disease and congestive heart failure. With global headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and European headquarters in Edinburgh, UK, the company has generated hundreds of proprietary capsids and promoters, several of which have entered clinical testing. Founded in 2001 and an early innovator in the gene therapy field, the company holds more than 750 patents. This includes areas such as AAV production and chimeric and self-complementary capsids. Learn more at www.askbio.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services support efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability, and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, visit www.bayer.com.
Read another female founder‘s success story in the life science field on Lioness.
Add Comment