Introducing the Timothy P. Walbert Entrepreneurship Impact Award, a prestigious competition honoring an outstanding Illinois entrepreneur who exemplifies Tim Walbert’s commitment to patients, community, and business success. Join us for an unforgettable event where we’ll highlight the best life science startups in Illinois and present the winner of the Timothy P. Walbert Entrepreneurship Impact Award Competition with a cash prize of up to $100,000.

John Crowley, CEO, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

John F. Crowley is the President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotechnology advocacy organization. Crowley, a longtime BIO board member, was most recently the Founder and Executive Chairman of Amicus Therapeutics, a global biotechnology company focusing on developing treatments for rare genetic diseases. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Amicus from 2005 to 2022.

John’s decades of biotech experience and deep passion for the field have made him a strong supporter of policies that empower innovation, enable entrepreneurship, and put people and patients first. His involvement with biotechnology stems from the 1998 diagnosis of two of his children with Pompe disease—a severe and often fatal neuromuscular disorder. In his drive to find a cure for them, John left his position at Bristol Myers Squibb and became an entrepreneur as the Co-founder, President and CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a biotech start-up conducting research on a new experimental treatment for Pompe disease (which he credits as ultimately saving his children’s lives). In 2001, Novazyme was acquired by Genzyme Corporation, where John continued to play a lead role in the development of a drug for Pompe disease as Senior Vice President, Genzyme Therapeutics.

John and his family have been profiled numerous times on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and are the subjects of a book by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Geeta Anand, “The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million-And Bucked the Medical Establishment-In a Quest to Save His Children.” The 2010 major motion picture, Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford and Keri Russell, is inspired by the Crowley family journey. John is the author of a personal memoir: “Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope, and Joy.”