Elliott Sigal has served as chief scientific officer and president of R&D since October 2004. He was appointed executive vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb in November 2006 and is a member of the company's Senior Management Team. Elliott was elected to the Board of Directors effective March 1, 2011.

"Our commitment to help patients prevail in their fight against serious disease sets the framework for everything we do,” Elliott says. "It's the driver behind our BioPharma strategy."

Under Elliott’s leadership, 13 new products have been brought to market including medicines to treat diseases including cancer, serious mental illness, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, rheumatoid arthritis, solid organ transplant rejection, cardiovascular disease and metabolics.

Elliott joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in November 1997 as vice president of the newly created department of Applied Genomics. In October 1999, he became senior vice president for Early Discovery and Applied Technology. He was named head of Drug Discovery & Exploratory Development in January 2001. Prior to his current role, Elliott served as senior vice president of Global Clinical and Pharmaceutical Development and co-chair of the Brand Development Operating Committee.

Elliott has more than 25 years of combined experience in medicine, research and management. In 1992 he joined the pharmaceutical company Syntex and held positions of increasing responsibility in drug discovery. In 1995 he joined the genomics firm Mercator Genetics as vice president of R&D. While there he provided the research leadership that resulted in the discovery of the gene for hemochromatosis -- one of the most common genetic diseases in the U.S. in which the body absorbs too much iron and can lead to liver, heart or pancreas failure.

"The first patient I admitted as an intern had AIDS. At that time, we didn't know what it was, but it was nearly always fatal. Today, HIV/AIDS has been transformed into a chronic, more manageable illness. We should be proud of what we have accomplished as a company and an industry, not only for patients with HIV/AIDS, but for people with many other serious diseases. Every day, we have the potential to touch the lives of millions of people."

Elliott received his medical degree from the University of Chicago in 1981 and trained in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he also received his research training at the Cardiovascular Research Institute. He served on the faculty of the UCSF Department of Medicine from 1988 to 1992. Prior to medical school Elliott studied engineering and management at Purdue University, where he received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science, and his Ph.D.

October 2012