Biotech executive John Crowley, considered a potential Republican U.S. Senate candidate next year, is transitioning at his company from CEO to executive chairman. The move is sure to set off speculation about a potential Crowley candidacy. In a press release yesterday, the Cranbury-based Amicus Therapeutics said Crowley is transitioning in order to “devote more time to interests related to...
John Crowley smiles during a 2008 interview at his home in Princeton. Crowley is founder and CEO of Amicus Theraputics, a pharmaceutical company he started to help find a cure for Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder that two of his three children have.Biotech executive John Crowley, considered a potential Republican U.S. Senate candidate next year, is transitioning at his company from CEO to executive chairman.
The move is sure to set off speculation about a potential Crowley candidacy.
In a press release yesterday, the Cranbury-based Amicus Therapeutics said Crowley is transitioning in order to “devote more time to interests related to public policy, civic service, and philanthropic endeavors.”
Crowley has never run for elected office, but considered seeking for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination to in 2008. Although he declined to run, he kept his name circulating by hosting a dinner cruise on the Mississippi River for state Republican bigwigs during that year’s GOP National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Many Republicans think Crowley would be a good candidate because of his life story, which was the basis of the 2010 film “Extraordinary Measures.” After his two youngest children were diagnosed with Pompe Disease, a rare and often fatal genetic disorder, Crowley left his job to take over a small biotech firm researching the disorder and raised more than $100 million for research. It eventually paid off with a treatment for his children.
Amicus Therapeutics said Crowley would stay in his new role until at least October 2011, with a possible extension of three months.