Leader of biotech grade group since June 2020 reportedly clashed with board

Biotechnology Innovation Organization CEO Michelle McMurry-Heath has resigned effective today, the group said in a statement, but will remain in an advisory capacity. Former board member Rachel King, co-founder and CEO of a biotech company, was named interim CEO. The board said in its statement that it would launch a search for McMurry-Heath's successor.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that McMurry-Heath was on leave, and that she was at odds with the board over the organization's direction and concern about its results.

BIO unsuccessfully opposed the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act, which contains various drug-pricing provisions, including allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for high-cost medications.

The board thanked McMurry-Heath in its Monday statement.

"The board of directors thanks Dr. McMurry-Heath for her service to BIO as CEO and appreciates her continued work with BIO in the months ahead," chair Paul Hastings said.

"Dr. McMurry-Heath has earned widespread admiration and recognition as a voice for the biotech industry, broadening awareness of key industry imperatives, such as supporting life-saving biotech innovation and overcoming the challenges of COVID-19, and advancing initiatives to increase diversity and inclusivity across the biotech industry," vice-chair Ted W. Love said in the statement.

The Journal reported that it had reviewed an email from McMurry-Heath to colleagues.

"Together we have tackled the goals of impacting policy, standing up for patients, raising the profile of BIO, weathering the pandemic, injecting the theme of social justice into the case for innovation and becoming the voice of science," the email stated, according to the Journal.

McMurry-Heath, a molecular immunologist, joined BIO in June 2020, making her the group's third chief executive since its founding in 1993. She succeeded longtime CEO and former congressman Jim Greenwood. McMurry-Heath was previously vice president of external innovation and global leader for regulatory science at pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer goods manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. She had also worked for the Food and Drug Administration.

BIO's total revenue was $77 million in 2020, according to the disclosure document it filed with the IRS