Who is Scott Johnson?

In 1976, Scott Johnson was a college senior at the University of California-Davis studying Civil Engineering. In that same year, at the age of 20, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. At that time, he was told it would be 30-50 years before there was a cure for MS. If he were diagnosed today, he would be told the same thing.

In 2002, after a successful career as a business consultant and serial entrepreneur, Johnson decided to take on the medical research establishment by devising a business model that would speed basic research and engage commercial biopharma to deliver a myelin repair treatment for MS in record time.

By deconstructing the processes involved in funding basic research, drug discovery and drug development, Johnson was able to reconstruct a leaner, faster model that engaged academic scientists in collaborative, clinically relevant research, and synched up his labs with biopharma partners to validate and commercialize their discoveries. While many believe that more dollars will bring faster treatments and cures, Johnson disagrees. What matters says Johnson is spending smart and managing the process to ensure results.

In five years, not only has Johnson’s Myelin Repair Foundation team of academic scientists demonstrated that myelin can be repaired in animal models of multiple sclerosis, but the MRF has also proven that basic medical research can be effectively accelerated to benefit patients who can’t afford to wait.

The Myelin Repair Foundation’s work has gained the attention of mainstream media as well as some 70 other disease research foundations who want to learn more about how the model can accelerate their own research programs. In 2006, Johnson was recognized by Scientific American as one of 50 science, technology and policy leaders. In 2010, a class of Harvard Business School students will be studying the Foundation’s case and looking for new ideas for ratcheting up the foundation’s already impressive results.

Prior to founding the MRF, Johnson led three startup companies and served as an executive at FMC Corporation and the Boston Consulting Group.