Catherine Owen Adams

Bio:

Catherine Owen Adams has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a member of the Board of Directors of Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD) since September 2024. Acadia, a biopharmaceutical company committed to turning scientific promise into meaningful innovation for underserved neurological and rare disease communities around the world, pioneered and commercialized NUPLAZID®, the first and only approved therapy for hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis, and DAYBUE™, the first and only approved treatment for Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. The company is now driving global expansion of DAYBUE™ and advancing a portfolio of new medicines targeting Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, Lewy body dementia psychosis, major depressive disorder, essential tremor and others. 

Ms. Owen Adams brings more than 30 years of executive experience in the global biopharmaceutical industry to her role as Acadia’s CEO. Prior to joining the company, she served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S. at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where she led a $20 billion commercial organization, responsible for a diverse portfolio spanning Oncology, Cardiovascular, and Immunology. Earlier, as Senior Vice President, Head of Major Markets at BMS, she managed operations across 19 countries in Europe, Japan, and Canada, leading 6,000 employees through the BMS–Celgene integration and subsequently launching nine new therapies across multiple regions, including in oncology, CAR-T, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and rare cardiovascular disease.

Before BMS, Ms. Owen Adams spent 25 years at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), where she held numerous leadership positions across global, U.S., and European markets. She served as President, U.S. Immunology, leading the launches of transformative therapies for Crohn’s disease and psoriasis, and earlier as President, U.S. Infectious Diseases, overseeing pipeline programs in HIV, RSV, influenza, and hepatitis B. Across her tenure at J&J, she built deep expertise spanning commercial strategy, marketing, sales, R&D, and venture operations in both pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Ms. Owen Adams began her pharmaceutical career in R&D and manufacturing at AstraZeneca in the United Kingdom. Ms. Owen Adams holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Pharmacy from the University of Manchester, is a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (MRPharmS), and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO), Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company; AssistRx, a privately held healthcare technology firm; and is the Chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Emerging Companies Section. Recognized for her commitment to business excellence, inclusion, and women’s leadership, she was honored as an HBA Luminary (2019) and inducted into the MM+M Hall of Femme (2022).