Hunter Jackson, PhD, Chairman and CEO

Dr. Jackson was a co-founder and served as Chairman and CEO of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPSP) from 1986 to 2006.  Three products were brought forward during Dr. Jackson's tenure at NPS. The company’s first product was Sensipar®, for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism and hypercalcemia.  It was launched in 2004, is marketed by Amgen in the U.S. and Europe, by Kyowa Hakko Kirin in Asia, and will generate sales of over $1 billion in 2011. NPS’s second product, Preotact®, an injectable synthetic hormone for osteoporosis, is marketed by Nycomed in the EU and has received an “approvable” letter from the FDA.  The company’s third product, Gattex™, an injectable peptide intended for the treatment of short bowel syndrome, successfully completed phase 3 clinical trials and NDA filing is expected in the fall of 2011.  Under Dr. Jackson's leadership at NPS, the company entered into major agreements with Pfizer, FMC, GlaxoSmithKline, Amgen, Kirin, Abbott, AstraZeneca, Allergan, and Nycomed.  Additionally, the company raised approximately $900 million dollars through a variety of public and private financings.

Dr. Jackson is a member of the Governing Authority of the Utah Science, Technology, and Research Economic Development Initiative (USTAR) and received the 1998 Ernst & Young Utah Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the 2002 Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology.

Dr. Jackson has a BA from the University of Illinois, a PhD in Psychobiology from Yale University, and did his postdoctoral work in the Neurosurgery Department at the University of Virginia Medical Center.