Milind Deshpande
co-founder & board chairman
spero therapeutics
Dr. Milind Deshpande is the co-founder and chairman of Spero Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotechnology company developing a novel and highly differentiated pipeline of antibacterials focused on unmet needs of patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
Previously, Dr. Deshpande was the president and chief executive officer of Achillion Pharmaceuticals. He joined Achillion Pharmaceuticals in September 2001 as vice president of chemistry. He was named head of drug discovery in April 2002, senior vice president of drug discovery in December 2002, senior vice president and chief scientific officer in December 2004, and executive vice president of research and chief scientific officer in June 2007. He was promoted to president of research and development in October 2010.
Prior to joining Achillion, Dr. Deshpande was associate director of lead discovery and early discovery chemistry at the Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1991 to 2001, where he managed the identification of new clinical candidates to treat infectious and neurological diseases. From 1988 to 1991, he held a faculty position at Boston University Medical School. Dr. Deshpande received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Ohio University, following his undergraduate education in India.