John F. Crowley

John Crowley has never, never, never quit. When two of his young children were diagnosed with Pompe disease, a rare and fatal neuromuscular disorder that affects only several thousand children worldwide, Crowley defied the odds of survival and embarked on a journey to find a cure, parlaying his personal struggle into a professional juggernaut.

His dramatic and unprecedented achievements in the biotech industry inspired the feature film Extraordinary Measures, starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, and Keri Russell. Crowley's powerful story "emotionally grabbed" the iconic Ford, leading him to personally champion the film as executive producer and ensure the movie's message was properly heard.

Traveling the world over, competing against time, Crowley located a scientist developing an enzyme therapy for Pompe. Grasping at this last hope, he quit his job, took out a $100,000 home equity loan and founded Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a five-person startup biotech company zeroing in on the drug.

Crowley raised over $27 million in less than a year for Novazyme. The firm quickly grew to a 100-person company and Genzyme acquired it for $225 million, one of the largest amounts ever paid for a preclinical drug development company in biotech history. He watched in awe as his own children began receiving potentially lifesaving therapy.

Crowley's emotion-packed presentations inspire all audiences to truly do whatever it takes, regardless of the odds, to reach their goals. He also talks to business, entrepreneurial, and technical audiences on the themes of risk and innovation. Now Executive Chairman of Amicus Therapeutics, Crowley continues to guide emerging biotech companies, inspiring them to seek out opportunity and reach unprecedented success.

The Crowley family's personal memoir, Chasing Miracles, is an inspiring story of what it means to fight and overcome phenomenal odds for your children. It is a journey about hope, learning, life, and love.