John M. York, PharmD, MBA
Principal & CEO, Akita Biomedical
Lead Instructor, Institute for the Global Entrepreneur (UCSD)
Adj. Prof, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (RUTGERS)
John M. York, PharmD, MBA brings 35 years in the biopharmaceutical business. After receiving his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Michigan, York was the first graduate of the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship program. He also completed his MBA at Kelley School of Business (Indiana University) and certificates in Life Science Business Management and Marketing through UC Berkeley. His industry career included increasing roles of responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, Allergan, and HDI. York has started three businesses: Akita Biomedical, MD Eyecare, and Ophthalmic Research and Education Consultants. His firm Akita, a 20-year-old medical communications and strategy firm, has engaged with various life science firms (from startups to large multinationals) via publication programs, advisory boards, education programs, market research, and business planning.
He has taught at the Orfalea College of Business (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), the Rady School of Management and Jacobs School of Engineering at UC, San Diego, and the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. York has served in faculty and mentor roles at Ahmedabad University (Amrut Mody School of Management), the University of Tsukuba, the ANHS ScaleUp HealthCare Academy, the Global Entrepreneurship Accelerator program for Korea, and the National Science Foundation I-CORPS™ program at UC, San Diego, and the Arab Academy program at Cal Poly.
His current teaching responsibilities include being the co-director of the capstone projects class for the translational medicine certificate program, lead instructor for the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur at UC, San Diego, and adjunct faculty at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship program. He currently serves on the scientific board for JD Biosciences.
He has authored over 43 publications (with 31 in business and entrepreneurship) personally, with over 160 (including 14 translational medicine articles) for various clients. His case study on CVS Health and the Amazon/PillPack challenge received an Emerald Publishing Literary Award for outstanding publication in 2022. A past associate editor of Cancer Control, he serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and Archives of Business Administration. As invited faculty, York has presented this last year at R&D Pharma, Bio International, MBC Labs, Rutgers University, and the University of Tsukuba/Kyoto Workshop. His Bio Startup Bootcamp presentation ended up as his fifth in the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, and his Tsukuba/Kyoto workshop as two new submissions to this journal.
York continues to pursue his doctorate in business administration at the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom, focusing on entrepreneurship and strategy.