About Us > Governance > John Babich

John Babich, PhD

President and CEO Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dr. Babich is president and chief scientific officer at Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, as well as a member of the Board of Directors.  He is currently serving as interim CEO and Chairman.

A founder of the company in 1997, Dr. Babich oversees research and development and has led the scientific and clinical development strategies since its inception. This includes the development of its radiochemistry platform technologies, building its intellectual property portfolio and attracting key scientists to the company.

In addition to his scientific leadership, Dr. Babich was a key member of the management team that brought the company public in February 2007. Prior to that, he was instrumental in raising capital from private investors and granting agencies in support of its research and development activities. He was also instrumental in in-licensing key technologies from academic institutions and late stage product candidates from pharma worldwide.

Dr. Babich has been an active researcher in the field of molecular imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy for the past 25 years. His current research efforts focus on molecular imaging in cardiovascular disease and oncology and the application of radiolabeled small molecules for systemic radiotherapy of cancer. His research experience includes the study of tumor blood flow, the development of monoclonal antibodies for detection of breast and colorectal cancer using gamma and positron emitting isotopes, the study of novel small molecules for targeted therapy of neuroblastoma, the development of radiolabeled peptides for the detection of infection and cancer, the use of positron emission tomography for the study of drug behavior in humans and the development of novel enzyme inhibitors for targeting prostate and other cancers.

In addition, he has worked closely with several academic colleagues, internationally, to develop new and innovative radiolabeling technologies for molecular imaging and therapy applications. He has published more than 100 research articles in a variety of peer-reviewed journals as well as several book chapters and invited reviews. He is inventor or co-inventor of 14 issued patents and several pending patents. He is also co-inventor of a cardiac imaging product currently marketed by Mallinckrodt-TycoHealthcare, Inc. as Ultra-Tag.

Prior to joining Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Babich was assistant professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and staff radiopharmaceutical chemist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, Mass. At MGH, he worked with various pharmaceutical companies using positron emission tomography (PET) to gain knowledge on new drug candidates in both preclinical and clinical studies. Before joining MGH, he was principal scientist and head of the Radiopharmaceutical Section at the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital in England. He also held positions at Baylor College of Medicine/The Methodist Hospital and NASA/Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas, and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Dr. Babich recently served as president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine's Radiopharmaceutical Science Council. He received a B.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from St. John's University, New York, an M.Sc. from University of Southern California, and a Ph.D. from the University of London, U.K.