Worst Biopharma CEO of 2025: Sarepta Therapeutics’ Doug Ingram

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

Doug Ingram of Sarepta Therapeutics is my pick for the Worst Biopharma CEO of 2025. 

He was an easy selection, but unlike some cases in the past, this pick brought me no joy, because the circumstances that earned Ingram this dishonor are tinged with sadness. 

In 2024, Ingram moved aggressively, some might say recklessly, to seek the broadest possible approval for the company’s Elevidys gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The strategy included pushing the Food and Drug Administration to approve Elevidys for older boys and teenagers who had already lost their ability to walk, despite scant clinical data that would have convincingly demonstrated safety or efficacy in this vulnerable patient population. 

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