Elliott Sigal has opened the next chapter of his career. The former R&D chief at Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY), who helped squire a number of blockbuster programs through the clinic, is joining David Mott as a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates.
Bristol-Myers' R&D group had its setbacks, particularly in 2012, but during Sigal's tenure at the top of the research arm he guided an amazing 14 drugs to an approval, including Abilify, Erbitux and Onglyza. Those were all part of Bristol-Myers' "string of pearls," which earned the company a rep as one of the leaders in innovation in the field. Few other R&D chiefs--including a number who had much larger budgets to work with--even came close.