For his success in Travere Therapeutics’ business growth and commitment to supporting biotech and wellness, San Diego Business Journal named Dr. Eric Dube, Ph.D., CEO of the Year in the Medium-Size Company Category.
Dube serves as the president and CEO of Travere Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company that’s dedicated to identifying, developing and delivering life-changing rare disease therapies.
Financial Success
Dube has helped Travere Therapeutics successfully raise $230 million in capital in 2023. In just six weeks’ time — after the U.S. FDA approved of FILSPARI — net product sales reached $3.0 million. Net product sales in 2022 were $200.5 million. First quarter net product sales in 2023 were $50.3 million. The company is now exploring a potential path forward for a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) in the U.S. for sparsentan for the treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), another rare kidney disease.
Award-Winning Leadership
Dube’s leadership has received recognition from some of the most prestigious biopharmaceutical and regional business awards programs, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022, which recognizes exemplary leaders who have ushered in innovation-disrupting industries and created new product categories while lifting their employees and communities. He made The Medicine Maker’s Power List in both 2022 and 2023. He made the San Diego Business Journal’s SD500 Top 500 Executives in San Diego list in 2022. He was also named on Yahoo! Finance’s Outstanding Top 100 LGBT+ Executives Role Model List for 2022.
A Personal Story
For Dube, finding better solutions for patients is personal. He was diagnosed with a rare cancer at 30. It was caught early, which was fortunate since no proven therapy existed if the disease had advanced. The experience led to his decision to work in the biopharma industry. In many cases, patients have no options. He is driven to change this and continues to advance the company’s pipeline of potential first-in-class new treatment options for rare conditions with significant unmet needs. He is committed to strengthening the commercial business and listening to underserved patients while supporting efforts for earlier diagnoses and broader access to care.
Giving Back
Families seeking a rare disease diagnosis face many barriers but Dube is committed to helping them find answers. He serves on the steering committee for the Rare Disease Diversity Coalition and is championing ways to improve access to care by removing barriers for underserved communities, promoting access to telehealth and finding new ways to support caregivers and care partners. Under Dube’s leadership, Travere Therapeutics is a founding member and supporter of the public-private Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine BeginNGS Consortium which helps to advance newborn screening for treatable rare genetic diseases. The company is also sponsoring a genetic testing program to help diagnose the cause of newborn cholestasis and providing free diagnostic testing to qualified patients to help accurately identify a variety of conditions.
An Advocate
He is a founding member of the recently established San Diego chapter of OUTbio, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the LGBTQ+ community in the biotech industry. He’s dedicated to advancing STEM amongst underrepresented communities within San Diego. He’s spearheading Travere’s support of the Ocean Discovery Institute and partnerships with Biocom California, the San Diego chapter of Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and the Southern California chapter of Women in Bio. The company’s philanthropic work extends to patient advocacy organizations.
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
“I feel like I have the greatest job in the world. I work with individuals who are so incredibly talented and committed to one purpose – and that’s to bring innovation to families that may be suffering and may not otherwise have hope for a treatment for their rare disease. I see the CEO role in biotech as one of finding great people and then giving them the vision and space to do their great work.”
