Rare disease specialist Insmed continues rapid growth in NJ

Insmed is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes drugs for serious and rare diseases – advancing a diverse portfolio of approved and mid- to late-stage investigational medicines as well as cutting-edge drug discovery focused on serving the most pressing patient needs. Its most advanced programs are in pulmonary and inflammatory conditions, including a therapy approved in the U.S., Europe and Japan to treat a chronic, debilitating lung disease.

The Bridgewater-based business is poised for even more in New Jersey.

In addition to its Somerset County headquarters, Insmed also has offices and research locations around the world – including a separate R&D facility Bridgewater. NJBIZ recently toured that facility to learn more.

The company is led by Will Lewis, who joined Insmed in 2012 after a stint in investment banking. Under his watch, the company has grown from a 30-person biotech company to a more than 1,200-person emerging global biopharmaceutical company with a nearly $13 billion market cap.

In October, Insmed earned the highest ranking in Science’s 2024 Top Employers Survey.

“It is a tremendous honor to have been named the No. 1 employer in Science’s annual survey for the fourth consecutive year,” said Lewis in an Oct. 24 statement. “This past year has been transformational for our company, as we’ve demonstrated the strength of our commercial and pipeline programs, continued to fuel the innovation engine behind our early-stage research, and enhanced our culture while growing to more than 1,200 employees around the world. Looking to the future, I am filled with pride and excitement as I think about the talent, dedication, and potential of our team as we strive to make a real difference in the lives of patients with serious diseases.”

“The culture we’ve built at Insmed is unlike any other I’ve experienced, and I am proud to see it continue to grow and strengthen as we expand our global team,” said Nicole Schaeffer, chief people strategy officer, Insmed. “Thank you to our colleagues around the world who show up every day with a desire to help patients, enrich our communities, and support one another. It is because of you that we have once again been recognized by Science as the top employer in the biopharma industry.”

In February, at BioNJ’s 31st Annual Dinner Meeting & Innovation Celebration, Lewis received the Dr. Sol J. Barer Award for Vision, Innovation, and Leadership.

“Often described as one of the humblest people in the industry, it is with immense pleasure that I present this year’s award to a truly fine human being – an individual who epitomizes vision, innovation, and leadership through tireless advocacy for patients, the health care system, and New Jersey’s life sciences ecosystem,” said Barer, former chair and CEO at Celegene Corp. and chair of the board at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, as he presented his namesake award.

“It struck me as I was walking up here that prior recipients and, indeed, going all the way back to when you began – have literally altered the lives or saved the lives of thousands, if not, millions of patients,” said Lewis. “That’s quite a remarkable achievement. It’s a daunting thing to receive this award – and I think I could spend the rest of my career trying to earn its worth, so thank you.

The greatest companies are forged during the most difficult times.
– Will Lewis, Insmed CEO

“For those of you in the room who are trying to build companies, I have been coming to this event for a long time,” said Lewis. “I was previously at a different company that struggled for many years – failing to go public three times before it eventually found success. I joined Insmed 11 years ago when it had a zero-enterprise value. Wall Street said we were worth nothing. Maybe this sounds familiar to some of you who are currently trying to build companies and run them during the worst market correction in several decades. My message to you is this – hold fast, your time will come. You can do this.”

Lewis noted that BioNJ and the attendees in the room were there to help entrepreneurs build companies.

“The greatest companies are forged during the most difficult times. And that means there are a lot of great companies being made right now – yours among them,” Lewis explained.

Preserving company culture

NJBIZ recently caught up with the Insmed CEO to discuss the latest happenings and milestones at the company, what’s on the horizon and more.

The conversation opened with Lewis lauding the efforts and passion of his team. He detailed how important culture and collaboration are at Insmed, which was on full display during the NJBIZ visit to the R&D facility.

“Honestly, it’s the thing that I’m the most proud of at the company,” he said, recounting a recent town hall. “We’ve gone from 30 people when I joined to 1,200 – and we’ll go to 1,700 at the end of next year. Actually, the biggest question that people have is – how do we preserve our culture? Because as we’ve gone through that journey, we’ve sort of maintained this commitment – everybody in this industry says they’re about the patient. But it takes about five minutes when you walk into any company to know – is that authentic? Is the screen that shows the CNBC channel bigger than the one that talks about what the medicine might do? You get the signals rather quickly.

“We want people to bring their authentic selves to work – feel like they are in a place where they can do their best work,” he continued. “And we always say to folks – the mantra that should be in your head is: How can I help? And if we can get that, then you really don’t have to manage anybody.”

Lewis spoke about his unique and personal journey into this role – from foreign service to investment banking to this sector. “I had a family member who passed as a result of a rare disease – and that really activated my interest in what biotechnology could do,” Lewis explained, discussing his older brother. “His life was literally preserved for a much longer time than would have otherwise been the case. I always think about that. When you talk about the commitment to the patient and all that sort of stuff – and you’re running a business. And people say – how quickly does that get corrupted?

“It always brings it back to the personal for me – and I think for a lot of people,” Lewis continued. “If you are in health care, really checking yourself at the mirror and saying – what am I going to do today and why? And no matter how big or successful the company gets, you have to remember that if the medicine makes a difference in the patient’s lives – and the people around them who experience that, then you will generate the revenue. Then, the stock price will go up. It’s a derivative – it’s not the driver.

What’s next for Insmed?

Lewis was asked to describe some of the products and areas the company is focusing on.

“The trick, in my view, and I worked as a banker sort of supporting this industry as well as an operator within it,” said Lewis. “It comes from both sides of that experience. The most important thing you can do is prove that you can develop a drug and ultimately get it approved – and launch it. So, the first identification of Insmed is the creation, development, approval and launch of a drug called ARIKAYCE. It treats a respiratory condition. And with that success, we’ve been able to then layer in other development programs.

“The second development program has been astonishingly successful – and that is what has driven us on to the map of a lot of people, in the aftermath of what happened this year when the Phase III data, the last trial, showed positive results,” Lewis continued. “Think of us as taking one drug through that long journey and as we start to look like we are going to have success, we added some others. And those now start to look like they’re successful.”

Despite all of these positive developments and continued momentum – Lewis believes Insmed is still early in its journey.

“As much as we’ve changed and as much as we’ve grown, we literally are at the beginning right now of becoming the next great biotech company,” said Lewis. “And we have everything we need to do that, starting with people – coupled with those products. This is a really rare moment in biotech development where a company has really important, impactful products aligned with good people. And watch out, it just goes like an Elon Musk rocket into the air.”