John Reed

Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine, R&D Johnson & Johnson

Last Reviewed: October 3, 2026

Executive Summary

John Reed leads research and development for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceuticals business as Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine, R&D, a role he took in April 2023 along with a seat on the executive committee. His teams work across oncology, immunology, neuroscience and other areas of high unmet need, using multiple drug modalities. A physician-scientist with an MD and a PhD in immunology, he ran the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute before joining industry, and then sat on the executive committees of Roche and Sanofi. He has written more than 900 research papers and holds more than 130 patents. J&J counts him among the world’s most highly cited scientists.

Career Highlights

• Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine, R&D at Johnson & Johnson since April 2023.
• Executive leadership roles and executive committee membership at Sanofi, 2018 to 2022.
• Executive leadership roles and executive committee membership at Roche, 2013 to 2018.
• Chief Executive Officer of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Professional Journey

Reed earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Virginia and an MD and a PhD in immunology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

He led the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, now Sanford Burnham Prebys, as chief executive, establishing several research centers aligned to therapeutic areas and platform technology centers, according to J&J’s annual report. Over his career he has authored more than 900 research publications and holds more than 130 patents; J&J says he was recognized among the ten most cited researchers in life sciences and medicine and remains among the world’s 100 most highly cited scientists. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He moved into the pharmaceutical industry with executive leadership positions at Roche from 2013 to 2018 and at Sanofi from 2018 to 2022, serving on the executive committee of each.

He joined Johnson & Johnson in April 2023 as executive vice president, Innovative Medicine, R&D and a member of the executive committee. His stated mission is to focus research and development teams where unmet medical need meets innovation, and his organization works across a range of drug modalities. He works alongside Tom Cavanaugh, who runs the commercial side of Innovative Medicine. J&J operates two businesses, Innovative Medicine and MedTech, and its Innovative Medicine business alone exceeds $60 billion in annual revenue, according to the company.

Of the ten executive officers listed in J&J’s 2025 annual report, he is the only one hired from outside the company within the previous five years.

Education

University of Virginia

Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Doctor of Philosophy, Immunology