Founder Profile
Phillip Sharp
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Phillip Sharp?
Phillip Sharp is a founder of Biogen Inc., which was founded in 1978 with Kenneth Murray, Walter Gilbert, Charles Weissmann and Heinz Schaller.
- Company founded
- Biogen Inc.
- Founded
- 1978
- Co-founders
- Kenneth Murray, Walter Gilbert, Charles Weissmann and Heinz Schaller
Background
Phillip A. Sharp is an MIT molecular biologist who shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of split genes, the finding that led to the understanding of RNA splicing.
Founding Story
Sharp was one of Biogen's 1978 founders and served on the company's board for many years. His work on how genes are split and spliced underpins much of later RNA-based drug development, a field in which Biogen became a leader through its antisense alliance with Ionis. In 2002 Sharp also co-founded Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a developer of RNA interference medicines.
Phillip Sharp was born in 1944 in Falmouth. Education: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Union Commonwealth University.