Donald Lee Drakeman is an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

venture capitalist Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations gr ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, and scholar based in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. He has since 2007 been a venture partner in Advent Venture Partners, a

venture capital firm Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

based in London, in connection with which he is a member of the firm's

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

Team. At the same time he is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

as well as a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

in Health Management of the

Judge Business School Cambridge Judge Business School is the business school of the University of Cambridge. The School is a provider of management education. It is named after Sir Paul Judge, a founding benefactor of the school. The School is a department of the u ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he is a member of the Operations and Technology Management Subject Group and associated with the Cambridge Centre for Health Leadership & Enterprise. He is in addition the Chairman of the advisory council of the

James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions The James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, often called simply the James Madison Program (abbreviated JMP) or the Madison Program, is a scholarly institute within the Department of Politics at Princeton University espousing a ded ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he was for many years a member of the faculty and taught lecture courses and seminars on

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

and the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. His book ''Church, State, and Original Intent'', which concerns the

establishment clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' an ...

of the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

to the

, was published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

in 2010. In 2015

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

published ''Why We Need the Humanities'', which focuses on the relation of the humanities to the life sciences and to civil liberties. In 2021

published ''The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory: Why We Need the Framers'', which defends the idea that the intentions of the Framers ought to have a central role in constitutional interpretation. He is also one of the authors of ''From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology,'' which was published in 2022 by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. He was educated at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

( AB

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

( JD '' Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar''), and

( MA, PhD in Religion).Donald L. Drakeman > About
. ACSH. Retrieved on November 10, 2011. A resident of

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

, he was appointed in 1994 as chair of the township's zoning board of adjustment. In the early stages of his career he worked as an attorney at

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy Milbank LLP (commonly known as Milbank) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Seoul, and Singapore. History Mi ...

and was the vice-president of the Essex Chemical Corporation. He is best known as the co-founder of two

biotechnology companies Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

, Medarex Inc. and Genmab A/S, both of which develop drugs used in

monoclonal antibody therapy Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have varied therapeutic uses. It is possible to create a mAb that binds specifically to almost any extracellular target, such as cell surface proteins and cytokines. They can be used to render their target ineffectiv ...

. During his tenure as the founding CEO of Medarex, the company raised more than a billion dollars, entered into alliances with many other pharmaceutical companies, and spun off Genmab, which subsequently completed the largest

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

in the history of European

capital markets A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers t ...

up to the time of the offering. He was an

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005. He serves as a Trustee of

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

, a Visitor of

Ralston College Ralston College is a private unaccredited liberal arts college in Savannah, Georgia. It describes itself as being dedicated to "freedom of thought and speech", and is associated with prominent conservative figures, with Stephen Blackwood as pr ...

, a member of the

Board of Advisors An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to the ...

of the

Rutgers Business School Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, and formerly served as a Trustee of the

Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit institution based in Princeton, New Jersey that says it aims to strengthen American democracy by "cultivating ...

and of the

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...

. He is also a member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

of the

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

''mAbs''. He was formerly the Chairman of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, and has served on the boards of several companies, including Oxford Glycosciences, IDM-Pharma, and Mannkind. He continues to be a

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of Zymeworks Inc. He is in addition a

of the

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

, the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

, and of the

Burgon Society :''Not be confused with the Dean Burgon Society, concerned with the advocacy of the King James Bible'' The Burgon Society is a society and educational charity for the study and research of academic dress. The society was founded in 2000 and i ...

.The Burgon Society: Fellows of the Burgon Society
. Burgon.org.uk. Retrieved on November 10, 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drakeman, Donald L. American venture capitalists American religion academics University of Notre Dame faculty Academics of the University of Cambridge Dartmouth College alumni Columbia Law School alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey Princeton University alumni American pharmaceutical industry businesspeople 1953 births Living people People associated with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy First Amendment scholars American scholars of constitutional law