Quintiles founder and Chief Executive officer Dennis Gillings receives much more attention than the company he founded in Forbes’ annual largest private companies list.
The life sciences services and investment firm rose 27 spots to No. 133 on the And leading the way is Gillings.
A former professor at UNC-Chapel Hill where the School of Public Health is now named in his honor after a $50 million gift, Gillings is featured in a profile titled “Money, Math and Medicine.”
Noting that Quintiles as a provider of life science services to drug companies, Forbes’ Matthew Herper says Gillings “has made a fortune doing the grunt work for drug companies.”
However, the story is not a fawning feature.
Forbes notes that Quintiles worked with GlaxoSmithKline on clinical trials for the controversial diabetes drug Avandia. The magazine also explores challenges within the contract research organization industry. Quintiles was a CRO before Gillings transformed it by offering partnerships and investments.
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