James Richardson, MA (Oxon), BMBCh, MBA, MRCP (Lon)

Dr. James Richardson was promoted to Sarepta’s executive vice president and chief medical officer in December 2025. Prior to this role, he served as Sarepta’s senior vice president, chief medical officer from February 2025 to December 2025. From August 2023 to February 2025, he served as vice president, head of clinical development. James joined Sarepta in September 2019 as senior medical director, country medical director UK and Ireland. Since that time, he has held roles of increasing responsibility in global medical affairs, program leadership and clinical development at Sarepta. Prior to Sarepta, James held a variety of leadership roles at large biopharmaceutical organizations. 

First and foremost, James is a physician and a scientist dedicated to patient care. In words and in action, James prioritizes objective data and scientific integrity above all else placing the patient at the center of his work. In asking James why he chose medicine, he responded: “Life is short, and my goal is to leave behind something lasting and meaningful.”

“I lead a team of highly experienced and committed individuals dedicated to improving human health through the lens of being true to the data and prioritizing the science. As a leader, my philosophy rests on guiding from behind, supporting my team and respecting their expertise. As a physician, my lived experience and one of the most important lessons I’ve learned through the practice of medicine is to understand the patient – fully and completely – versus getting caught up in one’s own ideas of what we think is best. Exponential improvement in patient care, in my opinion, is tied to 3 fundamental principles: continuous and steady progress in innovation; patient input as center spoke to what’s important and why; and dedicated efforts that are grounded in simplicity and objective science.”

James graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BMBCh) degree with distinction from Magdalen College, Oxford University. He also holds Master of Arts (MA) degree from Keble College, Oxford University, a diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine and an Executive Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. He is a physician on the UK General Medical Council (GMC) Specialist Register and a member of both the Royal College of Physicians and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Physicians. He is the author of multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts.