Celgene completed its IPO in 1987 as a small company, and 25 years later has a market cap of nearly $35 billion, and employs more than 4,500 employees worldwide. Barer founded the spinoff biotech company, which is one of the most successful in the world, and led it through the 25-year period of tremendous growth as a public company. Barer retired as CEO in June 2010, but it seems his name will always remain associated with the company. Now an adviser to the biotech community, Barer was a strong advocate for Rutgers University having its own medical school. No doubt his counsel carried weight.

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