Alphonse Paul Galdes

Alphonse Galdes, Ph.D., 74, a devoted husband, father and grandfather, and a distinguished scientist, passed away on September 12, 2026.

Alphonse was born in 1952 to Annie and George Galdes. He grew up in Malta’s capital city of Valletta with his three younger sisters, Doreen, Rita and Alda. His remarkable academic achievements began at the University of Malta, where he earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology in 1973 and an M.S. in Biochemistry in 1975. In 1975, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, where he performed research at the frontier of the emerging science of protein structure and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. During his studies, in 1976, Alphonse married his college sweetheart Bridget Agius, launching what would become a life-long partnership; the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary just months ago, on July 21st, 2026. Bridget joined Alphonse in England and he earned his PhD in biochemistry from Oxford University in 1979.

The couple then crossed the Atlantic for Alphonse to begin postdoctoral research at the Department of Biological Chemistry at Harvard Medical School where he studied Enzymatic Cryobiochemistry. During this time, the couple started their family with the birth of their daughter Annelise in 1982. Two years later, the young family moved to New Jersey, where Alphonse joined the BOC Group as a Senior Scientist of Healthcare Research & Development, translating his enzymology expertise into pharmaceutical drug development. In 1985, the couple welcomed a son named Andrew. Over the following decade, Alphonse rose to become the BOC Group’s Senior Director of Drug Discovery.

In 1995, Alphonse returned to the Boston area with his young family to join the nascent biotechnology company Biogen in Cambridge, MA, which focused on creating therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. He started by significantly contributing to the development of Avonex, the first treatment to slow the disease progression of Multiple Sclerosis. During the next 27 years, Alphonse helped grow Biogen into one of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies. He progressed through numerous scientific and leadership roles, ultimately serving as the Executive Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations and Technology and a member of Biogen’s executive committee in 2019. Throughout his career, Alphonse was committed to translating scientific discovery into medicines that could improve the lives of actual patients. Even after his retirement from Biogen in 2022, Alphonse continued to support the biotechnology field as an adviser and corporate director at GenScript Biotech Corporation until his passing in 2026.

The only thing more important to Alphonse than scientific discovery was his family. Alphonse was a doting husband and father, never ceasing to find new ways to support his wife and two children. Alphonse and Bridget raised their kids in the Boston suburb of Lexington, MA, where they lived until his retirement in 2022, when they moved to Arlington, VA, to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Alphonse is survived by his wife of five decades, Bridget Galdes, his daughter, Annelise Bloch and her husband Allon, his son, Andrew Galdes and his wife Camille, and his six grandchildren: Alexander (11), Luke (10), Abigail (9), Mark (8), George (4), and Ari (4). As an exemplary “Nannu”—the Maltese term for grandfather—deeply involved in his grandchildren’s lives, he will be sorely missed by his entire family.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington, Virginia at 11:30 AM on Saturday, October 3rd, followed by a funeral procession to Columbia Gardens Cemetery for a reception. The immediate family will join the reception after a private burial.

If you wish to send flowers please send them to Columbia Gardens Cemetery (3411 Arlington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201) or to the family's home. 

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Alphonse’s honor to continue his legacy of furthering advancements in health care.