IDRI Announces New EVP Business Development & External Affairs: Erik Iverson to Join IDRI from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) announced today that Erik Iverson, Associate General Counsel for Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will join IDRI in September as its EVP Business Development & External Affairs.  In this newly created position, Iverson will work within the IDRI management team to further the organization's development of proprietary programs in vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for infectious disease.

"We are extremely pleased to have Erik join our team," said Stewart Parker, IDRI CEO. "He brings tremendous experience and relationships, along with a deep commitment to our global health mission." This new position dedicated to securing partnerships, and increasing its visibility to a broader audience, will accelerate IDRI's focus on providing pragmatic solutions to global health problems.

For the last seven years Iverson has served as the Gates Foundation's Associate General Counsel, Global Health. Hired as the Foundation's second attorney, he has worked on a broad range of core activities, including legal and collaborative agreements, intellectual property, and creative financing mechanisms and investments.

"IDRI has been conducting important research since its inception in 1993 and has several exciting products on the market now," said Iverson.  "I look forward to helping strengthen IDRI's product development efforts and raising awareness of its impressive work and important successes."

About IDRI – Translating science into global health solutions

IDRI is a Seattle-based not-for-profit organization committed to applying innovative science to the research and development of products to prevent, detect, and treat infectious diseases of poverty. By integrating capabilities — including early stage drug discovery, preclinical testing, manufacturing, and clinical trials — IDRI strives to create an efficient pathway bringing scientific innovation from the laboratory to the people who need it most.

SOURCE Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI)

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