BIO Ventures for Global Health Announces New Chief Operating Officer and Director

Washington, April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- BIO Ventures for Global Health announced today that Donald R. Joseph, JD, has been named Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a member of the board of directors of the global health non-profit.  Joseph brings to the organization a wealth of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.  Before joining BIO Ventures for Global Health, he served in senior executive positions in both legal and business roles at private and publicly held biopharmaceutical companies including Renovis and Abgenix, where he played a key role in its acquisition by Amgen.  He has consulted for a number of biopharmaceutical companies and previously served as COO of the Institute for OneWorld Health, a non-profit pharmaceutical company devoted to developing new and affordable medicines for neglected diseases.

Joseph has extensive business and legal experience, with more than 15 years in the biopharmaceutical industry preceded by more than a decade in private business law practice, most recently as a partner with major firms.  His industry projects have included a wide array of commercial, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, collaboration, and financing transactions, while providing business guidance for R&D, product launches, and sales and marketing.  His therapeutic areas of experience include neurology, oncology, and antibody technology, as well as malaria and infectious diseases.  His operations experience includes involvement with many marketed products in addition to research, preclinical, and clinical development of a number of products and technologies.

"To succeed in its mission of speeding the development of drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for neglected diseases, BIO Ventures for Global Health must have deep knowledge and connections in the global health world and must also have the 'boots on the ground' experience in the biopharmaceutical sector," says Carl B. Feldbaum, JD, chair of the BIO Ventures for Global Health board.  "With Melinda Moree and Don Joseph, we now have a senior management team in place that combines the best of both worlds."

Finding the common ground between the goals of global health and the pragmatic needs of companies is a complex puzzle.  "I am very appreciative of the opportunity to join BIO Ventures for Global Health at this exciting time in its development," says Joseph. "Connecting biotech innovations with the many unmet medical needs of the developing world is an exciting and essential mission, and one I'm proud to be associated with.  I'm looking forward to helping BIO Ventures for Global Health achieve further successes in this important work."

"Don's deep experience in the pragmatic realities faced daily by biotechnology companies will keep BIO Ventures for Global Health continuously challenged to find solutions to global health problems through engaging industry in ways that are commercially sensible and viable," says Melinda Moree, PhD, CEO of BIO Ventures for Global Health. "We firmly believe that finding voluntary, win-win partnerships between the public and private sectors will provide more sustainable results and help us save lives in the developing world."

About BIO Ventures for Global Health

BIO Ventures for Global Health is a non-profit organization whose mission is to save lives by accelerating the development of novel biotechnology-based drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to address the unmet medical needs of the developing world. The organization spurs biotech industry involvement in global health product development by increasing biotech and global health partnerships, designing and advocating for compelling market-based incentives, and synthesizing and disseminating critical information and quantitative analysis. For more information, visit www.bvgh.org.

SOURCE BIO Ventures for Global Health