Burrill & Company CEO and Genzyme Executive Join BVGH Board of Directors

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) announced today that G. Steven Burrill, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Burrill & Company, and James A. Geraghty, Senior Vice President, Genzyme Corporation, have joined the organization's Board of Directors.  The addition of these two new board members rounds out the BVGH Board with a depth of expertise and experience in emerging markets and public-private partnerships.

"Both Steve Burrill and Jim Geraghty are long-standing colleagues in the biotech industry, deeply involved and widely respected," says Carl Feldbaum, Chair of BVGH's Board of Directors. "Their commitment and enthusiasm for biotechnology's increasing role in global health is beyond question. Our Board of Directors, staff, and donors are proud to have them now fully engaged in addressing the neglected diseases of the developing world."

Burrill founded Burrill & Company as a logical extension of his 40+ year involvement in the growth and prosperity of the biotechnology industry. Over the course of his career, Burrill has been an active advisor and catalyst to some of the industry's most well-known companies and transactions. Notably—prior to founding Burrill & Company in 1994—he spent 28 years with Ernst & Young, directing and coordinating the firm's services to clients in the biotechnology/life sciences/high technology/manufacturing industries worldwide.

In addition to his membership on BVGH's Board, Burrill currently serves as Chairman of the Boards of Pharmasset, Abunda Corporation, Foundation for the National Medals of Science and Technology, Vilas County Economic Development Corporation, and the World Council of Ethics.  He also serves as Chair of the San Francisco Mayor's Biotech Advisory Committee.  He is a member of the Boards of Directors of Catalyst Biosciences, DepoMed, NewBridge, Proventys, Targacept, and XDx. He serves as a member of the Board of various not-for-profit organizations including Bay Area Science Infrastructure Consortium (BASIC), The Kellogg Center for Biotechnology, the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation, the National Health Museum, BioAg Gateway - City of Madison, University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, and the Scientific American Board of Advisors.

Geraghty is Senior Vice President of Genzyme Corporation and has played a leading role at the biotechnology company for over a decade.  He was President of Genzyme Europe from 1998-2002 and General Manager of Genzyme's cardiovascular business from 2003-2007.  He oversees Genzyme's strategic initiatives in emerging markets and has led many of the Company's largest transactions.  

Geraghty also oversees Genzyme's Humanitarian Assistance for Neglected Diseases program, under which Genzyme helps develop innovative therapeutic programs on a non-commercial basis. He has structured Genzyme's partnerships with Medicines for Malaria Venture, Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Institute, and India's International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. He served as Co-Chair of the Executive Committee for BIO 2007 and was a Steering Committee member of BVGH'S 2010 Partnering for Global Health Forum.  In addition to his membership on BVGH's Board, he serves as a Director of GTC Biotherapeutics (formerly Genzyme Transgenics Corporation), where he was Chairman and President and CEO, and of Bluebird Bio.

"Adding Steve Burrill and Jim Geraghty to our Board of Directors brings additional industrial and investor expertise to BVGH," says Melinda Moree, Chief Executive Officer of BVGH. "At a time when there is considerable activity in global health, it is critical that work aimed at incentivizing companies to work on new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for people in poor countries be grounded in the realities of companies and the investment community."

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, please visit www.bvgh.org.

SOURCE BIO Ventures for Global Health