Institute for OneWorld Health Adds Board Member and Senior Staff to Support International Progress in Drug Development Programs.SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden -- The Institute for OneWorld Health The Institute for OneWorld Health is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pharmaceutical company founded in 2000 to develop safe, effective, and affordable new medicines for people with infectious diseases in the developing countries. , the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the U.S., today announced that several international experts have joined the organization as part of a strategic expansion of its mission to cure neglected diseases in developing countries. A new member of the Board of Directors, Bernardita Mendez, Ph.D., of Santiago, Chile, and two senior staff members, Dr. Philippe Desjeux of France and Fiona Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
This international expertise is essential as the company moves its product development programs forward, using a combination of advanced technologies and traditional drugs to treat infectious diseases in the developing world. Bernardita Mendez, Ph.D., was elected to OneWorld Health's Board of Directors for a two-year term. She is currently president of the Fundacion Ciencia para la Vida (Science for Life Foundation) in Santiago, Chile. She founded this private nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. to stimulate the use of biotechnology in Chile by export-oriented industries with high economic impact. Her strong biotechnology background also includes more than a decade with Chiron Corporation in Emeryville, Calif., as Vice President, Regulatory and Quality Affairs, a corporate officer and a member of the executive committee. Dr. Mendez also is a full professor at the Universidad Andres Bello and an associate professor at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, both in Santiago. She received B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology from the University of Chile “Universidad de Chile” redirects here. For the football club, see Club de Fútbol Universidad de Chile. History Background Higher education in Chile in colonial times dates back to 1622, when on 19 August of that year, the first university in Chile, . She earned her Ph.D. in cell biology from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal . Dr. Mendez has been widely recognized in the field of biological sciences and has been published in journals and publications worldwide. Dr. Philippe Desjeux, an expert in leishmaniasis leishmaniasis (lēsh'mənī`əsĭs), any of a group of tropical diseases caused by parasitic protozoans of the genus Leishmania. based in Divonne, France, has joined OneWorld Health as Senior Program Officer of Disease Control. Dr. Desjeux brings over three decades of experience with leishmaniasis surveillance, control, and prevention. OneWorld Health anticipates completion of its Phase III clinical trial Noun 1. phase III clinical trial - a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the in India in November, followed by regulatory submission and approval next year for paromomycin, an affordable, safe therapy to treat visceral leishmaniasis visceral leishmaniasis n. A chronic, often fatal disease occurring chiefly in Asia, caused by a protozoan parasite (Leishmania donovani) and characterized by irregular fever, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and emaciation. (VL). Also known as kala-azar, VL is a parasitic disease that infects 1.5 million of the world's poorest people and then kills approximately 200,000 each year. Dr. Desjeux will join the team that will implement a paromomycin pre-launch program in Bihar, India. Prior to joining OneWorld Health, Dr. Desjeux worked as Leishmaniasis Research Coordinator for the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO/TDR). He received a medical doctorate from the University of Paris, and certificates in special studies in gastroenterology gastroenterology Medical specialty dealing with digestion and the digestive system. In the 17th century Jan Baptista van Helmont conducted the first scientific studies in the field; William Beaumont published his own observations in 1833. and parasitology Parasitology The scientific study of parasites and of parasitism. Parasitism is a subdivision of symbiosis and is defined as an intimate association between an organism (parasite) and another, larger species of organism (host) upon which the parasite is from the Odeon Faculty of Medicine and a certificate in systematic microbiology from the Pasteur Institute, both in Paris. Fiona Gibbons, a pharmacist by training and a clinical research specialist with vast experience in the developing world, will serve as Director of International Clinical Operations based in Berkshire, England. Ms. Gibbons will lead the management of clinical trials for OneWorld Health in Africa and Asia, ensuring that international sites used in OneWorld Health studies adhere to the highest standards. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Gibbons was head of clinical operations for Africa and the Middle East at GlaxoSmithKline. In addition, she has conducted clinical research for Bayer and served as a volunteer in South Africa training pharmacy staff. The Institute for OneWorld Health, the first U.S. nonprofit pharmaceutical company develops new, affordable medicines for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect people in the developing world. OneWorld Health applies its entrepreneurial business model with a staff of experienced pharmaceutical scientists who identifies promising leads and drives development from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials through regulatory approval. The Institute for OneWorld Health, headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., is a tax-exempt 501(c) (3), U.S. corporation (www.oneworldhealth.org). |
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