Tie's Tranforming Global Health Panelist Highlights

This continues our recap of TiE's 'Transforming Global Health" held a couple of weeks ago at Boston University. Follow the links to view a complete post:

Gerald T Keusch, Associate Dean for Global Health, Boston University

• Talked about the need for leapfrogging technologies, fresh approaches to old problems, and the changing dynamics of public health that accompany modernization of emerging economies. More
  

Thomas Evans, Head of Infectious Diseases, Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research

• Two centers of excellence focusing on drug research, one of them in Singapore aimed at tropical diseases. Their R&D intiatitives follow the social responsibility footsteps of the Novarties Foundation for Sustainable Development. More
  

Omer Imtiazuddin , Health Portfolio Manager, Acumen Fund

• $20 million assets under management, $9 million in health. Acumen looks for ongoing operations that whose operations can be enhanced, expanded, and replicated. Instead a braod approach to diversification (i.e. 20 business plans in 5 countries), and they prefer replicated business operations in multiple areas (i.e. 5 business plans in 20 countries). More
  

Alexis Wallace, Executive Director, Medicine in Need

• Wallace runs MEND, whose spray drying technique for creating inhalable medication was licensed back from Alkermes to the original founders of the spinoff. Backed by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the group is working towards an inhalable TB vaccine.
  

Vikram Sheel Kumar, MD, Co-Founder, President and CEO, Dimagi

• Stay tuned
  

Thomas Burke, MD, Center for Global Health and Disaster Response, MGH

• Stay tuned