RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, (January 11, 2021) – Med Aditus International, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors.
Joining the board are Ngozi Bell, P. Kay Wagoner, and Steve Hammond.
“It is my privilege and pleasure to welcome Ms. Bell, Dr. Wagoner, and Mr. Hammond to the Med Aditus team,” said Dhiren Thakker, President & CEO of Med Aditus. “They will add significantly to the vast and diverse experience of the current members of our Board of Directors. They will also lend their expertise in several critical sectors that will contribute to the success of Med Aditus as it pursues its mission to improve access to medicines in developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa.”
“We extend a warm welcome to Ngozi, Kay and Steve, three exceptional leaders,” said Pape Gaye, Med Aditus’ chairman of the Board of Directors. “They are established entrepreneurs with sound expertise and proven track in drug discovery and development, entrepreneurship and private business development. They will strengthen Med Aditus’ s board and increase its ability to provide strategic advice to the organization.”
Ngozi Bell, M.S., is a serial entrepreneur and currently an investment partner with Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation, a private equity and business development consultant corporation based in the U.S. and West Africa. Prior to joining the firm, Bell was a Regional Advocate appointee in President Barack Obama’s administration for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, representing the mid-Atlantic states and advocating for small and women-owned businesses. Bell has held senior leadership positions at Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies and AT&T Microelectronics among others.
Bell is on the board of STEM to Market, a member of the Association of Women in Science, where she mentors and guides women scientists and inventors in their entrepreneurial journey. Bell brings extensive multidisciplinary technology and business leadership background to Med Aditus.
“There are a few sectors that can impact the entire globe in such far-reaching ways that unequivocally confirm that we are all connected, global pharmaceuticals are at that heart,” said Bell. “Med Aditus is building the bridge that will guarantee that our connectedness will save lives and do good with access to medicines in Africa. I am excited to be part of this mission.”
P. Kay Wagoner, Ph.D., is an entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ experience as a leader in drug discovery, drug development and healthcare. Wagoner led the discovery of new drug candidates targeting ion channels for central nervous system, cardiovascular, and metabolic disorders at Glaxo Inc. After founding a not-for-profit cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation company, she founded and served as CEO of Icagen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company involved in the discovery and development of drugs for sickle cell anemia, atrial fibrillation, urinary incontinence, memory disorders, epilepsy and pain. Wagoner took Icagen, Inc. public in 2005 and led its acquisition by Pfizer in 2011. More recently, she served at UNC Chapel Hill to support public-private partnerships, which enhance academic innovation.
Wagoner has received numerous awards including awards from the Robert Wood Johnson and Grass Foundations. She is the 2001 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Distinguished Alumna for Science and Business, the 2004 Ernst & Young Regional Entrepreneur of the Year for Life Sciences, and in 2007, she received the Women in Bio achievement award. She currently serves on a variety of not-for-profit boards, including the UNC Board of Visitors, as well as on for-profit boards of emerging life science companies.
“I am pleased to join the board of Med Aditus,” said Wagoner. “It’s mission to improve access to medicines in underserved areas is the real unmet medical need of our time. Many drugs have and will be discovered, but if such drugs are not available to those in need, they will not fulfill the hopes of those of us who sought their discovery.”
Steve Hammond, M.S., has served in senior leadership positions at Pfizer for 39 years. Hammond is an analytical chemist by training and joined Pfizer in its Global Fermentation Development Group. There, he developed Pfizer’s capability in Process Analytical Sciences a mechanism that is designed to analyze and control pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Ultimately, Hammond was named Senior Director of the Process Analytical Sciences Group, a sector of Pfizer’s Global Technology Services that provides Process Analytical Technology (PAT), Material Sciences and Forensic Analysis support to all Pfizer manufacturing facilities around the globe.
In the last 10 years at Pfizer, Hammond focused heavily on the development and deployment of continuous manufacturing for solid dose products, a novel approach that focuses on portable, compact, modular, small footprint manufacturing that Med Aditus intends to deploy in its facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Steve is now heavily in volved as a consultant in the development of small footprint continuous manufacturing modules for freeze drying and sterile liquid manufacturing, that may longer term be of interest to Med Aditus.
“I am delighted to be able to contribute to Med Aditus,” said Hammond. “I hope my many years of experience, in modern ways of manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, can help to realize the company’s vision to provide access to good quality medications in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Med Aditus International is a nonprofit organization committed to applying cutting-edge technologies such as modular continuous flow pharmaceutical manufacturing and blockchain-powered automated quality assurance systems, to expand access to quality, affordable medicines in sub-Saharan African countries while transforming the region’s emerging pharmaceutical sector into a world-class, sustainable ecosystem.
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Med Aditus International, Inc. is a North Carolina, United States, nonprofit corporation; It is tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (c)(3).
For interviews or additional information about Med Aditus, please contact Chiara Canzi, Chief Communications Officer, at chiara.canzi@@medaditus.org and 434-249-5930.
Joining the board are Ngozi Bell, P. Kay Wagoner, and Steve Hammond.
“It is my privilege and pleasure to welcome Ms. Bell, Dr. Wagoner, and Mr. Hammond to the Med Aditus team,” said Dhiren Thakker, President & CEO of Med Aditus. “They will add significantly to the vast and diverse experience of the current members of our Board of Directors. They will also lend their expertise in several critical sectors that will contribute to the success of Med Aditus as it pursues its mission to improve access to medicines in developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa.”
“We extend a warm welcome to Ngozi, Kay and Steve, three exceptional leaders,” said Pape Gaye, Med Aditus’ chairman of the Board of Directors. “They are established entrepreneurs with sound expertise and proven track in drug discovery and development, entrepreneurship and private business development. They will strengthen Med Aditus’ s board and increase its ability to provide strategic advice to the organization.”
Ngozi Bell, M.S., is a serial entrepreneur and currently an investment partner with Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation, a private equity and business development consultant corporation based in the U.S. and West Africa. Prior to joining the firm, Bell was a Regional Advocate appointee in President Barack Obama’s administration for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, representing the mid-Atlantic states and advocating for small and women-owned businesses. Bell has held senior leadership positions at Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies and AT&T Microelectronics among others.
Bell is on the board of STEM to Market, a member of the Association of Women in Science, where she mentors and guides women scientists and inventors in their entrepreneurial journey. Bell brings extensive multidisciplinary technology and business leadership background to Med Aditus.
“There are a few sectors that can impact the entire globe in such far-reaching ways that unequivocally confirm that we are all connected, global pharmaceuticals are at that heart,” said Bell. “Med Aditus is building the bridge that will guarantee that our connectedness will save lives and do good with access to medicines in Africa. I am excited to be part of this mission.”
P. Kay Wagoner, Ph.D., is an entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ experience as a leader in drug discovery, drug development and healthcare. Wagoner led the discovery of new drug candidates targeting ion channels for central nervous system, cardiovascular, and metabolic disorders at Glaxo Inc. After founding a not-for-profit cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation company, she founded and served as CEO of Icagen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company involved in the discovery and development of drugs for sickle cell anemia, atrial fibrillation, urinary incontinence, memory disorders, epilepsy and pain. Wagoner took Icagen, Inc. public in 2005 and led its acquisition by Pfizer in 2011. More recently, she served at UNC Chapel Hill to support public-private partnerships, which enhance academic innovation.
Wagoner has received numerous awards including awards from the Robert Wood Johnson and Grass Foundations. She is the 2001 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Distinguished Alumna for Science and Business, the 2004 Ernst & Young Regional Entrepreneur of the Year for Life Sciences, and in 2007, she received the Women in Bio achievement award. She currently serves on a variety of not-for-profit boards, including the UNC Board of Visitors, as well as on for-profit boards of emerging life science companies.
“I am pleased to join the board of Med Aditus,” said Wagoner. “It’s mission to improve access to medicines in underserved areas is the real unmet medical need of our time. Many drugs have and will be discovered, but if such drugs are not available to those in need, they will not fulfill the hopes of those of us who sought their discovery.”
Steve Hammond, M.S., has served in senior leadership positions at Pfizer for 39 years. Hammond is an analytical chemist by training and joined Pfizer in its Global Fermentation Development Group. There, he developed Pfizer’s capability in Process Analytical Sciences a mechanism that is designed to analyze and control pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Ultimately, Hammond was named Senior Director of the Process Analytical Sciences Group, a sector of Pfizer’s Global Technology Services that provides Process Analytical Technology (PAT), Material Sciences and Forensic Analysis support to all Pfizer manufacturing facilities around the globe.
In the last 10 years at Pfizer, Hammond focused heavily on the development and deployment of continuous manufacturing for solid dose products, a novel approach that focuses on portable, compact, modular, small footprint manufacturing that Med Aditus intends to deploy in its facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Steve is now heavily in volved as a consultant in the development of small footprint continuous manufacturing modules for freeze drying and sterile liquid manufacturing, that may longer term be of interest to Med Aditus.
“I am delighted to be able to contribute to Med Aditus,” said Hammond. “I hope my many years of experience, in modern ways of manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, can help to realize the company’s vision to provide access to good quality medications in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Med Aditus International is a nonprofit organization committed to applying cutting-edge technologies such as modular continuous flow pharmaceutical manufacturing and blockchain-powered automated quality assurance systems, to expand access to quality, affordable medicines in sub-Saharan African countries while transforming the region’s emerging pharmaceutical sector into a world-class, sustainable ecosystem.
###
Med Aditus International, Inc. is a North Carolina, United States, nonprofit corporation; It is tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (c)(3).
For interviews or additional information about Med Aditus, please contact Chiara Canzi, Chief Communications Officer, at chiara.canzi@@medaditus.org and 434-249-5930.