BOSTON, October 15, 2020 -- The Termeer Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting life science innovators and catalyzing the creation of new medicines, today announced the expansion of its Board of Directors. The foundation added Gail Maderis, President and CEO of Antiva Biosciences; John Maraganore, CEO and Director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; and Joan Reede, M.D., Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School to the board.

“We are honored to have Gail Maderis, John Maraganore and Joan Reede join The Termeer Foundation Board of Directors and help us advance our vision of connecting the world of healthcare innovators until every patient has a cure,” said Belinda Termeer, President and Co-Founder of The Termeer Foundation. “Their combined expertise spanning entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, mentoring, diversity and strategy will be instrumental in helping us build this foundation.”

Gail Maderis currently serves as President and CEO of Antiva Biosciences and as a member of the Board of Directors at Valitor Inc., the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and the California Life Sciences Institute. She is also a Trustee of the University of California Berkeley Foundation. Gail has over 20 years of leadership experience in biopharmaceutical companies, including at Genzyme Corporation, where she worked closely with Henri Termeer. Previously, Gail led BayBio, the industry organization representing and supporting Northern California’s life science community. She also previously served as President and CEO of Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., and held senior executive positions at Genzyme, including Founder and President of Genzyme Molecular Oncology (GZMO). Gail also practiced management and strategy consulting with Bain & Co. She received a BS in business from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

John Maraganore serves as CEO and Director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Chair of the Board for Agios Pharmaceuticals, co-chair of the Termeer Tribute Committee, and member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Executive Committee. John brings The Termeer Foundation extensive experience gained from building and managing the translation of RNAi from a Nobel Prize-winning discovery into an innovative, entirely new class of medicines, and in the process creating one of the biopharmaceutical industry’s largest and arguably most successful companies. John has served as the CEO and a Director of Alnylam since 2002. Prior to Alnylam, John served as an officer and a member of the management team for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and prior to that he held various positions at Biogen, where he invented and led the discovery and development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin) for injection, formerly HIRULOG™ and currently marketed by The Medicines Company. Prior to Biogen, John was a scientist at ZymoGenetics, Inc., and the Upjohn Company. John also formerly served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). John received his MS and PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago.

Joan Reede, M.D., serves as Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School, and President of the Biomedical Science Careers Program. Joan brings to The Termeer Foundation a lifelong passion for and experience with mentoring and supporting diversity in the biosciences. She is Harvard Medical School’s first Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership, responsible for the development and management of a comprehensive program that provides leadership, guidance, and support to promote the increased recruitment, retention, and advancement of underrepresented minority faculty. She also serves in a number of other positions, including Faculty Director of Community Outreach at HMS, Professor at HMS and at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health, and Assistant in Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. While at HMS, Joan created more than 20 diversity and leadership-focused programs, including founding the HMS Minority Faculty Development Program and the Biomedical Careers Program. Before joining Harvard, she served as the medical director of a Boston community health center and worked as a pediatrician in community and academic health centers, juvenile prisons, and public schools. She has held a number of advisory roles including serving on the Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Minority Health and the Secretary’s Advisory Committee to the Director of NIH. Joan graduated from Brown University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She holds an MPH and an MS in Health Policy Management from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and an MBA from Boston University.

Also joining The Termeer Foundation as a Board Observer is Adriana Termeer. The new appointees join existing board members Belinda Termeer and Alan Walts, Treasurer, Secretary, Mentor and Co-Founder of The Termeer Foundation and Venture Partner with Advent Life Sciences.

About The Termeer Foundation

Building on the bold legacy of Henri Termeer, who pioneered groundbreaking treatments for rare diseases, The Termeer Foundation connects life science innovators and catalyzes the creation of new medicines. The Foundation’s network of emerging and established healthcare innovators cultivates tomorrow’s leaders and leverages their collective expertise to solve complex problems in drug development and accessibility. The Foundation also integrates its network with academic institutions, nonprofits, regulatory agencies and other organizations across the global healthcare ecosystem to provide expert counsel, stimulate innovation, eliminate barriers to progress, and ultimately connect the world of healthcare until every patient has a cure. Visit us at www.termeerfoundation.org or on LinkedIn @TermeerFoundation.

Contact:

Paul Kidwell

Termeer Foundation

617-680-1088

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