Dr. Mel Spigelman Named in Fast Company’s Annual List of the Most Creative People in Business

August 4, 2020

NEW YORK (August 4, 2020)—Fast Company today announced its 11th annual list of the Most Creative People in Business, honoring a diverse group of leaders from a range of industries. Included among the list is Mel Spigelman, MD, president and CEO of TB Alliance.

According to Fast Company, the Most Creative People in Business list recognizes individuals who used their innovative thinking to make an impact on the world beyond financial success, and have contributed to an innovative accomplishment over the past year that has never been done before in their industries.

“It is an honor to be included on Fast Company’s list of Most Creative People. I’m excited by the work we do at TB Alliance, particularly given recent advances toward our goal to discover and develop better, faster cures for all forms of tuberculosis,” said Dr. Spigelman. “None of these advances would have been possible without the support of all our donors and partners. To them, we are incredibly thankful.” 

Treating TB requires a combination of drugs, and advances in therapy had historically been based on the development of individual drugs to either replace one drug in an existing treatment regimen or add to the regimen. This approach proved to be both resource-intensive and time-consuming, especially in the face of millions of people developing active TB each year and the growing challenge of TB drug-resistance. Through his work with TB Alliance in the late 2000s, Dr. Spigelman (then Director of Research and Development) played an instrumental role in the conception of a new approach to TB drug development: instead of developing single drugs, TB Alliance would focus on developing a complete treatment regimen or combinations of multiple new drugs at the same time.

As a result of this approach, we now have a new treatment for highly drug-resistant forms of TB, as well as additional novel combinations in late-stage clinical trials with the potential to impact a wider segment of the global TB patient population.

“Each year, we recognize artists and conventionally creative people making their mark on business and corporate executives deploying creativity and innovation to address some of the biggest challenges facing businesses and society,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Individually and collectively, the Most Creative People are an inspiration.

To see the complete list, go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2020 Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business issue (September 2020) is now available online and on newsstands beginning August 11, 2020.