The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a not-for-profit, product development partnership accelerating the discovery and development of new TB drugs, today announced the decision of CEO and President Dr. Maria C. Freire to leave the TB Alliance after six years of leading the organization to a premier position as a global catalyst for new TB drug development.
"We are saddened by Dr. Freire's decision to move on, and the TB Alliance will miss her wisdom, energy and creativity," said Dr. Gijs Elzinga, Chairman of the Board for the TB Alliance, and Director of Public Health at The Netherlands' National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection. "Her leadership has made the TB Alliance the remarkable institution it is today, establishing it as a critical player in the global health arena."
Dr. Freire joined the TB Alliance September 15, 2001 as the first Chief Executive Officer and President. She has overseen its growth from a nascent organization to one that now has the largest pipeline of potential new TB drugs in history. During her tenure, Dr. Freire recruited and supervised a diverse team of top professionals, and led successful efforts to raise more than $200 million from foundations and governments around the world.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the TB Alliance will soon produce a new, effective and faster cure for tuberculosis-millions of people around the world are counting on us," said Dr. Freire. "It is with this confidence and with a great sense of accomplishment, that I have informed our Board of Directors and my staff that I have done what I had set out to do when I took the helm of the TB Alliance."
"It is time to look for my next challenge and to hand the leadership baton to the next person fortunate enough to hold this position," she said.
The Board of Directors has asked Dr. Freire, and she has agreed, to stay through a transition period while it conducts a global search for the TB Alliance's next outstanding leader. The Alliance has put a Search Committee in place and retained the firm of Korn/Ferry International for this assignment.
About the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development
The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) is a not-for-profit, product development partnership accelerating the discovery and/or development of new TB drugs that will shorten treatment, be effective against susceptible and resistant strains, be compatible with antiretroviral therapies for those HIV-TB patients currently on such therapies, and improve treatment of latent infection.
Working with public and private partners worldwide, the TB Alliance is leading the development of the most comprehensive portfolio of TB drug candidates in history, and is committed to ensuring that approved new regimens are affordable, adopted and available to those who need them.
The TB Alliance operates with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Irish Aid, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in-kind support from National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)). For more information on TB drug development and the TB Alliance, please visit http://www.tballiance.org/.