Are we winning the war against rare, or “orphan,” diseases? A casual observer could be forgiven for thinking so, given the drumroll of news. The crescendo came in 2011, when the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved 26 drugs in this category, meaning for illnesses that afflict fewer than 200,000 people. It was the … Continue reading “Fighting a Global War on Rare Diseases”
Author: Francois Nader
Francois Nader was president and chief executive officer of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from March 2008 - March 2015. Dr. Nader joined NPS in June 2006 and served as executive vice president and chief operating officer until March 2008. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing the company’s worldwide research and development, commercial operations, manufacturing and regulatory affairs. Before joining NPS, Dr. Nader was a venture partner at Care Capital, LLC from July 2005 to June 2006, during which time he served as chief medical officer of its clinical development capital unit. From 2000 to July 2005, Dr. Nader was with Aventis Pharmaceuticals where he served as senior vice president, integrated healthcare markets and senior vice president, North America medical and regulatory affairs. He was also vice president, North America medical and regulatory affairs and vice president, US medical affairs and global health economics at Hoechst Marion Roussel from 1990 to 1999. Dr. Nader also served as head of global commercial operations at the Pasteur Vaccines division of Rhone-Poulenc from 1985 to 1990. Dr. Nader received a French State Doctorate in Medicine from St. Joseph University and a Physician Executive M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee.
Lessons on Bouncing Back From Disaster
Disaster is defined by Merriam-Webster as a sudden or great misfortune or failure. In 2006, NPS Pharmaceuticals had certainly experienced its own “disaster.” With much of the company’s resources dedicated to building a commercial infrastructure in anticipation of FDA approval of its lead product for osteoporosis, the company was thrown a curve ball. NPS received … Continue reading “Lessons on Bouncing Back From Disaster”