Assembling the pharmaceutical R&D puzzle for needs in the developing world

Jean-Christophe Nothias

President of Geneva Global

Jean-Christophe Nothias was born in Rouen, France in 1959. He started his
journalism career at age 19, working in the field as a reporter for the daily newspaper,
Paris-Normandie. At age 21 he joined the magazine Actuel where his reports in the
style of the “new American journalism” gained renown. His work covered primarily the
United States and Eastern Europe. In 1985, he joined for three years Le Monde as
head of new editorial projects under the direct supervision of André Fontaine and
Bernard Wouts, the publishers. With his passionate interest in the environment, Nothias
launched Decision Environment a professional magazine in 1988. In 1991, he moves to
the Balkans where he co-founded Republika the first independent daily within the
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Returning to Paris he advise different major media
groups in their development strategies.
In 1995, he made a career change, joining BPI Group, the European leading consulting
firm in downsizing where he prepared and implemented 35 missions. In 1998, Altédia
consulting firm offers to join its executive committee. He dealt with several sensitive
issues at Air France, EADS, Thales,... In parallel with his consulting activities, he kept
his pen active writing screenplays, documentaries and books.
In 2008 he takes over Mediapart development, a news French website, spin-off of Le
Monde based on a paid-for content strategy. Under his command, the site increased
from 7,000 to 18,000 subscribers. In October 2009, he made the decision to launch the
Global Journal and its first magazine is launched in June 2010 from Geneva and NY.
Nothias is also the President of Geneva Global, a think tank designed to strengthen the
position of Geneva as a place of reflection and creation of new models of governance.

Mario Ottiglio

Associate Director, Public Affairs & Global Health Policy at the IFPMA

Mario Ottiglio is Associate Director, Public Affairs & Global Health Policy at the IFPMA
where he has been working since 2007 in positions of increasing responsibility. At
IFPMA, Mario leads on interactions with key stakeholders such as governments,
international organizations and civil society and coordinates IFPMA Members’ policy
positioning on current global health issues. Mario is also the IFPMA policy lead on the
WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action for Public Health, Innovation and IP. Prior to
joining the IFPMA, Mario worked as a consultant, both for governments and private
firms.
An Italian national, Mario holds an MA in Political Science from the Naples Eastern
University.

Meir Perez Pugatch

Managing director of Pugatch Consilium

Meir Perez Pugatch is the managing director of Pugatch Consilium, a boutique
consultancy providing evidence-based research, analysis and intelligence on the
fastest growing sectors of the knowledge economy.
He has an extensive experience in the fields of intellectual property and policies,
technology transfer, market access issues and public health systems in
developed and emerging economies.
In addition to his work at Pugatch Consilium, Meir is a senior lecturer at the
University of Haifa, Israel, where he is the Chair of the Health Systems
Administration Division at the School of Public Health.

Rachel Chu

Senior consultant at Pugatch Consilium

Rachel has in-depth experience and expertise in biomedical innovation as well as
international innovation policy. Rachel’s particular emphasis is on non-traditional
models of intellectual property and collaborative models of innovation aimed at
developing countries.
She holds an MSc in European Political Economy from the London School of
Economics.

Pascale Boulet

IP and Policy Advisor at DNDi

Pascale Boulet joined DNDi as IP and Policy Advisor in November 2008 to coordinate
DNDi research activities in policy areas such as the management of intellectual
property, regulatory issues and financing/incentives mechanisms for R&D into
neglected diseases.
Pascale has over 10 years experience in issues related to intellectual property and
access to medicines in developing countries. She worked as senior legal advisor of
MSF Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines for eight years, and as technical
officer in WHO Department of Essential Medicines for three years.
Pascale Boulet holds a Masters in International Public Economic Law from the
University of Pantheon-Sorbonne in Paris.

Thiru Balasubramaniam

Geneva Representative of Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)

Thiru Balasubramaniam is the Geneva Representative of Knowledge Ecology
International (KEI). He has represented KEI in various multilateral fora including the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly, the WIPO
Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), the WIPO Standing Committee on
Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the WIPO Committee on Development and
Intellectual Property (CDIP), the Internet Governance Forum, the World Health
Organization (WHO) World Health Assembly, the WHO Executive Board and the WHO
Intergovernmental Committee on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property
(IGWG) to name a few.
Prior to his post as KEI’s Geneva Representative, Mr. Balasubramaniam worked at
Health Action International in Colombo and at the World Health Organization in Geneva
as a technical officer in the Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy
dealing with access to medicines and intellectual property. During his first year at WHO,
Mr. Balasubramaniam was a Global Health Leadership Fellow, supported by the
Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations Foundation. He began his career with
CPTech working on issues related to health care and intellectual property.
Mr. Balasubramaniam holds a B.A. in Economics and a Minor in European History from
the University of Pennsylvania.

Chris Gray

Senior Director, Global Institutions, at Pfizer

Chris Gray is Senior Director, Global Institutions, at Pfizer in New York. He previously
served as the Global Lead on tobacco control, cardiovascular, and women’s health for
International Public Affairs, and as Director for International Policy. Chris joined Pfizer
in 2008 from Ernst & Young, where he served as the Markets Leader for the firm’s
Global Pharmaceutical Center. While at E&Y, he also authored the annual
pharmaceutical thought leadership report, Progressions, and engaged with companies
on global access business models. Chris previously covered the life sciences industry
for many years as a journalist based in Washington DC. He holds an Masters in
International Relations and Economics from The Johns Hopkins University School of
Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA in International Relations from Tufts
University.