Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 23, 2010 – Diagnostics For All, a non-profit employing leading-edge microfluidic technology from Harvard University to solve pressing health problems in the developing world, named Una S. Ryan president and chief executive officer. In her new role, Ryan will bring DFA’s proprietary, low-cost medical diagnostics out of the lab and into the hands of aid workers who can use them to save lives in the developing world. Ryan brings 20 years of executive experience in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to a non-profit working to solve some of the world’s most pressing public health issues. Treatments for AIDS and tuberculosis, for instance, require precise monitoring of liver function – measurements that have been unavailable in poor and lesser-developed parts of the world where blood samples cannot be shipped to a nearby laboratory for processing.
Diagnostics For All’s paper-based liver-function device provides a convenient, low-cost solution that will enable doctors to treat patients with state-of-the-art medications while helping them to avoid adverse side effects. A recent study by the RAND Institute found that new diagnostics have the potential to save millions of lives each year in developing countries.
“Diagnostics For All is extremely fortunate to have attracted someone with Una’s combination of superb scientific credentials, extensive experience in management of technology, and history of work in satisfying needs in developing economies,” said professor George M. Whitesides of Harvard University. “We will also benefit from her energy, imagination, and skill with people.” Whitesides is co-founder of Diagnostics For All and of for-profit companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $20 billion.
For 10 years ending in 2008, Ryan served as president and chief executive officer of AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc., a publicly traded firm that developed novel vaccines to treat some of the most prevalent infectious diseases around the world, including cholera and typhoid. Most recently, she served as chief executive officer of Waltham Technologies Inc., a biotechnology startup developing unique algae that can purify industrial wastewater streams while yielding useful biodiesel fuels. Ryan is also a well-known leader in the biotechnology industry. She served as chair of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (now MassBio) and served on its board from 1996 to 2008. She serves on the boards of AMRI, Rhapsody Biologics Inc., Altos Vision Ltd., IQuum Inc., and is a member of the business advisory board of BIO Ventures for Globe Health, the scientific advisory board of Genocea Inc., and the UMass High Technology Executive Council.
“From preventing the spread of infectious disease to finding solutions to the global fresh water crisis, my professional career has always centered on improving health,” said Ryan. “Diagnostics For All has the potential to have a profound impact on public health in some of the world’s most disadvantaged regions. I look forward to making our low-cost diagnostics available to physicians, health workers and patients where traditional developed-world technology is too expensive or will not work.”
Ryan has been awarded the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences and the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services in research, development and promotion of biotechnology. She is a research professor in medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine.
Diagnostics For All, based in Cambridge, Mass., has exclusive rights to diagnostic technology developed by Whitesides at Harvard University. As a nonprofit, DFA is dedicated to saving lives in the developing world through the development and commercialization of this technology free of shareholder pressures.
In 2008, the organization won business plan competitions from Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – the first time any organization has won both.
DFA’s first project, to develop its paper-based liver-function test, is supported in part by a grant awarded Harvard University from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Incorporated in 2007, Diagnostics For All is a 501(c)(3) non-profit enterprise creating low-cost, easy-to-use point-of-care diagnostic devices specifically designed for the developing world. These devices are elegantly simple and inexpensive. They require minimal training to use, minimal sample preparation, and no electricity or additional equipment. For more information, visit www.dfa.org or email info@dfa.org.
