OneWorld Health names Dr. Ponni Subbiah global program leader

Contact:
Elena Pantjushenko, 650.392.2537, epantjushenko@path.org.

South San Francisco, California, July 23, 2012—OneWorld Health (OWH) has named Ponni Subbiah, MD, its first global program leader. In this role, Dr. Subbiah will be responsible for OneWorld Health’s drug development portfolio, which is now a program of PATH. Dr. Subbiah joins OneWorld Health after 15 years with Pfizer Inc., where her most recent position was vice president of global access within the Emerging Markets Business Unit. She brings extensive drug-development experience, including strategic guidance for clinical research and medical management.

Dr. Subbiah will officially join OneWorld Health on August 1, 2012. “Under Dr. Subbiah’s leadership, we are confident that OneWorld Health will continue to deliver innovative and achievable solutions as PATH’s drug-development affiliate,” said Jackie Sherris, vice president of global programs at PATH, and OWH’s board chair. “This has been a time of tremendous opportunity for OneWorld Health, and it was important that we find a leader who not only provided a high level of drug development expertise, but who also had a passion for and commitment to improving the health of underserved populations in the developing world. We found that combination of strategic leadership and heartfelt conviction in Dr. Subbiah.”

“I am thrilled to be joining OneWorld Health at such a pivotal point,” said Dr. Subbiah. “This organization has repeatedly delivered on its promise to find a way to provide desperately needed affordable medicines to the men, women, and children across the planet who are suffering from neglected diseases. And now, as an affiliate of PATH, we can take that strong foundation and expand our reach and our impact.”

Dr. Subbiah received her medical degree from Madras Medical College in India and her MPH from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed an internship and residencies at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, and the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. Prior to her role as vice president of global access, Dr. Subbiah was vice president of global medical affairs for the Urology/Respiratory Group, and vice president, US medical affairs, for the Arthritis, Pain, Metabolic, and Neuroscience Groups at Pfizer.

As a Pfizer Global Health Fellow, Dr. Subbiah had the opportunity to teach and provide patient care at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. She has also volunteered her time to work with many diverse populations, including HIV-positive individuals and orphans with AIDS in Uganda.

OneWorld Health discovers, develops, and delivers safe, effective, and affordable new treatments for diseases disproportionately affecting people in the developing world. For more information, please visit www.oneworldhealth.org.

OneWorld Health is an affiliate of PATH, an international nonprofit organization that transforms global health through innovation.