ASSOCIATION FOR ACCESSIBLE MEDICINES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman / President of Sandoz North America, Sandoz Inc.
- Member / CEO, North America, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.
- Member / Chief Commercial Officer, Advanced Markets, Biocon Biologics Limited
- Member / Chief Commercial Officer, Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Member / Chief Commercial Officer, North America Generics, Dr. Reddy 's Laboratories, Inc.
- Member / Chief Executive Officer of B. Braun of America Inc. B. Braun Medical Inc.
- Member / Chief Executive Officer, Somerset Therapeutics LLC
- Member / Chief Operating Officer, PAI Pharma
- Member / General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Meitheal Pharmaceuticals
- Member / General Counsel and Vice President, Accord Healthcare Inc.
- Member / President & CEO Cipla North America, Cipla USA
- Member / President & Chief Executive Officer, Americas, Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
- Member / President and CEO, Torrent Pharma USA, Torrent Pharma USA
- Member / President and Chief Executive Officer, Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC
- Member / President, Apotex Corp
- Member / President, Commercial Operations, Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc.
- Member / President, North America, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc, USA
- Member / Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Member / Senior Vice President, US Commercial Generics and Biosimilars, Teva Pharmaceuticals
- Member / Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, American Regent, Inc.
- President of US Generics, Hikma Pharmaceuticals
- Treasurer / President & CEO, North America, Ajanta Pharma USA Inc.
- Vice Chair / Chief Commercial Officer, US Generics, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Keren Haruvi is AAM Board Chair and President of Sandoz North America. In her role at Sandoz, she leads Sandoz's largest commercial and country organization - the United States - which is responsible for approximately a quarter of the global revenue for Sandoz Inc. She also oversees Sandoz commercial operations in Canada, and is a member of the Global Sandoz Leadership Team and Executive Committee.
Prior to joining Sandoz, Keren served as Global Head of M&A at Novartis International AG. Her early career began at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries where she steadily advanced in leadership roles to Senior VP, Global Business Development and Alliance Management.
Abhay Gandhi is CEO, North America, at Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for all commercial operations for Sun in the United States and Canada. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Taro Pharmaceuticals.
Since joining Sun in 1995, Abhay has held multiple leadership positions in India and international markets, including serving as CEO, India Subcontinent, and Executive Vice President, International. Prior to joining Sun, Abhay worked for Boehringer Mannheim.
Abhay holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Bhavans College, a Diploma in Banking and Finance from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), and a Masters in Marketing Management from SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.
Job Titles:
- Director of Policy
- Director, Policy
Alisha Sud is Director of Policy at the Association for Accessible Medicines. Alisha is responsible for collaborating with leadership to identify and respond to key policy issues affecting AAM members. She also manages research initiatives, public comments, policy papers, and other materials that advance the strategic goals and mission of AAM.
Prior to joining AAM, Alisha was Associate Director of FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute focused on creating a patient-centered system that accelerates science research, dismantles barriers to access, and connects patients with treatments. Alisha previously worked at global strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm Albright Stonebridge Group.
Alisha has extensive experience working with public and private stakeholders to advance global and domestic health policy initiatives. Alisha received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont with a degree in International Development and a certificate in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Alisha is currently a Master of Public Health candidate at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager
- Senior Manager, Meetings
Aquera Agee is the Senior Manager, Meetings at the Association for Accessible Medicines. She has more than nine years of experience in event planning, coordinating the logistics for attendant registration, accommodation booking and booth arrangement, among other functions. She is recognized as a 40 Under 40 recipient by Connect Association Magazine.
Arunesh (Pron: Aroonesh) Verma is President & CEO Cipla North America.
Prior to joining Cipla, Arunesh served as the Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Torrent Pharma, Inc. In his close to two decades in the pharmaceutical industry, he has also held positions at Sandoz and Dr. Reddy's.
Arunesh holds a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Mumbai and a Master of Business Management from Symbiosis International University.
Ashli Durham is the Operations Coordinator for Association for Accessible Medicines. She has over 10 years of operations and administrative office management experience within the government sector, corporate retail, and the banking industry.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of State Government Affairs
Ashlie is the Senior Director of State Government Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines. Ashlie comes to AAM from Quest Diagnostics, where she served as Director, State and Regulatory Affairs. Earlier, she was Executive Director, Government Affairs and Policy for Allergan.
Bob Hoffman is AAM Vice Chair and Chief Commercial Officer of US Generics for Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In this role, he is responsible for executing the strategic direction of the business and all of the Commercial Operations functions.
He has been with Lupin since 2005 and has over 31 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to launching Lupin's generic business in the US, he held multiple managerial roles at companies such as Pliva Pharmaceuticals, Lek Pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Schein Pharmaceuticals.
Bob has a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Management and Marketing from Augustana College.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer at PAI Pharma
Brandon Rockwell is Chief Operating Officer at PAI Pharma where he is responsible for PAI's Growth Strategy. At PAI, he has responsibility for various functions in the organization including R&D, Regulatory, Business Development, Project / Alliance Management and Operations.
Brandon has over 15 years of Pharma experience and has held various areas of responsibilities in generic and branded organizations primarily focused on portfolio, growth and M&A. Prior to PAI, Brandon was at Endo Pharmaceuticals where he was on the Executive Leadership Team and had various roles, culminating in Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for the branded, sterile and generics divisions. Prior to Endo, he held a senior leadership role at Par Pharmaceutical with responsibilities over Business Development, Project Management and Portfolio Management.
Brandon holds MBA from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science from Grove City College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of State Government Affairs
Brett Michelin is the Senior Director of State Government Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines. Prior to AAM, Brett served as Vice President, Center for Political Operations at the California Medical Association, twice as Chief of Staff for State Senate and Assembly offices within the California State Legislature and as Policy Advisor to the California State Senate.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Communications
- Vice President of Communications for the Association of Accessible Medicines
Brian Hart is Vice President of Communications for the Association of Accessible Medicines. He facilitates internal, external, and member communications and marketing for AAM and the Biosimilar Council.
Brian Hoffmann, President of US Generics, originally joined Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA under its subsidiary, West-Ward Pharmaceuticals. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the business and oversees all the commercial, operational and business development functions.
Brian has held positions such as President, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Vice President of Corporate Development and Senior Strategic Projects Director. Prior to 2009, he was a managing consultant at L.E.K Consulting.
Brian holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Boston University Questrom School of Management and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Christine Baeder is the President of Apotex Corp and recently served as chair of the AAM board. Prior to joining Apotex, Christine spent over twenty years in senior roles with Organon Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz Inc., and most recently with Teva Pharmaceuticals as SVP and COO of the US Generics and Global Biosimilars business. Christine holds a BS in Biology from Wright State University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategic Alliances
- Senior Vice President, Policy and Strategic Alliances / Executive Director, Biosimilars Council
Craig Burton is the Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategic Alliances for the Association for Accessible Medicines and the Executive Director of the Biosimilars Council. In his current role, Craig is responsible for leading policy development and issues management for AAM, directing the Biosimilars Council, and building relationships with strategic partners in the health care sector, including patient advocacy groups.
Craig served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, he advised the Secretary, senior Department leaders and White House officials on legislative strategy to achieve key priorities. Craig also served in the Senate, where he was Health Policy Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., and as professional staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Dan Dischner serves as the Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, at Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dan oversees all aspects of Amphastar's communications efforts, including internal and external global communications, public relations, government affairs and corporate community responsibility.
Additionally, in his role within Human Resources, Dan leads in the growth and professional development of employees to advance the next leaders at Amphastar.
Dan has a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Strayer University.
Job Titles:
- Accord Healthcare Inc. Meet
- General Counsel and Vice President of Accord Healthcare, Inc
Emily M. King serves as General Counsel and Vice President of Accord Healthcare, Inc., serving as a strategic partner to business unit leaders internally and with partners, customers and vendors worldwide. Accord Healthcare is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intas Pharmaceuticals, Limited, a pharmaceutical company with a footprint in 85 countries that focuses on oncology products. As the leader of the US legal team, she handles mergers and acquisitions, regulatory matters, contract negotiation, compliance, employment, corporate governance and manages litigation. Prior to joining Accord in 2017, Emily spent ten years as an attorney with boutique law firm Hutchison, PLLC in Raleigh, where she acted as outside general, investment and employment counsel for life science, technology and pharmaceutical companies. Emily received both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Sciences and Regulatory Affairs
Giuseppe Randazzo is Senior Vice President of Sciences and Regulatory Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines. Prior to joining AAM, Giuseppe worked on Novartis' regulatory affairs team, where he collaborated in multiple regulatory policy arenas including drug and policy development, UFA negotiations, and trade association relations. Before Novartis, Giuseppe spent nearly 15 years at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he was most recently an Office Director leading a team of 220 employees under the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. During his time at FDA, Giuseppe also worked in the Office of New Drugs, the Office of Compliance, and helped stand up the Office of Product Quality in coordination with the Office of Generic Drugs.
Gretchen Fritz has been at American Regent since 2006 and is responsible for overseeing all legal and IP matters for American Regent, Inc.
Prior to becoming Chief Legal Officer, Gretchen served in a number of legal positions across the Daiichi Sankyo Group in both the U.S. and Japan.
Before joining the Daiichi Sankyo Group, Gretchen was a litigation associate at the law firms of Hogan Lovells and Winston & Strawn LLP in New York.
Gretchen earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Purchase, and a Law degree (J.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Federal Government Affairs at the Association
Ilhaam "Illy" Jaffer is Senior Director, Federal Government Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines, where she is responsible for the strategic management of government relations initiatives and projects that promote the federal policy goals and objectives of the association.
Illy comes to AAM with more than a decade of political and policy experience including Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), the American Cancer Society (ACSCAN), Capitol Hill, the White House, several presidential campaigns, the City of Houston, and Deloitte and Touche, LLP where she had the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a client.
She holds a BS from the University of Houston and serves on the Advisory Board of the Congressional Asian Pacific Staffers Association which encompasses staff working on Capitol Hill.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- AAM Board Treasurer and President & CEO, North America
Jeff Burd is AAM Board Treasurer and President & CEO, North America, of Ajanta Pharma USA Inc., where he is responsible for the company's strategy and all commercial operations in the United States. He has worked at Ajanta Pharma since 2013 and has more than 20 years of experience across the pharmaceutical industry.
Prior to his service at Ajanta Pharma, Jeff served in a variety of roles at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and CVS Caremark.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering & Managements Sciences and a Major in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Olin Business School at Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Meetings & Marketing
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Membership and Operations
Jewel Smith is the Vice President of Membership and Operations at the Association for Accessible Medicines. Jewel is responsible for serving as the manager for multiple, complex operational projects in support of the AAM mission and strategic plan. She works closely with the Chief Executive Officer to develop and implement appropriate systems to improve operational efficiency.
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius Kabi USA
John Ducker is President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius Kabi USA, and a member of the Managing Board of its parent company, Fresenius Kabi AG. He is responsible for the company's strategy and commercial operations in the United States and Canada.
John joined Fresenius Kabi in 1989 and became a member of the board of Fresenius Kabi AG in 2006 and has been in his current role since 2010.
During the course of his career John has had responsibility for global R&D, which included strategic portfolio management, medical and clinical affairs and regulatory affairs. He also led Fresenius Kabi businesses across several European countries and in other regions.
John holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Cambridge in England.
Karin Hessler is General Counsel for the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM). She provides legal advice to AAM staff and member company representatives on issues relating to generic and biosimilar medicines in the U.S.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Federal Government Affairs
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer at Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Kevin Fortier is the Chief Commercial Officer at Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Kevin joined Cadista in April of 2014 as a National Account Director and has held roles of increasing responsibility during the past nine years.
Kevin's experience includes working for a wholesaler (Value Drug); a contract services company (now IQVIA); a retail pharmacy chain (HEB); a GPO (now Asembia); as well as brand experience at The Upjohn Company and Wyeth. Previously, Kevin was also Head of Sales at another generic company, ESI Lederle.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from James Madison University.
Maryll Toufanian is Senior Vice President, Regulatory Strategy and Government Affairs, at Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc., where she leads the company's efforts to develop top-level regulatory strategies. She also leads Amneal's government relations and public policy interface with state and federal policymakers. Prior to Amneal, Maryll held senior leadership roles at the FDA and served as Associate Chief Counsel for Drugs in FDA's Office of Chief Counsel. Her career also includes time as private practice litigator focused on FDA regulatory matters and white-collar criminal defense. Maryll holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law, an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Afro-American and African Studies and English.
Job Titles:
- Biocon Biologics 's Chief Commercial Officer
Based in the U.S., Matthew Erick is Biocon Biologics's Chief Commercial Officer, Advanced Markets. Matt joined Biocon in 2022 and is responsible for driving the commercial strategy and sales for Biocon Biologics in the advanced markets of North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. With more than two decades of experience in pharma and healthcare, Matt has held commercial and executive leadership roles at MedVet, Viatris, and Cardinal Health in the U.S. Matt holds Bachelor's degrees in both Pharmacy and Biology.
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer, North America
Milan Kalawadia is the Chief Commercial Officer, North America Generics at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc. He is responsible for the commercial operations of all Dr. Reddy's entities in North America, which includes the three main verticals of the generics business: retail/wholesale Rx, hospital/institutional injectable, and private label OTC.
Milan has more than 19 years of experience in the pharmaceutical marketplace. He has been with Dr. Reddy's since 2006. Prior to his joining Dr. Reddy's, Milan worked at Merck.
Milan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science and Information Systems from Rutgers University and a Master of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, US Commercial
Patrick McIntosh is the Senior Vice President, US Commercial Generics and Biosimilars, Teva Pharmaceuticals. He is responsible for the commercial operations of Teva's generic and biosimilars business.
Patrick has more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical marketplace. Prior to this stint at Teva, Patrick worked at Slayback, Mylan and Renaissance. He began his career in pharma at Teva in Trade Relations.
Patrick holds a BS degree from Northern Arizona University - The W.A. Franke College of Business.
Job Titles:
- President, Commercial Operations
Paul McMahon is President, Commercial Operations, at Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. He joined Aurobindo in 2009 as Director, National Accounts and has held roles with increased responsibility during his tenure.
Prior to joining Aurobindo, Paul worked at Barr Labs and Taro Pharmaceuticals.
Paul holds a BA from State University of New York at Binghamton.
Job Titles:
- Director, State Government Affairs
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, Federal Government Affairs
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Pharmacist
- President
Punit Patel is the President and Chief Executive Officer, Americas, Zydus Group. He is responsible for the business operations of all Zydus entities in North America which include generics, injectables and specialty business, rare and orphan disease portfolio and also future forays into novel therapeutics.
Punit has more than 20 years of experience in the generics and branded pharmaceutical marketplace. Prior to his joining Zydus, Punit was the President of Red Oak Sourcing. Punit has also worked at Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics and CVS Caremark.
Punit is a licensed pharmacist who earned his Doctorate of Pharmacy from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of CAPS
- Chief Executive Officer of B. Braun of America Inc
- Director on the Board of B. Braun of Canada
Rob Albert is the Chief Executive Officer of B. Braun of America Inc. He has been employed by B. Braun, a leading global medical device and pharmaceutical company with US headquarters in Bethlehem, PA., his entire career.
Rob also serves as Chairman of the Board of CAPS (Central Admixture Pharmacy Services, Inc.), part of the B. Braun group of companies in the US. CAPS is a network of 25 pharmacies located across the country providing outsourced pharmacy compounding services to over 1200 hospitals and homecare companies.
Rob also serves as a Director on the Board of B. Braun of Canada and as a member of the Foundation Board of Northampton Community College. He holds a BS degree in Business Management and Marketing from Clarion University.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Torrent Pharma USA / Meet
Sanjay Gupta is President and CEO of Torrent Pharma USA. He also heads Torrent's international operations.
He joined Torrent in 2012. During the course of his career, Sanjay has been responsible for US strategy and business development at a pharma company and has led pharma operations in several emerging markets.
Sanjay holds a bachelor's degree from Delhi University and an MBA from Ecole HEC in France.
Sanjeev (Pron: Sahn-jeeve) Krishan is President of North America business at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. USA, responsible for all commercial operations of its Generics Business in the U.S. He has worked at Glenmark since 2005 and has more than 21 years of experience across the generic pharmaceutical value chain.
Prior to Glenmark, Sanjeev worked for Dr. Reddy's Laboratories for nearly eight years in a variety of roles. His responsibilities included management of APIs and generic fixed dose formulations for various parts of the world.
He is a graduate with a degree in Chemistry from Delhi University, and received a Master of Science in Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology. He also completed his MBA in marketing and finance at Symbiosis Institute.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Strategic Alliances
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Sciences and Regulatory Affairs
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Somerset Therapeutics LLC
Veerappan Subramanian Ph.D. is the Chief Executive Officer of Somerset Therapeutics LLC. Veerappan is a veteran in the industry with over 50 years in the pharmaceutical business including Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, and Richardson-Merrell. After retiring from IVAX/Zenith as the Chief Scientific Officer in 1996, he has owned and operated three generic pharmaceutical companies. He is a registered pharmacist in New York and New Jersey and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from Rutgers.
Job Titles:
- Meitheal 's General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Victoria Wohlfeil Cherry is Meitheal's General Counsel & Corporate Secretary since its inception in 2017. In addition, Victoria is the Corporate Secretary of Xentria, Inc. a biotech company focused on novel biologics and biosimilars, which was established in April 2020. Victoria came to Meitheal from Sagent Pharmaceuticals where she most recently served as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary.
Prior to joining Sagent, Victoria was in private law practice in Chicago, Illinois. She has experience in acquisitions and dispositions, corporate and security transactions, and intellectual property matters, including both domestic and international business transactions, litigation management and regulatory and quality assurance compliance.
Victoria earned her J.D. LL.M in Intellectual Property from the John Marshall Law School and her B.S. in Operations Management & Information Systems from Northern Illinois University.