Simon Chin
Gerianne Tringali DiPiano
Dan Donovan
Stephen Gerard
Jane Hollingsworth
Ramin Najafi, Ph.D.
Chris Porter
Sandeep Shah
Howard Steinberg
Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D.
Carl Whatley
Stan Woodland
STARTING A BUSINESS IS EASY.MAKING IT SUCCESSFUL IS ANOTHER STORY. These innovative, forward thinking executives have not only carved out a niche in the life sciences, in many cases creating a whole new business area, but have successfully steered their companies to new heights.
The quality of life for women around the world could be substantially improved as a result of Gerianne Tringali DiPiano’s dedication to developing products that improve their health. An empowering role model for women and business people in general, Ms. DiPiano demonstrates the ability of women to be committed entrepreneurs, especially in a demanding and highly regulated field such as the pharma ceutical industry, where commercial success can take a decade or more. In founding FemmePharma Global Healthcare in 1996, Ms. DiPiano demonstrated her profound commitment to women and their health. The company focuses on treatments for uri nary incontinence, fibrocystic breast disease, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and other conditions.She is the lead inven tor on numerous FemmePharma patents and develop er of drug formulations that minimize side effects with out sacrificing efficacy. She chairs the company’s scientific advisory board and is involved in all aspects of the company’s opera tions, including research, drug development, clinical development, and commercial operations. In addi tion, Ms.DiPiano personally secured the vast majority of financing for the company and continues to be its lead fundraiser. Though starting a business is timeconsuming, Ms. DiPiano balances her role at work with community involvement. Education is fundamental to Ms. DiPiano’s philosophy,and she serves on the board of many academic institutions as well as healthfocused organizations. Her concern for fair treatment of women extends beyond healthcare; she is a By founding FemmePharma Gerianne Tringali DiPiano has demonstrated a profound commitment to women and their health. trustee of the Women’s Law Project, a nonprofit public interest legal advocacy group. She also was named one of “Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business” by Gov. Edward G. Rendell and five Pennsylvania business journals. The award is given to women who are not only business leaders, but who are making valuable contributions to Pennsylvania’s future through their efforts to positively influence the state’s economic future. She is also a strong supporter of local and national charities, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, which has honored her with the MS Leadership Award. Her faith is also central to her and she draws on this in the way she leads, always striving to improve and, as she puts it, teach her team how to fish. Through her determination, achievements, and willingness to give of herself, Ms. DiPiano is an outstanding example to others. GETTING PERSONAL Gerianne Tringali DiPiano is Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO of FemmePharma Global Healthcare Inc. (femmepharma.com), Wayne, Pa., which is devoted to developing drugs for diseases and disorders disproportionately affecting women throughout the world. Ms. DiPiano has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including time spent at several multinational companies.She has worked in such areas as sales,marketing, market and systems planning, medical affairs, new product developing, licensing, and business development. In addition to her industry experience, Ms. DiPiano has held academic appointments at St. Joseph’s University as Director of the MBA program and adjunct professor of marketing.Currently,Ms.DiPiano is Executive Vice Chairperson on the Board of Trustees for Drexel University. She is on the Corporate Advisory Board of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, the Editorial Advisory Board of Biotechnology Healthcare, Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, The Women’s Law Project of Pennsylvania, the Advisory Board for the School of Public Health,Drexel University, and the Temple University School of Allied Health Professions Board of Visitors. WOMEN’S ADVOCATE BLAZES A PATH NAME:Gerianne Tringali DiPiano TITLE: President and CEO COMPANY: FemmePharma Global Healthcare Inc. EDUCATION: B.A., Marquette University; MBA, St. Joseph’s University PLACE OF BIRTH: Baltimore FAMILY: Husband Michael DiPiano Jr.; one daughter, Erin Maria Tringali, 13; two dogs, Dolce Gabbana and Ginny Weasley; she is the oldest of five children, her parents are Joseph and Connie Tringali HOBBIES: Playing guitar, horseback riding, running/working out THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE IN HER CAREER: Her Dad, who taught her the rules: 1st God, 2nd Family; 3rd Business … it works TENACIOUS. ANALYTICAL. GERIANNE DIPIANO In PostApproval, knowing what looms around every corner is critical to your success. You need an experienced partner who can empower you with a thorough understanding to make informed decisions. For over a decade, our PostApproval teams have been comprised of medical professionals. Our experts work passionately alongside your teams to rapidly identify actionable safety data, putting you in control of your product’s lifecycle. To learn more, please call Craig Eslinger at +919 456 4200 x4325 or visit www.ppdi.com/services/post_approval. Post Approval Services from PPD. Helping you Advance the Science of Safety When you know what to look for, the real opportunities are clear. Count on PPD. www.ppdi.com 42 July / August 2008 PharmaVOICE The ENTREPRENEURS It is a rare corporate leader who can provide meaning and support to so many, while garnering the respect of the health community. Howard Steinberg is such a leader; he has had a positive effect on millions of people with diabetes. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 10, Mr. Stein berg has turned a lifelong challenge into a quest to improve the lives of people living with diabetes. He recognized that diabetes is more than a dis ease; it is a lifestyle, affecting how people live every hour of every day. Aware of how disconnected and poorly informed people with diabetes are, Mr. Steinberg used his entrepreneurial business skills to build a community that provides the lifestyle information and resources diabetics need to remove some of the desperation and isolation of managing their disease. The result is the massmedia resource dLife, which was created four years ago to be a community connection via a weekly TV program, a Website, and a host of other media channels. Mr. Steinberg has provided an avenue for people with diabetes to become motivated, educated, and connected as a group. In so doing, he has brought his vision to fruition. The dLife Website, television program on CNBC (Sunday nights at 7 p.m. EST), newsletters, radio vignettes, and more provide the latest information to empower the millions with diabetes to live better and healthier. The TV program motivates people to accept responsibility for managing their disease using celebrity and athlete stories, as well as showing ordinary people successfully, and sometimes not so successfully, living with diabetes, and by offering practical advice for healthy living. The Website offers more than 12,000 pages, active forums, 10,000 recipes, and 400plus videos bringing depth to subjects discussed on TV in a manner unavailable elsewhere, and with a focus on the practical, day to day realities of living a diabetes lifestyle. Mr. Steinberg’s network has achieved a host of awards, including 13 Telly Awards for cable TV excellence, 11 National Health Information Awards, and the Eli Lilly’ Lilly for Life Award for Diabetes Journalism, recognizing the quality of the content, and more importantly, the impact on millions of children and adults living with diabetes. Getting dLife to where it is today has been rewarding, but also a true challenge. Raising funds, getting a TV show on the air, building a great Website, and enlisting sponsors was not easy, Mr. Steinberg says, particularly given the scientific data driven nature of the healthcare industry. Launching a new consumer paradigm in an industry characterized by risk aversion and quantitatively driven decision making does not happen over night, and he has had to be aggressive in making his case for this type of consumer dialogue. His ingenuity in creating a new paradigm of health information delivery, and his dogged persistence in ensuring its success, makes him a driving force in the lifesciences industry. Mr. Steinberg sets the leadership tone for all who work with him, both internally as well as within the diabetes community, and he brings out the best in those who truly care about making a difference in the diabetes community. His mission is to engage the consumer at every touch point; he maintains that personal diabetes management needs to be available at pointofneed, not just pointofcare, and will ultimately be enabled by technology. Direct and transparent in all he does, Mr. Steinberg argues it is a waste of time to dance around subjects, over think things, or get stuck in the mire of politics, process, and pandering. Rather, he likes solving problems, getting things done, and moving on to the next challenge. People make many choices throughout their lives, and Mr. Steinberg has found a way to help others using an innovative business model. GETTING PERSONAL Howard Steinberg is Founder and CEO of dLife — For Your Diabetes Life! (dlife.com), Westport, Conn., which he founded in early 2004. Mr. Steinberg started his career in con sumer product marketing,spending several years at Pepsi,serving in brand and marketing management positions. In 1989, he founded his own agency, Source Marketing. By 1998, Source had grown to become a leader in the promotional marketing industry, and he sold a majority interest to a large marketing services company in Canada, MDC Corp. He stayed on as CEO of Source through 2004 when he started dLife. NAME:Howard Steinberg TITLE: Founder and CEO COMPANY:dLife — For Your Diabetes Life! EDUCATION: B.S., Management, New York University; MBA, Marketing, New York University DATE OF BIRTH: Aug. 23, 1958 ON HIS READING LIST: The Last Campaign, by Thurston Clarke FAMILY: Wife of 25 years, Tracey; three daughters: Sarah, 23, Anna, 21, and Ruby, 11 DIRECT. TRANSPARENT. Having seen the devastation of diabetes firsthand, visionary marketer Howard Steinberg built a massmedia outlet providing information, resources, and connections for the 24 million Americans with diabetes that mainstream media outlets don’t. Howard STEINBERG DIABETES CHAMPION MAKES THE CONNECTION