Hepatitis B Foundation Adds Dr. Ford-Hutchinson to Board of Directors

DOLYESTOWN, PA, September 28, 2012 (Press-News.org) The Hepatitis B Foundation (www.hepb.org), the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy, is pleased to announce the addition of Anthony W. Ford-Hutchinson, Ph.D., to its board of directors. Ford-Hutchinson possesses more than 30 years of experience in pharmaceuticals, drug and vaccines discovery, research and development, business development, emerging markets and scientific strategy. He spent three decades with Merck & Co., where he was most recently Senior Vice President, Vaccines Research and Development.

Under Ford-Hutchinson's direction, Merck developed several multi-billion dollar drugs such as Singulair and Januvia for asthma and diabetes, respectively. He was also responsible for the development of several new vaccines, including Gardasil , Zostavax , Proquad and Rotateq .

"The Hepatitis B Foundation is privileged to add Dr. Ford-Hutchinson to its distinguished board of directors," said Hepatitis B Foundation President and Co-Founder Timothy M. Block, Ph.D. "We look forward to Dr. Ford-Hutchinson's contributions to our translational research and public health programs to bring hope to the 400 million people worldwide who suffer from hepatitis B."

Prior to serving as Merck's Senior Vice President, Vaccines Research and Development, Ford-Hutchinson was the company's Executive Vice President for Worldwide Research. He was responsible for all strategic decisions in Merck's vaccine R&D, producing a pipeline with three vaccines in phase III trials. Recognized as a leader within the industry, Ford-Hutchinson has managed R&D in the United States, Europe, Japan and Canada, as well as in India's emerging pharmaceutical market.

A sought-after mentor and leader, Ford-Hutchinson currently maintains his own consulting business. He has served as chairman of the board of directors for MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Labs and currently sits on the boards of Novira Pharmaceuticals, Okairos AG and SAGE Bionetworks, the Scientific Advisory Boards of Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Ligocyte Pharmaceuticals and Seneb Biosciences, and is a core committee member of the Translational Fund Committee of the Wellcome Trust.

Ford-Hutchinson obtained his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, a master's in molecular enzymology from the University of Warwick and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of London. Prior to joining Merck, he performed research in the field of leukotrienes and prostaglandins at Kings College Hospital Medical School in London and was a lecturer in the school's chemical pathology department.

About the Hepatitis B Foundation: The Hepatitis B Foundation is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. To learn more, go to http://www.hepb.org, read our blog at http://wp.hepb.org, follow us on Twitter @HepBFoundation, find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hepbfoundation or call (215) 489-4900.