Tucson, Arizona, February 21, 2011 - Critical Path Institute's (C-Path) Board of Directors today announced that President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Raymond L. Woosley, MD, PhD, has informed them of his plan to retire as President effective January 31, 2012. The Board is now beginning the search and recruitment process for his successor. Dr. Woosley plans to remain actively involved in C-Path and will continue serving on the Board of Directors and leading C-Path's Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (AzCERT).
In 2005, Dr. Woosley launched C-Path to fill an essential role as a neutral, trusted third party in the drug development process, bringing together scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the regulated pharmaceutical industry to reach consensus on more reliable testing methods so that safe, new medications can reach the market quickly and efficiently. Under his leadership, C-Path has grown to include 53 highly qualified scientists, data experts, project managers, and executive staff. It has offices, laboratories, and a training facility in Tucson, AZ, offices in Rockville, MD, and offices and a laboratory at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.
C-Path currently leads five public/private consortia that include more than 1,000 prominent, international scientists from over 30 major pharmaceutical companies, academia, the National Institutes of Health, and three government regulatory agencies (the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Association). More than 70 organizations collaborate with C-Path, reflecting a principle that Dr. Woosley has fostered throughout his career: Important innovations are more likely to occur when passionate scientists from diverse, and varied disciplines work together on important medical problems and share their knowledge in an accountable and entrepreneurial environment.
In announcing his plans to the Board, Dr. Woosley reflected that he will be eternally grateful to C-Path's founding partners (the FDA, the University of Arizona, and SRI International), supporters in the Arizona community (including the University of Arizona, the City of Tucson, Pima County, Oro Valley, the Flinn Foundation, and many others), and to Drs. Janet Woodcock, Mark McClellan, Margaret Hamburg, and other FDA leaders who have made it possible for C-Path to contribute to improvements in new drug development. He also acknowledged the indispensible support that C-Path has received from Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz), noting, "Over $12 million in grants from SFAz have supported and continue to support C-Path's mission."
Dr. Woosley expressed confidence that C-Path's exceptional Board will be successful in recruiting a highly capable leader and successor. C-Path Board Member and Former Arizona Congressman, Jim Kolbe, emphasized, "Dr. Woosley's initial vision has been realized. C-Path is making an indelible impact on the safety, speed, and quality of medical product development. The Board is committed to sustaining his legacy, and will diligently search for and identify a talented individual with the unique skills and expertise to guide C-Path to even greater success."
About Critical Path Institute (C-Path): An independent, non-profit organization established in 2005, C-Path is committed to transformational improvement of the drug development process. An international leader in forming collaborations around this mission, C-Path has established first-of-its-kind global partnerships that currently include over 1,000 scientists from government regulatory agencies, academia, patient advocacy organizations, and thirty major pharmaceutical companies. C-Path is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, with offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Rockville, Maryland. For more information, visit www.c-path.org.