Addressing a Great Unmet Medical Needs in Africa Despite a revolution in cancer care brought about by the advent of monoclonal antibody therapies, these medicines have mostly benefitted patients in advanced economies.
BioUsawa is building manufacturing capacity in Africa to produce biosimilars of some of the world's most impactful cancer medicines at about one-tenth the cost in the Unites States to ensure access and affordability to patients on the continent.
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We bring together the team with the knowledge, expertise, and motivation necessary to deliver effective and affordable Monoclonal Antibodies to patients in Africa and beyond.
Co-founders Drs. Menghis Bairu and Richard Chin have 25+ years of experience in all stages of biotechnology development and manufacturing from start to finish.Between the founders and colleagues/consultants, the team has worked on most currently approved biologics worldwide. Dr. Chin has constructed, qualified, and commissioned biologics manufacturing plants.
| Physician Entrepreneur, Chairman & CEO. Chief Medical Officer & Head of R&D of multibillion publicly traded biotech companies. | |
| Multiple successful exits ranging from $1.5 to $8.6 billion | |
| Launch experience: Herceptin, Rituximab, Activase/Catchflo, Avastin, Tysabri, Prialt | |
| Board member, publicly traded and private companies, including OneWorld Health, A Gates Foundation-funded nonprofit that successfully developed low-cost manufacturing technology for semisynthetic artemisinin for malaria | |
| Author-Editor: Global Clinical Trial, Playbook for Clinical Trial, Global Clinical Trail in Alzheimer’s Disease | |
| Chairman and CEO: Venture Partners |
| Genentech: Responsible for development of multiple blockbuster antibodies with net current sales of over $10 billion per year (Lucentis, Tysabri, Rituxan, tPA, TNKase, Tysabri, Prialt, Pulmozime) | |
| Harvard M.D., Oxford Law Degree, Rhodes Scholar | |
| Responsible for dozens of INDs and numerous NDA/BLA/MAA/registrations | |
| CEO of OneWorld Health, Founder and CEO of KindredBio | |
| Extensive knowledge of antibody development and manufacturing | |
| Authors of several textbooks | |
| Named by Businessweek as one of 99 youngest public company CEOs in America | |
| Experience building and commissioning multiple bio manufacturing plants |
Dr. Bairu is a physician, entrepreneur, coach, business executive, editor, author, and philanthropist. He has 30 years of international experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, drug delivery and device, global health, and non-profit arenas.
With a career spanning over three decades, Dr. Bairu is a true visionary and polymath, leaving an indelible mark in the fields of medicine, entrepreneurship, leadership, and philanthropy. Dr. Bairu embarked on his journey as a physician, driven by a deep commitment to healthcare. Today, his impact extends far beyond the walls of clinics and hospitals. Currently, he serves as the Co-founder and CEO of Bio Usawa Inc., a private company on a noble mission—to develop and manufacture quality and affordable Monoclonal Antibodies, benefiting patients not only in Africa but also globally. His unwavering dedication to addressing healthcare disparities is a beacon of hope in these challenging times. In addition to his role at Bio Usawa Inc., Dr. Bairu is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Proxenia Venture Partners,, which provides capital, management talent, and access to a global networks of experts to companies in late preclinical and early-stage clinical development in biotechnology that address global challenges and improve patient lives. Most recently, he served as Executive Chairman of Treos Bio, a start-up company that uses computational biology to develop precision cancer immunotherapies tailored to patients' genetics. In addition, he is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Serenus Biotherapeutics, an emerging market focused specialty biopharmaceutical company. In that role he raised up to $43 million in series A funding.
Dr. Bairu concurrently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Head of Global Development for Elan and President/CEO of Speranza Therapeutics. As EVP and CMO, Dr. Bairu was member of the Elan’s Operating Committee. He successfully led corporate R&D due diligence processes that resulted in a transaction with J&J at a value of approximately $1.5 billion. In 2013, he also led corporate R&D due diligence resulting in the sale of Elan to Perrigo for $8.6 billion.
Prior to joining Elan, Dr. Bairu worked at Genentech for more than six years in several managed care, medical, and commercial roles (Rituximab, Herceptin, TNK, tPA, Growth Hormone). He also served on the board of directors of various companies, including One World Health, a non-profit drug development company funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr. Bairu currently serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine where he lectures on global clinical trials’ design, development, and conduct.
Dr. Chin is Managing Director of Ascendant Venture, a family office/venture studio investing in seed-stage startups, with a preference for justice tech companies and other companies with a social mission.
Founder and CEO of Infinita Life Science, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies to cure aging. Founder and Board Member of CEO of Bio Usawa, a biotech bringing affordable cancer therapies to patients in Africa, and AdoraPet Biosciences, a biotech creating healthier, cancer-free, and allergy-free pets.
Previously, Founder and CEO of KindredBio (NASDAQ:KIN), a biotech developing medicines for pets (acquired by Elanco), Former CEO of OneWorld Health, a Gates Foundation-funded nonprofit developing drugs for impoverished patients in developing countries. Former Head of Clinical Research, Biotherapeutics at Genentech. Former Associate Professor at UCSF.
Harvard M.D. Oxford law degree. Rhodes Scholar. Named by Businessweek as one of 99 youngest public company CEOs in America. Author of several textbooks. Responsible for dozens of INDs and numerous NDA/BLA/MAA/registrations.
Oversaw or developed numerous drugs, with current aggregate sales of well over $10 billion per year, including Lucentis, Tysabri, Xolair, Ocrevus, Rituxan (for immunologic diseases), Cathflo, Prialt, TNKase, Protropin, Pulmozyme, etc.
Vince R. Anicetti is the former Chief Operating Officer and Head of Global Quality at Coherus Biosciences, the leading biologics platform company solely focused on delivering high-quality biosimilar therapeutics in regulated markets worldwide. Most recently he was the Executive Director of Quality for Boehringer-Ingelheim's California facility, responsible for Quality and on-site Regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control. He was one of the first 100 employees hired at Genentech when he joined the company in the early 1980s. Anicetti retired from Genentech after 30 years where he held leadership positions in Quality, Regulatory Affairs and Project Portfolio Management, including vice president of Biologics Quality (2006-11), vice president of Portfolio Management (2003-6) and senior director of Regulatory Affairs (2003-6).
Anicetti is a sought-after speaker and has chaired several bio-technology conferences.
Dr. Lukulay is the founder and president of Technology Solutions for Global Health, a consultancy firm based in Ghana providing technical assistance to the pharmaceutical industry in Africa in new product development and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
He is a graduate of University of Sierra Leone (graduating with Honors in Chemistry), Aberdeen University, Scotland, UK and Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI USA where he earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry.
He served as Principal Research scientist at Pfizer in Michigan for several years heading Pfizer’s analytical chemistry research team in support of drug discovery and development. His research team was credited for developing computer aided methods development techniques to carry out separation of complex mixtures of steroids and other complex. Matrixes.
Later in his career, he joined United States Pharmacopeia as Director of its flagship USAID-funded Drug quality program and then served as Vice President of the Global Public health Division. In his role as director of the USP drug quality program, he led a team of scientists and public health professional to provide technical assistance to drug regulatory authorities to conduct various regulatory functions in more than 30 countries in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America. His team was also tasked with providing technical assistance to pharmaceutical manufacturers toward WHO Prequalification of various medical products.
Patrick has received several awards including the distinguished Alumnus award by college of natural Science at Michigan State University.
Dr. Ghosh is a physician with 30 years of experience in public health program delivery. His work has primarily focused on three broad portfolios: infectious disease management via public health solutions; program policy-advocacy and communication for vaccines, drugs and technologies; and primary healthcare delivery (planning, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation). He has held leadership positions with NGOs (field based), state health services (West Bengal State, India), development partner organizations (WHO, PATH, Institute for One World Health) and donor agencies (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - BMGF). Dr. Ghosh is committed to bringing high quality, affordable, inclusive and sustainable technologies and medicines to public and private healthcare sectors. He recently partnered with the Department of Management Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India to launch the Quality, Equity and Inclusiveness Initiative in Public Health to address the inequity gaps in healthcare delivery with evidence.
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A seasoned Life Sciences professional with more than 30 years of cross-functional team leadership skills in areas critical to the success of emerging and established biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Brownell has extensive gained in a series of global positions with Bayer Healthcare, Aerovance, Amarantus Bioscience, Todos Medical, and several executive-level consulting engagements in the biopharmaceutical industry. She is the Founder of Zephyrbiotech, LLC, a consulting practice through which she serves in interim Program Executive positions, and is an Independent Board Director for Impact Biomedical, Inc. Dr. Brownell earned her BS in Biology from Allegheny College and MS, MPhil and PhD in Biology from Yale University.
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As a business lawyer, entrepreneur, and strategic adviser, Mr. Hautman has provided assistance to emerging companies and nonprofit organizations for over 40 years in the areas of general corporate, venture capital, protection of intellectual property, technology commercialization, fundraising, and business strategy. He co-founded three technology companies and two biotech companies and has extensive experience guiding emerging companies and their founders. Previously, Mr. Hautman was a senior partner and a co-leader of the Intellectual Property Practice for the international law firm of Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells), based in Washington D.C. He now works as an independent consultant advising companies on a worldwide basis.
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Mr. Musewe is a seasoned trade and investment executive with over 15 years of experience in advancing emerging markets and fostering regional leaders. Hailing from Zimbabwe, he has done extensive work across Southern Africa and is recognized as one of the Top 25 people shaping the future of Canada-Africa relations. As the founder of Afrifursa (AFRIFURSA), he has built one of Canada’s foremost platforms for bridging African and Canadian innovation ecosystems through trade and investment. As the Associate Director of Sustainable Finance at EYElliance, he empowers entrepreneurs in global emerging markets to scale using innovative finance solutions. Mr. Musewe has received several accolades, including the 2022 African Scholars Global Impact Award and the 2024 Arbor Award from the University of Toronto, reflecting his dedication to community engagement and academic excellence.
Dr. O’Connor brings deep experience in research and development, as well as commercial expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Dr. O’Connor completed her fellowships in hematology, oncology, and AIDS oncology at the combined programs of the Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She holds a B.A. in psychology with a biology focus from Yale University and an M.D. from Stanford University, underscoring her strong foundation as a physician scientist.
With a distinguished career spanning various leadership roles, Dr. O’Connor has been instrumental in developing and commercializing multiple mAb – based medicines. Currently, she is the Chief Medical Officer at Nurix Therapeutics to develop and deliver novel medicines for patients with cancer.
Dr. Hammad is a professor at the Division of Medical Oncology at Queen’s University, Canada. She is the chair of the Education and Training Committee of the African Organization in Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC). Dr. Hammad is a visiting professor at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She is the co-chair of the Network for Advancing Black Learners in Ontario.
Dr. Mutebi is a Consulting Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She is the President of AORTIC, co-chair of the National Cancer Taskforce in Kenya, and co-founder of the Pan African Women’s Association of Surgeons (PAWAS).
Dr Rubagumya is a consultant clinical and radiation oncologist at Rwanda Military Hospital, a senior lecturer and program director of medical oncology fellowship at University of Rwanda.
Dr Rubagumya received his medical degree from the National University of Rwanda, did his medical internship at Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence, Clinical Oncologyresidency at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania, Master of Public Health and Medical Oncology Fellowship at Queens University in Canada.
Dr Rubagumya clinical interests in gastro-intestinal cancers while his research interests are in health services delivery, cancer policy and financial toxicity of cancer care. Dr Rubagumya is a recipient of many prestigious awards from different Cancer organizations like ACS, ASCO, UICC, AORTIC, among others. Dr Rubagumya has authored and co-authored different publications in major journals.
Dr. Lukulay is the founder and president of Technology Solutions for Global Health, a consultancy firm based in Ghana providing technical assistance to the pharmaceutical industry in Africa. He is a graduate of University of Sierra Leone (graduating with Honors in Chemistry), Aberdeen University, Scotland, UK and Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI USA where he earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry.
He served as Principal Research scientist at Pfizer in Michigan for several years heading Pfizer’s analytical chemistry research team in support of drug discovery and development.
Later in his career, he joined United States Pharmacopeia as Director of its flagship USAID-funded Drug Quality and Pan-African Regulatory Science capacity development program and then served as Vice President of the Global Public Health Division.
Dr. Kefela completed his medical school at Indiana University, residency training at Ascension Health/St. Vincent Hospital Systems in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training at Allegheny Health Systems in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He currently works at Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers/WellStar Health Systems in Atlanta, Georgia. He treats all types of cancer and blood disorders, with an interest in breast malignancies, gastrointestinal malignancies, pulmonary malignancies, multiple myeloma, and lymphomas.
Professor Verna Vanderpuye is from Ghana, West Africa, and is a senior consultant at the National Center for Radiotherapy, Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Korlebu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana with affiliation to the University of Ghana, in Accra. Her interests are in breast, sarcoma, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal cancers and researching the specificities of managing cancer in Africa.
Dr. Vanderpuye trained at Howard University and the University of Chicago Hospitals, USA, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the American Cancer Society. As a female pioneer in the West African region, she has mentored many regional and international young cancer professionals throughout their training, young- and middle-level career phases. She inculcates in them the importance of a holistic approach to patients considering economic, socio-cultural, and psychological factors in relation to current evidence of practice. This approach indeed has resulted in improved quality of life even in the face of limited resources, at the same time prompting research opportunities and developing cost-effective, pragmatic approaches to the implementation of new evidence.
Oncology/Hematology
Immunology
Ophthalmology
HEAD, GLOBAL REGULATORY SCIENCE
- Master’s or Doctoral degree in regulatory science or a related field.
- Minimum of 15 years of experience in regulatory affairs within the biopharmaceutical industry, OR 10+ years of service in senior level leadership roles i…
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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
- Strong business planning and analytical skills
- Experience in operations management
- Expertise in finance and budgeting
- Ability to use data to drive decision-making and create effective strateg…
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HEAD OF ENGINEERING AND VALIDATION
- BS/MS in chemical, biochemical engineering, or related field/experience, with a minimum of 10 plus years’ experience in Biologic/Biotech manufacturing
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