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Foundation Fighting Blindness Announces Dr. Patricia Zilliox as Chief Drug Development Officer
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Columbia, MD (Dec. 8, 2011)—The Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing sight-saving research for retinal degenerative diseases, appoints Patricia Zilliox, Ph.D., as Chief Drug Development Officer. Serving as a consultant to the Foundation since May 2011, Dr. Zilliox will now be responsible for overseeing the planning and execution of clinical trials through the Foundation’s National Eye and Evaluation Research (NEER) Network, as well as partnering with institutions and companies around the world to advance promising treatments to patients affected with blinding diseases. “We are delighted to have Dr. Zilliox join us in this important role as we enter an exciting era of clinical trials,” said William T. Schmidt, CEO, Foundation Fighting Blindness. “Her passion and impressive experience in facilitating all aspects of human studies for eye diseases will greatly benefit the Foundation as we strive to add multiple clinical trials to our translational research portfolio in the next few years.” Prior to working with the Foundation, Dr. Zilliox served as Senior Director of Clinical Development Pharma at Alcon Laboratories, a division of Novartis, where she had global accountability for planning, development, execution, and management of all pharmaceutical clinical programs for various eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Under Dr. Zilliox’s strategic leadership, her team implemented the Natural History of Geographic Atrophy Progression (GAP) study, which influenced FDA policy of endpoint measurement in a clinical setting. Studying at the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, Dr. Zilliox received a PharmD degree from the Pharmacie School, a Ph.D. from the Department of Microbiology, and a DESS special degree in Pharmaceutical Technologies. She also serves as Vice President of the French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) in Dallas, Texas. About the Foundation Fighting Blindness The Foundation Fighting Blindness is a national nonprofit driving blindness research that will lead to preventions, treatments and cures for retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases that affect more than 10 million Americans. In its 40-year history, the Foundation has raised more than $425 million as the leading non-governmental funder of retinal research. With a network of 50 chapters, the Foundation also provides free disease information and low vision resources to affected individuals and their families. Most recently, a breakthrough Foundation-funded study using gene therapy restored significant vision in children and young adults who were previously blind, paving the way for using this method to treat a wide variety of retinal degenerative diseases, and proving a cure is in sight. |
