SAVE THE DATE: October 18, 2007 - Global Health, Biotech Innovation and International Education

On October 18, 2007 IIE West Coast will host its annual gala/dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel, San Francisco and present the IIE Distinguished Service Award to Dr. John Martin, President and CEO of Gilead. In celebrating the achievements of Dr. Martin IIE recognizes the importance of the biotech/pharmaceutical industry, of the Venture Capital community who has provided the funding and the important role IIE West Coast Center is playing in fostering a global dialogue about public health issues through the Leadership Development for Mobilizing Reproductive Health Program. We are honored that Caroline and Gregg Alton, Susan and Jim Gaither, Betty and Gordon Moore and Charlotte and George Shultz have accepted to be the Co-Chairs of the event. The evening will also feature an extraordinary Master of Ceremonies, Myrtle Potter, former COO of Genentech.

Dr. Martin joined Gilead more than 10 years ago and brought to the company a portfolio of compounds that would ultimately lead to the development of Gilead’s first HIV medication. Under his leadership, Gilead has taken what used to be a painstaking 20 pill therapy for a person living with HIV/AIDS to a single pill dosage, making it easier on the patient to take their medication while suffering fewer side effects and providing them with a better quality of life. Gilead is committed to making its medications available in Africa and other regions of the world where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is devastating communities.

Gilead has advanced therapies in other fields as well. The company invented Tamiflu for the treatment and prevention of influenza; the product has since become a potentially important therapy as fears of an influenza pandemic caused by the H5N1 avian flu virus have emerged.

Please join us in recognizing Dr. John Martin, a man who has made a significant contribution to California, to the world, and to furthering the IIE goals of investing in people and linking nations.

IIE is the world leader in exchange of people and ideas. Founded in 1919, IIE manages over 200 educational programs for the U.S. Government, foreign governments, foundations, corporations and individuals touching 20,000 participants worldwide each year. IIE is often recognized for its role with the Fulbright Scholarship Program which it has been managing since 1946 on behalf of the U.S. State Department. Alumni of the Institute’s Fulbright and other managed programs include among others 48 Nobel Prize Winners, 65 Pulitzer Prize winners, 200 Heads of State and 1,500 Cabinet-level ministers.

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For information please contact
Grazia Bennett, IIE West Coast Development Director
Tel. (415) 362-6520 ext. 209 or gbennett@iie.org.

Invitations will be sent out the first week of September.