ORIGENDX - Key Persons
Dr. Wortel brings over 25 years of experience to OrigenDX, having worked as a senior pharmaceutical executive for early stage and established companies, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Wortel received his MD at the University of Amsterdam Medical School and his PhD (cytokines/immunology) at the Department of Hemostasis, Thrombosis, Atherosclerosis and Inflammation and the Department of Critical Care Medicine of the University of Amsterdam. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Department of Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX and a Visiting Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular and Critical Care Medicine at Rush University, Chicago, IL. Dr. Wortel has a successful track record designing and implementing R&D and clinical development plans, regulatory strategy, pharmacovigilance / medical monitor activities, Data Safety Monitoring Boards and Clinical Event Committees. Most notably, while at Centocor Inc. he was involved in the development of Remicade® (the first anti-TNF biological drug) and through the Clinical Research Organization he founded (and sold) in a large number of clinical trials, Phase I to IV, developing innovative first-in-class drugs. More recently Dr. Wortel has been engaged in using real world data and AI applications in medicine and life sciences to the benefit of innovative development programs, which will significantly improve patient care. Apart from serving on the board of OrigenDX, Dr. Wortel is a venture partner for the Vesalius Biocapital III Fund and consultant for various privately held and public companies.
George J.M. Hersbach, MSc, EurIng, OrigenDX, Inc. member of the Board of Directors and cofounder, is an entrepreneur and corporate manager with 45 years of experience with private and publicly traded companies in various countries in Europe and the United States of America. He is President & CEO, founder, and owner of Heartstream Group with fully owned subsidiaries Heartstream Capital, holding participating interests in companies, and Heartstream Corporate Finance, financial advisor, with focus on listed and selected private "healthcare" and "cleantech" growth companies. Apart from serving on the board of OrigenDX, Mr. Hersbach is chairman or member of the Board of (Supervisory) Directors and shareholder of Gilbert Technologies (next generation soft mist inhalers for respiratory disorders), To-a-T / T-Soles (systems for personalized and shoe specific insoles), AlgaStar (systems for efficient algae cultivation for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food additive applications), Econvex (chemicals and fuel additives from renewable sources), and Ecolutions (solar energy), and has been serving on boards of various other companies, institutions and organizations in the (recent) past, including NovaRay Medical (medical device for cardiac catheterization imaging), Théolia (wind energy) and the European Commission's Strategic Advisory Board of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme. Until 2002, Mr. Hersbach was President & CEO of Pharming, which he transformed from a private, research driven organization into a publicly traded (through an IPO), biopharmaceutical product development company with several products in clinical phases of development, i.e., treatments for genetic and blood-related disorders, infectious and inflammatory diseases, and surgical and traumatic bleeding. To achieve this, Mr. Hersbach formed partnerships with major healthcare companies and raised a total amount of more than 200 million in various forms of financing. Mr. Hersbach joined Pharming from EuroCetus, the European organization of Cetus (later part of Chiron, now part of Novartis), which organization he co-founded. At EuroCetus, he worked as Vice President, Operations and was responsible for the construction and management of EuroCetus' headquarters and biotech research, development, and manufacturing facility. His career in the biotech industry started in 1977 at Gist-brocades (now part of DSM), of Delft, the Netherlands, at which company he worked in several international research and development, and manufacturing management positions, both in Europe and the United States of America. Mr. Hersbach holds a Master of Science degree (with distinction) in Chemical Technology, Bioprocess Technology from TU Delft, and a European Engineer degree from FEANI. He is married and has three sons and three granddaughters.
Joanne Frederick is a visionary entrepreneur, co-founder of OrigenDX, and the President and CEO of Market Strategies, Inc., her consulting practice. She thrives on seeing the possibilities for innovation within organizations and taking bold steps to create new solutions to meet market needs. Ms. Frederick is a thought leader with 31 years of experience with public sector healthcare programs. Her talent in strategy formation and solution development has resulted in government contract awards exceeding $26 billion. Knowing what to change while retaining program stability is an art she has honed for clients who want to grow but are unsure of specific steps. Ms. Frederick has a holistic and detailed understanding of how government contracts can be leveraged as part of a comprehensive market growth strategy. She enjoys the challenge of solving complex, intractable problems that bring together strategic positioning, innovation, solution design, partnerships, and long-term operational success. She sees the opportunities inherent in complexity and helps clients craft the resilient solutions our health systems need. In 2005, Ms. Frederick founded the first company to deliver on-demand, animated exercise videos via the internet. Ms. Frederick's unique background includes a Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change from the Tai Sophia Institute (Maryland University for Integrative Health) and a B.S. in Business Administration. Passionate about health and wellness, Ms. Frederick is a certified personal trainer, RYT-200 certified yoga teacher, graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition Health Coach program, and an AADP Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner. She recently completed the Global Health Delivery program from the Harvard H.T. Chan School of Public Health for Professional and Continuing Education.