New crusade for women’s health

July 10, 2009

Victoria Hale is out to change the world. Again.
The woman who introduced the concept of nonprofit drug development is launching a new venture — called Medicines360 — focused on women’s and children’s health.
“It’s what I do: I’m a serial social entrepreneur,” Hale said. “I want to be saving lives or changing the world.”
But while Hale’s first startup, the Institute for OneWorld Health, survives on a mix of ongoing philanthropy and Big Pharma deals to develop low-cost medicines for so-called neglected diseases of the Third World, Medicines360 is taking a different tack. Financed initially by a four-year philanthropic grant, it will in effect subsidize its treatments for women and children worldwide with sales in the Western world.
“It’s a real business,” Hale said. “We want to find a partner that is aggressive about marketing in the West.”