Dr Manica Balasegaram is a global health leader and experienced medical professional specializing in infectious diseases, clinical development and organizational leadership. Before becoming the Executive Director of the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP), he trained as a medical doctor at the University of Nottingham, UK, beginning his career in internal and emergency medicine.

From 2001, Dr Balasegaram worked as a doctor and researcher in various countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, focusing on humanitarian emergencies with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). His career includes significant contributions to clinical trials and drug development, particularly in developing therapeutics for bacterial and parasitic infections. He served as Head of the Leishmaniasis Clinical Programme at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) before returning to MSF as Executive Director of their Access Campaign.

In June 2016, after he was appointed as Executive Director of GARDP, Dr Balasegaram led the organization through its transition to an independent entity, launching four programmes and assembling a skilled team. He also has governance experience as a Board member of the Medicines Patent Pool and FIND’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and previously as Board member and Treasurer of MSF Switzerland.

With over 20 years working in global health, Dr Balasegaram has a proven track record in partnership building, resource mobilization, stakeholder management, and governance. Key achievements include mobilizing over €180 million in funding, leading successful R&D projects, and influencing treatment guidelines for malaria, trypanosomiasis, and leishmaniasis. He excels in strategic planning, leadership, project management, advocacy, and public communications.

Dr Balasegaram is deeply committed to improving access to essential medicines and has extensive experience in health policy, drug regulation, and capacity building.

Peter is a public health expert who joined GARDP from the World Health Organization (WHO) where he led the unit responsible for developing global initiatives to foster the development and access to new antimicrobial treatments. He was responsible for WHO’s work on intellectual property and access to medicines, setting up the tripartite collaboration among the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and WHO. He also provided technical assistance to countries to facilitate access to affordable HIV and hepatitis treatments.  Peter chairs the Expert Advisory Group of the Medicines Patent Pool that assesses the terms and conditions of all proposed licence agreements.
Peter is a trained lawyer and was admitted to the bar in Berlin in 2002. He holds a PhD from the University of Freiburg, Germany on European environmental law and has extensive experience in international negotiations. As a Legal Advisor to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Bern, he negotiated bilateral free trade agreements and was responsible for the bilateral dialogue between Switzerland and China on intellectual property. During his time with the Ecologic Institute in Berlin he was an adviser to the German Ministry of the Environment in international treaty negotiations and drafted the German law on CO2 emissions trading.

Most importantly, Peter was instrumental in setting up GARDP as well as the AMR Action Fund, with his wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Pierre-Yves joined GARDP in September 2018 as Finance and Administration Director.
He is a CFO with 30 years experience in international finance and operations, growth and turnaround, controlling and compliance gained from previous roles at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a number of US listed companies, including Eastman Kodak and Barnes Group Inc., where he was Finance Director Europe. Since moving to Switzerland in 2000, Pierre-Yves has set up the headquarters for Scitex Digital Printing and Barnes Distribution Europe and developed their international operations. In his last position before joining GARDP, Pierre-Yves worked as CFO for a privately held health care company.

A Business Administration (Ingénieur Commercial Solvay) graduate of the Université Libre de Bruxelles with a Masters in computer science, Pierre-Yves is a US Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He is also a graduate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Programme.

Carol is an experienced specialist in the global public health sector, having worked primarily within the HIV/AIDS and TB arena. She is an experienced executive with knowledge of the global public health system and good insight of the Southern African health sector. She has more than 20 years of experience in the corporate pharmaceutical industry (J&J, GSK, Adcock Ingram) and in community pharmacy.
She holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Rhodes University, a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Liverpool, and a certificate in Business Project Management.

Yann Ferrisse joined GARDP in January 2018, initially as a Business Development and Analysis Leader. Since October 2022, he has held the position of Business Development & Partner Engagement Director. In this role, he manages all interactions with private partners to enrich GARDP’s portfolio and ensure product delivery at national/regional level.

Prior to joining GARDP, Yann was Managing Director of an innovation consulting firm, focused on exploring and developing uncharted territory. He was responsible for setting up country offices in Europe and Asia (Singapore – the company’s first office in Asia and the hub of their APAC activities).

Alongside his principal role in business development, Yann has been instrumental in the creation of SECURE, an initiative to expand access to essential antibiotics, in close collaboration with WHO and with strategic input from CHAI and UNICEF.

Between 2010 and 2015, Yann was invited to join the Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France, where he acted as French Foreign Trade Advisor.

During her time with Moderna and Ferring, Florence played a key role in establishing sustainable global technical and supply operations, most recently contributing to efforts to manufacture and supply vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Florence was a legal advisor in the public sector, at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva.

Florence earned her law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and was admitted as an attorney to the Dutch-speaking Bar in Brussels.

Seamus O’Brien joined GARDP as R&D Director in July 2018.
Prior to joining as GARDP’s R&D Director, Seamus O’Brien was most recently responsible for building and leading R&D collaborations, partnerships, and networks to address leading pharmaceutical companies’ (Pfizer and previously AstraZeneca) commitment to develop treatment options for antibiotic resistant infections. In particular he played a leading role in establishing novel partnerships with the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority as principal investigator for an antibiotic portfolio agreement and with the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) New Drugs 4 Bad Bugs programme within Europe as leader of the COMBACTE-CARE consortium addressing carbapenem resistance. He has also represented both AstraZeneca and Pfizer Essential Health on the Infection Control Strategic Governance Group for IMI.

Before joining Pfizer, Seamus worked for 10 years for AstraZeneca, initially leading physicians and scientists in the clinical development of oncology and infection products. He played a leading role in building a standalone infection unit to address AstraZeneca’s commitment to developing antibiotics for unmet medical need. He was responsible for bringing a novel antibiotic combination candidate through phase I to phase II and designing a streamlined clinical development programme aligned with emerging regulatory guidance.

Seamus brings with him a wealth of experience in pharmaceutical drug development from antibiotic to vaccine clinical development, across a range of sectors, to leading medical affairs support for a number of product launches. He has a PhD in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and host immunity from the Wellcome Trust/University of Leicester and first degree in Microbiology from Trinity College Dublin.

Regina is a global health leader with over 25 years of experience in healthcare and nearly two decades of strategic leadership in public health programs focused on TB, HIV, hepatitis, and broader health systems strengthening. She brings deep expertise in market access strategy, program design and execution, stakeholder engagement, and working across complex, multi-country environments in Africa and Asia.

Prior to this role, Regina held several senior leadership positions, including at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, where she served as Director for TB Access, and at the Aurum Institute as Group Chief Global Health Officer. She has led large, multi-country teams, shaped global access strategies for essential health commodities, and worked closely with governments, donors, and private sector partners to expand equitable access to care.

Regina is a specialist in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, US board certified, with a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She combines clinical depth with strategic insight, and a strong track record of translating evidence into policy and impact.

In her new role as Director for Access, Regina will continue to advance efforts to expand sustainable, equitable access to high-impact interventions for antimicrobial resistance globally.

Jeff Rowland joined GARDP in 2023 as Director of External Relations, overseeing relations with public and private funders. With more than 20 years of experience in catalyzing positive change in global health and development, Jeff previously worked as a senior strategic advisor at Ignite Philanthropy, advising funders on effective interventions to prevent child abuse. At Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, he served as Director of Global Operational Partnerships, fostering innovative financing collaborations between private and public donors that improved access to vaccines and provided more flexible and predictable funding. Jeff also launched the first private sector fundraising operation at the UN World Food Programme and worked as a reporter for The Washington Post. He holds a master’s degree in international affairs and economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Pierre has over 20 years of industrial experience in Therapeutics Development from Discovery to Market Authorization in oncology and anti-infectives.
In 1996 he obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the ENSAM of Montpelier followed with a Post graduate position at the Polytechnical School of Zurich (ETHZ).

Over the past 10 years he was dedicated to antibiotic development and has successfully conducted clinical studies in several indications such as Diabetic foot Infection, Prosthetic joint Infections, Acute Bacterial Skin and Skin Structure Infection

Prior to working for GARDP Pierre was a Global Project Leader, Associate Director Portfolio Management at Debiopharm International in charge of the anti-infective platform and Alliance Manager of several programs. He successfully secured contracts with CARB-X to expedite the development of new antibiotics targeting specific pathogens and successfully participated in strategic in-licensing activities to increase value of the Company pipeline.

Angela Decool joined GARDP in January 2017 as Operations Manager, overseeing human resources, finance, and administration while collaborating closely with DNDi departments to ensure operational processes align seamlessly with organizational standards. Her strategic and operational contributions have been instrumental in driving the growth and efficiency of GARDP’s activities.

Angela’s dedication and proven leadership led to several promotions, culminating in her appointment as Head of HR & Organisation in 2019. In this role, she provides strategic leadership for the global HR function, ensuring alignment with GARDP’s mission while spearheading organizational design and change management initiatives. Angela’s work focuses on fostering a cohesive, high-performing culture and supporting the organization’s adaptability in a dynamic global environment.

Prior to joining GARDP, Angela cultivated a distinguished career in the pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries. Over nine years at Novartis Consumer Health, she held several pivotal roles within the Global Regulatory Affairs department, rising to the position of Resource and Business Support Senior Manager. She also contributed to the success of industry leaders like Obegi Chemicals Group and BASF, where she optimized operations and implemented scalable solutions.

With an extensive background in business and operational management, Angela excels at transforming complex challenges into pragmatic strategies and tools. Her ability to deliver results in fast-paced, multicultural environments underscores her expertise in resource planning, business analysis, and organizational management.

Dominique is a communications and public relations professional with 20 years experience working in both public and private sectors, focusing on health and development issues. Her areas of expertise include corporate communications, media relations, branding, digital marketing, campaign development and events management.
Since 1994, she has worked for various UN agencies  (WHO, UNAIDS, and Unicef), PR firms, the Global Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Unitaid and an environmental NGO in the US and Geneva. Working in highly complex settings, her responsibilities included developing and implementing communications strategies, crafting corporate messaging, media relations, and managing global campaigns and events.

Throughout her career, Dominique has worked closely with PR and design agencies to build the profile and brand of various organizations. She has also worked in PR agencies in the US and Geneva, managing a range of global health, development and pharmaceutical clients, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In her most recent role as communications consultant at the Global Fund, Dominique was a key driver in helping to make the 6th Replenishment a success by positioning the Global Fund as a leader in innovate private sector engagement. She implemented a multimedia strategy to promote the impact of the Global Fund’s private sector partnerships. Working closely with designers and a filmmaker, she produced a wide range of content in English and French, including press releases, fact sheets, short films and an animation for the website and social media.

Dominique graduated with a BSc in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a major in international politics and concentration in European studies. She completed an executive masters in corporate and marketing communications from IE University in Madrid in 2018. She is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Sally Ellis joined GARDP in January 2017 as the Project Leader of the Children’s Antibiotics Programme, she is responsible for the management of clinical activities aimed at developing 1-2 new treatments for life threatening neonatal infections.
She has experience working as a clinical and project manager in the pharmaceutical industry (including Hoffman-La Roche and Smith Kline & Beecham), CROs, as well as the not-for-profit sector (PDP and academica). She is also a highly experienced clinical trialist. This has included 7 years at DNDi where she was instrumental in building and coordinating DNDi’s clinical portfolio in Visceral Leishmaniasis. Most recently she worked in the Royal Marsden in the UK as the CTU Operations Manager where she had the remit to establish the clinical trial unit for all investigator led trials.

Sally has significant experience working in resource limited settings and also has a Masters in Global Health Policy from the LSH&TM (2015).

Christophe Escot is joining GARDP in September 2021 as Clinical Operations Leader.
He has about 30 years’ experience in clinical operations / development. Prior joining GARDP, Christophe worked for biopharma companies and CROs (including Quintiles & ICON) in leading Clinical Operations positions in France and Switzerland. He has experience in several therapeutics area and many types of products, from chemical to biologics including GMO. Most recently, he worked as Head of Clinical Operations at Polyphor, leading pivotal studies of a narrow spectrum antibiotic targeting MDR Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, and act as Alliance Manager for the partnership with a Chinese pharmaceutical company in oncology.

Christophe earned a MSc in Biochemistry for the Orleans university and a MSc in pharmacology from the Paris university René Descartes.

François Franceschi has worked at GARDP since April 2018 and has over 30 years of experience in the area of antimicrobials.
Prior to working with GARDP, François served as Program Officer for Therapeutics Development (antibacterial and antifungal) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland, where he also served as NIAID’s liaison to CARB-X and as a member of its Scientific and Milestone Review Boards. From 2002 to 2012, he held various Director positions in Antibiotic R&D at Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (now Melinta Therapeutics) in New Haven, Connecticut. From 1990 until 2002 François was Principal Investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Molekulare Genetik in Berlin, Germany, where his research was devoted to the structure and function of ribosomes, especially in complex with antibiotics. His group at the MPI was a pivotal part of an international consortium headed by Ada Yonath, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009.

François earned a PhD in Chemistry at the Frei Universität Berlin, and his undergraduate degree in Biology at Universidad Simon Bolívar in Venezuela.

Justin Green is a UK-accredited Infectious Diseases physician with a PhD in tuberculosis immunology from Imperial College London. He completed his medical training at Cambridge and Oxford before transitioning into global health roles in the pharmaceutical sector.

At GSK Global Health, Justin worked on neglected tropical diseases, including leishmaniasis and malaria. He led pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials that resulted in the FDA and TGA approvals of tafenoquine, the first new Plasmodium vivax anti-relapse treatment in over 60 years. He also played an instrumental role in developing a novel paediatric formulation.

In 2018, Justin joined ViiV Healthcare to lead its paediatric HIV portfolio. As Medicines Development Leader, he was responsible for a key regulatory submission that gained FDA approval for a dispersible version of dolutegravir, one of WHO’s most important paediatric antiretrovirals.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he moved to AstraZeneca to work on the not-for-profit COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria. As Global Project Lead, he oversaw the vaccine’s authorisation in over 100 countries and its global management until its retirement in 2024.

Justin is now focused on advancing global child health through the development of new antibiotics and paediatric formulations. His work spans strategy, clinical development, and collaborative partnerships aimed at expanding access to essential medicines in underserved populations.

Outside of his professional life, Justin enjoys spending time on his allotment, coaching his son’s rugby team, running, and supporting Brentford FC in the English Premier League.

Alan Hennessy joined GARDP as Discovery and Exploratory Research Team Leader in June 2023. Prior to joining GARDP, Alan was most recently head of lead generation and group leader at Syngenta, Jealott’s Hill, UK. He also held multiple roles at Syngenta in people and project leadership from 2011 and several of his projects have now successfully transitioned to the development phase.

He has also spent almost ten years working in anti-bacterial research for GSK, leading diverse medicinal chemistry teams. A highlight was the invention of key phase III antibacterial clinical candidate Gepotidacin (approval expected 2024).

He is an author on 23 papers and inventor on 50 published patents (including the key Gepotidacin patent). He has a PhD in Palladium catalysis from University College Dublin from where he also obtained his primary chemistry degree. Alan brings experience of modern medicinal chemistry research strategies from target selection and hit finding through to later stage lead optimization.

Linda joined GARDP in 2025, bringing over 20 years of experience in cultivating strategic partnerships across philanthropic, multilateral, governmental, and private sector entities active in the global health space. Prior to joining, Linda held key positions at the World Health Organization, World Bank, Gavi and UNICEF where she led the design and delivery of partnership and advocacy strategies, and coordinated complex multi-stakeholder global health initiatives. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, a master’s degree in international development, and is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, certified by the American College of Financial Services.

Julie joined GARPD in October 2019 to act as R&D Portfolio and Planning Leader. Julie developed her hands-on expertise in project planning and portfolio management through several positions in the healthcare industry. She started her carrier as a Senior Consultant at Lowendalmasai in Paris, France, providing support and advises to biotech and pharmaceutical companies regarding their innovation funding and management strategy.
She then joined a French biotech company, Ariana Pharma in Paris, and as a Project Manager was responsible of the development and operational management of large collaborative R&D programs in oncology and chronic diseases. Prior to joining GARDP, she was a Country Operations Manager at IQVIA, in charge of the implementation in France of a novel European oncology data platform in hospitals and clinical centers for the CODE initiative.

Julie holds a PhD in Immunology from the University Paul Sabatier of Toulouse, France, completed by a postdoctoral position at both the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Collège de France in Paris, France. She has also been an independent scientific expert for the IMI2 initiative of the European Commission and EFPIA.

Tammy has 19 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry with extensive knowledge in international regulatory affairs, product quality assurance,
pharmacovigilance, product launches, clinical trial applications, new business development and project management of strategic alliances for both innovator
and generic companies. In her career, she successfully completed the start-up of the technical department for 2 pharmaceutical affiliates in South Africa and Ireland. Majority of her experience is in international regulatory affairs where she has competently delivered and executed innovative regulatory strategies and provided excellent regulatory pathways towards obtaining rapid medicine approvals worldwide.
Tammy studied pharmacy at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa and has a master’s degree in Project Management from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Nicola joined GARDP in August 2018 as Finance Manager and was promoted to Senior Finance Manager in April 2019.
Prior to GARDP, Nicola worked for over 8 years at the UK’s National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Evaluation,Trials, and Studies Coordinating Centre based at the University of Southampton, where she was responsible for budgets, reporting to funders, financial management, and forecasting in relation to the NIHR’s Global Health Research Programme. Prior to this she worked for 6 years at a mental health charity as the Management Accountant.

Nicola qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant in 2005 and obtained a Masters in Professional Accountancy from UCL in 2017.

Karan joined GARDP in June 2023 as Products Delivery Head. He is responsible for strategy & operations of the complete delivery chain covering manufacturing to commercialization.
He is a business development professional with over 13 years of experience in Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Industry. Post education in Pharmaceutical Sciences & Management, he has worked across several positions in companies such as Pfizer, Jubilant Pharma, LG Lifesciences etc. while learning about the complete aspects of B2B business development. In his past roles, he has handled markets such as China, Japan, South-East Asia and CIS for new partner engagement and business generation through licensing agreements.

Susana has over 8 years of experience in project implementation, health policy and advocacy. She has managed projects in middle-income countries with a focus on access to health products, such as the novel Tafenoquine proposition and immunizations – notably, Bio-Manguinhos’ yellow fever vaccine and Butantan’s trivalent influenza vaccine. Such initiatives required Susana to engage with diverse stakeholders including donors, government agencies, academia, manufacturers, and international/national non-profit organizations. To keep stakeholders informed and to design and update effective strategies, Susana leverages her data collection and analysis knowledge to identify trends and translate complex information into easy-to-understand language. Susana brings with her a unique perspective to inform programs and policy from her time as a humanitarian aid worker with organizations such as Oxfam, among others. During her fieldwork, her responsibilities spanned managing primary healthcare clinics, supporting frontline responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting needs assessments, and facilitating aid provision for thousands of people across three conflict-affected countries. Susana holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) and a Master in Public Health from Boston University.

Luca joined GARDP in July 2026 as Head of Business Development, bringing over 25 years of experience in market access, strategic pricing, and health economics in the pharmaceutical industry.

He has held several global roles in value and access across specialty care, rare diseases, and anti-infectives, contributing to the commercialization of antibiotics and other infectious disease treatments in more than 30 countries.

In his current role, Luca leads business development strategy across GARDP’s portfolio, shaping partnerships, market access strategies, and collaboration models to improve sustainable access to antibiotics and strengthen global public health impact.

Luca holds a degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Florence and is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation.

Herbert has over 20 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical development and manufacturing arena across all stages of development. He has served most recently as Development Director/Head of Product Development and Manufacturing Science & Technology at Corden Pharma/Vifor Pharma in Fribourg, Switzerland. Prior to this, Herbert has held a number of scientific and managerial positions of increasing responsibility in R&D and manufacturing organisations, including Roche, Aenova, Bayer and Elanco.

Herbert has a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry & Pharmacology from the University of Bern, and has held postdoctoral positions at the Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research (NIBR) and Harvard University.