Clearity Foundation names duo to board
By Daily Transcript staff report
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The board of directors of The Clearity Foundation has named Michael Pollock and David Nelson as its new members.
The non-profit organization is dedicated to providing personalized treatment information to women with ovarian cancer, and the two new directors add to its wealth of health care industry expertise and help advance its mission and fundraising initiatives, according to Clearity Foundation leaders.
“I welcome the passion, creativity and expertise that David and Michael will bring to the board," said Hillary Theakston, the executive director of The Clearity Foundation. "I look forward to working with them as we strive to make personalized treatment available to more women with ovarian cancer.”
Ovarian cancer tumors are different from patient to patient, which means they are likely to respond differently to FDA-approved and investigational drugs, according to a release. By identifying the alterations in each tumor’s information pathways, molecular profiling enables the individualization of a patient’s treatment by matching those tumor alterations with one or more drugs.
The Clearity Foundation has developed a process for generating this personalized diagnostic information using commercially-available molecular profiling technologies and then analyzing the results using its Diane Barton Database. Armed with this analysis, patients are able to work with their medical teams to make informed treatment decisions.
“I’ve admired Clearity’s actionable philanthropic approach and their unique focus on helping patients today," Nelson said. "They are addressing an unmet need in cancer treatment and proving that advances in cancer research and testing can make very powerful and immediate impacts on the lives of women with ovarian cancer. I look forward to helping the organization grow in order to maximize its potential.”
Pollock said he recognizes the opportunity to improve clinical and economic outcomes in ovarian cancer treatment.
“The most expensive drug is the one that doesn’t work," he said. "The trial and error approach to ovarian cancer treatment is devastating for patients and needlessly expensive for the healthcare system. I’ve joined Clearity to help speed adoption of molecular profiling to change the outcome and outlook for ovarian cancer patients.”
Nelson is founder, president and CEO of Epic Sciences Inc. He has more than a decade of business experience in the life sciences industry, having founded multiple companies and served in executive roles in another three.
Pollock joins the Clearity board of directors with more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry worldwide. He currently serves as the president of Reynolds Pollock & Associates, a health outcomes research and market access strategy consulting company.