Lauded for his work in the medical field, Mosconi was recently nominated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Protagonista Italiano del Mundo (Italian Protagonist of the World) for his in-depth research activities in the area of infectious disease, including HIV, hepatitis, TB, multidrug-resistant bacteria (MRSA) and oncology.
Mosconi has a global vision. “In third-world countries, no one is looking for treatment for such diseases as TB and malaria,” he explained. “In poor countries these are neglected diseases, with limited treatment options which have not been improved in the last 30 to 40 years."
Outside of his business activities, Mosconi is highly involved in promoting awareness about the urgent humanitarian need to devote research efforts to neglected diseases. “It is not only a humanitarian issue. Bacteria travel around the world and do not need a visa , as evidenced by the rapid emergence of TB strains that are extremely resistant to almost all therapies. This is a security issue.”
Mosconi grew up in a small village in the Italian Alps, where the largest Sanatorium for TB in Europe had been built. “Since I was a kid, I was more interested to hear from my father (he worked at the Sanatorium) about new TB drugs than any other story at dinner table . I became fascinated by the story of an Italian man called Guido Zerilli Marimo, who was the CEO of Lepetit, the Italian company that discovered Rifampicin in 1959. That’s the drug that made TB curable in more than 93 percent of cases. But after 50 years with no further research , TB bacteria are developing a resistance to this extraordinary Italian antibiotic.” Mosconi and others are establishing an organization, Fondazione NEED, and his dream is to dedicate a research center to discovering new TB drugs and vaccines.
Mosconi graduated from the Universita delgi Studi di Milano and started his career working at Marion Merrell Dow (now Sanofi-Aventis), occupying the influential role of European Therapeutic Leader. There, he helped to develop a novel drug for MRSA hospital infections called Teicoplanin.
Always keen to keep moving upwards in his chosen profession, Mosconi soon made the transition to another major player in the US pharmaceutical industry. “From 1996 to 2000, I occupied the position of Executive European Director for Research and Development (R & D) on Anti-Infectives and Immunology at Bristol-Myers-Squibb,” Mosconi said.
Mosconi acknowledged that “the R&D team at BMS has been instrumental in bringing to the market nine new medicines to treat such serious and debilitating conditions as cancer, schizophrenia, depression, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.”
In fact, Mosconi was a key player in the company’s innovation and development. “During my tenure as Executive European Director for R&D on Anti-Infectives and Immunology for the company, I ran a team of dedicated biotechnologists and pharmacists who were crucial in bringing about the development and registration of a number of anti-infective drugs,” he added, “comprising Zerit (stavudine), Entecavir and DDI QD (didanosine) and anti-HIV/AIDS combination therapy.”
After his ground-breaking work at Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Mosconi was keen to move further in the pharmaceutical industry and take on a new challenge. “This came in the form of Biosearch Italia, a private biotech company in Milan which I joined in early 2000 as Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs and Business Development,” he said. “This wide ranging-role enabled me to make a substantial contribution to the formulation and implementation of Biosearch’s strategy and IPO, creating the first ever Italian public biotech in Italy.”
Mosconi contends that “the merger of Biosearch Italia with Versicor Inc. in 2003 resulted in Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, where I played my next role in the pharmaceutical industry.” He moved to USA served as Senior Vice President of Business Affairs at Vicuron, which was then sold to Pfizer. Mosconi noted that “the US pharmaceutical industry has achieved its global prominence largely through spending a relatively high proportion of its revenue on research and development compared to other industries.” The early stages of drug development are crucial to the discovery and implementation of new medicines. “Every year in the United States, millions of potential new compounds are tested, yet only few yield new prescription drugs,” he said. ”It’s a high risk business, which is why the success of this industry depends of a mix of great scientists , business pharmaceutical executives and venture capital . Although we have great scientists in Italy, we still missing venture capitalists. Until we have them, the Italian biotech industry will not emerge, and unfortunately most of those brilliant scientists will migrate to other countries.”
Mosconi is concerned, but not discouraged. “This industry is constantly moving forward. The competition is always intense,” he said. Still, he continues to work on his life’s mission. “I’m dedicated to finding and developing new medicines and therapies to help patients suffering from disease and illness.”
http://www.formulapharma.com/
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