New Chief Financial Officer to provide strategic leadership for CARB-X’s overall financial structure, funds management and optimization of portfolio
(BOSTON: October 31, 2024) – Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) today announced the appointment of Andy Soares White to Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Soares White will oversee CARB-X’s financial operations, ensuring robust fiscal management and strategic allocation of resources. He will manage grant administration, ensure compliance with funding requirements, and optimize the use of grant funds. Soares White will also be responsible for overseeing research compliance activities, ensuring that all projects adhere to regulatory standards and ethical guidelines.
“I am honored to join CARB-X at such a critical point in the advancement of its mission to accelerate a diverse portfolio of innovative bacterial products to replenish the clinical pipeline,” said Soares White, Chief Financial Officer of CARB-X. “I look forward to leveraging my experience in financial management and analysis to make a positive impact on the acceleration of new antibacterial products and overall global health.”
Soares White will oversee CARB-X’s financial structure and funds management as a collaborative partnership of public and private funders, including most G7 governments and the three largest global health foundations. He will provide financial planning and long-range forecasting to mitigate risks and optimize results of the CARB-X portfolio.
“We are thrilled to welcome Andy to CARB-X as our new Chief Financial Officer,” said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X and Professor of Law at Boston University. “His extensive experience in senior financial management, paired with his deep understanding of nonprofit operations and creative thinking done at the interface of large institutions and entrepreneurial enterprises, position him perfectly to provide strategic leadership. As we advance our mission to accelerate innovative antibacterial products, Andy’s expertise will be invaluable in ensuring that we effectively manage our resources and maximize our impact in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
As CFO, Soares White joins the CARB-X Executive Team, working alongside the Executive Director, the Chief of Research & Development, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief of External Affairs.
Soares White brings more than a decade of senior financial management experience from the nonprofit sector, including deep familiarity with nonprofit risk, financial modeling and analysis, and research administration. As Vice President of Finance Operations at Boston University, he oversaw departments for Post-award Financial Operations, Internal Audits, Advisory Services, and Continuous Improvement and Data Analytics. Soares White served on the taskforce to develop Boston University’s 2030 Strategic Plan and holds a Master of Business Administration from Boston University as well as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certifications.
According to the latest estimates, 39 million deaths directly attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are expected to occur between 2025-2050. This is equal to three deaths every minute. Under an alternative scenario where urgent action is taken to replenish a Gram-negative drug pipeline to prevent AMR deaths, more than 11 million deaths could be averted in the same timeframe. This is part of the mission of CARB-X, which is accelerating the development of high-value, innovative products to prevent, diagnose and treat the most dangerous bacterial infections that have become resistant to antibiotics. CARB-X emphasizes performance characteristics that patients need against infections driving the greatest global morbidity and mortality.
CARB-X is funded in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) under agreement number 75A50122C00028 and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in HHS, provides support in the form of in-kind services through access to a suite of preclinical services for product development. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of any CARB-X funders.
CARB-X Contact: Marissa Novel, carbxpr@bu.edu
About CARB-X
CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting early-stage antibacterial research and development to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X supports innovative therapeutics, preventatives and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funded by a consortium of governments and foundations. CARB-X funds only projects that target drug-resistant bacteria highlighted on the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistant Threats list, or the Priority Bacterial Pathogens list published by the WHO, with a priority on those pathogens deemed Serious or Urgent on the CDC list or Critical or High on the WHO list. https://carb-x.org/ | X (formerly Twitter) @CARB_X
About BARDA and NIAID
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to and recovery from disaster and other public health emergencies. Within ASPR, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) invests in innovation, advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products – needed to combat health security threats. BARDA is one of the leading public sector funders of advanced development of antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostics worldwide, having invested more than $2.4 billion in antimicrobial products since 2010. This investment has supported the development of over 160 antimicrobial products and led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of four new antibiotics and FDA 510(k) clearance of eight diagnostics.
As part of HHS, NIH is the primary U.S. federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic and allergic diseases. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
About Wellcome
Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we’re taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.
About the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Education and research are crucial foundations for our future. Thus, the promotion of education, science and research is a policy priority of the German Federal Government. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) strengthens education at all stages of life and provides support for scientific research and innovation.
About the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF)
The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) is a One Health aid fund that supports research and development around the world to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans, animals and the environment for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). GAMRIF core objectives are to develop innovative One Health solutions to tackle AMR; increase availability of context-specific, accessible, and affordable innovations for LMICs; establish international research partnerships with industry, academia, and governments; and collaborate with and leverage additional funding from other global donors.
About the Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention. Created in 2004 with a mission to promote and protect the health of Canadians through leadership, partnership, innovation and action in public health, the Agency’s activities focus on preventing disease and injuries, responding to public health threats, promoting good physical and mental health, and providing information to support informed decision making. The Agency has a long history of working with domestic and international partners on combatting health threats, including AMR. Most recently, the Agency released the Pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR, a multijurisdictional effort that emphasizes One Health collaboration to make progress on AMR.
About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet. The Foundation’s mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.
About Boston University
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With nearly 37,000 students, it is one of the largest private residential universities in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences and a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of leading research universities in the United States and Canada. For further information, please contact Kim Miragliuolo at kmira@bu.edu. www.bu.edu