NUTLEY, N.J., April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Roche employees were recognized for their significant contributions to industry in New Jersey at the 2006 TWIN Awards Dinner held at the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe on April 27, 2006. Honored were Celia Gately, Ph.D., executive director, Due Diligence in Pharma Partnering; Lisa Maffei Luther, senior director, Drug Regulatory Affairs; and Shelley Rosenstock, executive director, Product Public Relations and Advocacy in Public Affairs.
“These three individuals have made outstanding contributions to Roche and to the health care industry as a whole,” said George Abercrombie, president and CEO of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. “They exemplify the best and the brightest among their peers.”
TWIN, which stands for Tribute to Women and INdustry, is sponsored by the YWCA of Bergen County to recognize women who have achieved responsible managerial, executive or professional positions and have made significant contributions to their industries. This year’s honors went to 49 women selected from Bergen, Essex, Passaic and Hudson counties in New Jersey and Rockland County in New York.
The Awardees
Celia Gately, Ph.D., is executive director, Due Diligence, Pharma Partnering, responsible for overseeing the team that evaluates licensing opportunities. She brings extensive knowledge of the clinical drug development process to this post, gained through her many years experience in the planning, conduct and evaluation of clinical trials.
“I am honored to receive this recognition and thank all of my colleagues at Roche who have made my job in business development so rewarding,” she said. Gately joined Roche in 1985 as clinical project coordinator in Inflammation and Metabolic Diseases and has held a number of increasingly responsible clinical operations positions. In 2002, she was named global alliance director in Pharma Licensing, was promoted to Nutley site head for Pharma Partnering Alliances in 2004 and to her current global post in 2005. She earned her B.S. in biological sciences from Cornell University and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in immunology from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
“Her expertise in due diligence, thorough knowledge of the clinical drug development process and strong interpersonal skills make Celia an asset to Roche and a role model for everyone she works with,” said Dennis Burns, vice president, Global Business Development.
Lisa Maffei Luther, is senior director, Drug Regulatory Affairs (DRA), PDR Lifecycle Management. She has provided regulatory leadership and strategic direction to projects in many diverse disease areas, and served as a key liaison to the FDA. As senior director, she oversees a number of teams and products. In her tenure with the Regulatory group, she assumed diverse positions of increasing scope and responsibility. She led the FDA filings for the early AIDS drugs HIVID(R) (zalcitabine) and Invirase(R) (saquinavir mesylate), which positively affected the lives of countless HIV/AIDS patients when no satisfactory alternatives existed. She also spearheaded a number of process improvements for the regulatory group, which are used globally.
“Lisa is a strong results-oriented leader who motivates and inspires many PDR employees whom she has managed over the years. She is a valued mentor to men and women,” said Dr. Cynthia Dinella, vice president, DRA.
Maffei Luther joined Roche 23 years ago right out of college as an assistant scientist then moved to Clinical Science, managing clinical trials. She holds a B.S. in biology with honors from Montclair State University and a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Administration from Long Island University.
“Several of my close colleagues who I have enormous respect for have been TWIN recipients. It’s an honor to be considered of their stature,” said Luther.
Shelley Rosenstock, is executive director, Public Affairs, and heads the Product Public Relations and Advocacy team that supports all of Roche’s therapeutic areas. During her 25 years in the health care industry, including the past seven with Roche, Shelley has been responsible for developing and implementing cutting-edge public relations programs that affect product acceptance and impact corporate reputation. In addition, she leads the company’s efforts to cultivate and partner with a cross-section of third-party consumer advocacy and professional business organizations on behalf of the company.
“I feel honored to be a part of this group of such accomplished Roche women who have received TWIN awards in previous years. Working in this field for a company like Roche, knowing that we are making a difference in patients’ lives, is highly motivating and rewarding.”
Shelley joined Roche as a Public Affairs director, following nine years at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center as director of Public Relations and Communications. Previously, she spent a decade with leading public relations agencies in increasingly responsible positions, the most recent being DeVries Public Relations, Inc. where she worked as a senior vice president. Shelley represents Roche on the Affordability and Access Board Committee of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and is on the Board of Cosmetic Executive Women. Shelley earned a B.S. degree in Journalism, magna cum laude, from Boston University School of Public Communications.
“Shelley is an invaluable team player who strives for the highest standards in leadership, creativity and commitment to performance,” said Carolyn Glynn, vice president, Public Affairs.
About Roche - More Than a Century in the U.S. and the World
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche), based in Nutley, N.J., is the U.S. pharmaceuticals headquarters of the Roche Group, one of the world’s leading research-oriented healthcare groups with core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. For more than 100 years, the Roche Group has been committed to developing innovative products and services that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people’s health and quality of life. An employer of choice, in 2005, Roche was named one of Fortune magazine’s Best Companies to Work For in America, one of the Top 20 Employers (Science magazine), ranked as the No. 3 Best Company to Work For in NJ (NJ Biz magazine), the No. 1 Company to Sell For (Selling Power), and one of AARP’s Top Companies for Older Workers. For additional information about the U.S. pharmaceuticals business, visit our websites: http://www.rocheusa.com or http://www.roche.us.
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