Dr. Emil Kakkis and Dr. Jenny Soriano complete $1 million pledge
In 2006, Drs. Emil Kakkis and Jenny Soriano pledged $1 million dollars to the National MPS Society’s Endowment Fund. This generous donation was scheduled to be given over five years. We are honored to report that Drs. Kakkis and Soriano completed their pledge in December 2009, one year earlier than scheduled.
Emil Kakkis, MD, PhD began his work at Harbor-UCLA to develop novel treatments for neglected rare disorders and developed the enzyme replacement therapy for MPS I, Aldurazyme. Aldurazyme development was later supported by BioMarin™ and eventually their partner Genzyme™ leading to FDA approval in 2003.
During his tenure at BioMarin, Dr. Kakkis guided the development and approval of two more treatments for rare disorders, MPS VI and PKU and has contributed to the initiation of seven other treatment programs for rare disorders, three of which are now in clinical development. Dr. Kakkis has left his position as Chief Medical Officer of BioMarin to pursue changes in the drug development and regulatory system. His focus is now on improving the diagnosis and treatment of rare disorders; specifically the process by which treatments for rare disorders are tested and approved, through the Kakkis EveryLife Foundation.
Dr. Kakkis received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National MPS Society for his work on Aldurazyme.
The National MPS Society’s Endowment Fund is a permanent endowment, the earnings from which are used to support the Society’s administrative operations in perpetuity.
National MPS Society Communications Survey Results
The results are in for the National MPS Society Communcations survey! More...
