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Profile:
Mr. Walsh is the co-founder, President and CEO of the Alpha-1 Foundation in Miami, Florida. Under his leadership, the organization has become internationally recognized and has invested more than $28 million to support Alpha-1 research and research-related projects, which includes funding grant awards to more than 50 academic institutions in North America and Europe. Mr. Walsh is also co-founder and President of AlphaNet, Inc. a not-for-profit disease management services company providing comprehensive care exclusively for individuals with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. AlphaNet, Inc. currently provides services to 2,500 individuals with Alpha-1 in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Due to the infrastructure and support provided by the Foundation and AlphaNet, several companies have drugs in development for the treatment of Alpha-1. In 2002 Mr. Walsh’s contribution to pioneering collaboration in orphan drug development was recognized by the FDA with the Commissioner’s Special Citation. Mr. Walsh has an extensive background in business management and government relations; he served three terms on the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability (1997-2006), is Immediate-Past Chairperson of the National Health Council’s Board of Directors (2005-2006), he is Past Chair and a member of the American Thoracic Society Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR) and was the Presidential Appointee (2004-2005) of the American Thoracic Society’s Board of Directors. He is a member of the American Lung Association National Action Panel on Lung Disease, is on the Advisory Board of the Center for Genetic Research Ethics And Law (CGREAL) at Case Western Reserve University, is a Trustee on the Foundation of the American Thoracic Society (2006-2008) is a member of the US COPD Coalition Executive Committee, Chair of the International COPD Coalition (2006-2008), and a member of the COPD Foundation Board of Directors. He regularly testifies before Congress and advisory groups as a patient advocate. Mr. Walsh was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, in 1989.
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