Finished business
After four years at the helm of its business development endeavours,
Dr Rocco Iannello was recently farewelled by the faculty.
As director of business development at MIPS,
Dr Iannello worked primarily across the pharmacy
and medicine faculties at Monash. He drove
and facilitated inter-disciplinary research
collaboration across both faculties and led the
business development, industry engagement and
commercialisation strategies across these faculties
and, where required, the broader university.
Professor Bill Charman said Dr Iannello had been
instrumental in guiding the strategic direction of
the faculty’s business development initiatives and
achieving some outstanding results.
“Rocco Iannello has been a fabulous contributor
to the growth of MIPS and the Centre for
Medicine Use and Safety, and to our overall
research enterprise. He has led the structuring
and negotiation of our major corporate and
collaborative partnerships and has been the
lynchpin in our interaction with the technology
transfer and commercialisation activities of the
University. He has had a passion for supporting
our researchers, and contributed significantly to
the MIPS Executive Committee,” he said.
Dr Iannello will head up the international
business development activities of Gordagen
Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, which focuses on
developing biopharmaceutical therapeutic
agents and evidence-based nutraceuticals.
“Rocco leaves with our best wishes for his future
career, and our gratitude for a job very well done.
He is a friend of us all at the Parkville campus –
and I am sure we will see him into the future as
we follow his, and he follows our, future progress,”
Professor Charman said.
“Rocco Iannello has been
a fabulous contributor to
the growth of MIPS and
the Centre for Medicine
Use and Safety, and to our
overall research enterprise.”
Taking over the reins from Dr Iannello is Joy
Hewitt (BPharm 1988). Joy is a graduate of the
faculty and holds an MBA (entrepreneurship and
innovation) from the Australian Graduate School
of Entrepreneurship, a Master of Laws (commercial
law) from Monash and has completed a Company
Directors Course at the Australian Institute of
Company Directors. Most recently, she was
director of business development at Biota
following prior experience at EQiTX Limited as chief
commercialisation officer and at CSL Limited as
business development manager (pharmaceuticals).
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