Meet the Timmerman Traverse for Sickle Forward Team

I’m thrilled to announce a new initiative to raise $1 million to fight sickle cell disease. It’s the Timmerman Traverse for Sickle Forward.

A team of 21 biotech leaders are banding together for Sickle Forward in 2024. It’s a nonprofit dedicated to improving newborn screening and treatment of sickle cell disease in Africa.

When we hit that goal, we will secure another $1 million match to advance sickle cell disease research in the US. This makes it a global effort.

In September, we’ll gather to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa at 19,341 feet.

We’ll accomplish a few things along the way.

We will raise awareness of this long-neglected disease and treatments that offer new hope.

We will give back to those less fortunate.

We will relish the beauty of Kilimanjaro and the Tanzanian people.

We will form deep, lasting friendships.

Who’s on the Team?

• Luke Timmerman, founder and editor, Timmerman Report (co-chair)
• Ted Love, chairman of the board, BIO (co-chair)
• Alan Anderson, physician-scientist, University of South Carolina; director of the Comprehensive SCD Program of Prisma Health-Upstate; executive director, Sickle Forward (co-chair)
• Patrick Hines, founder and CEO, Functional Fluidics
• Terry-Ann “TA” Burrell, chief financial officer, Beam Therapeutics
• Asha Collins, senior vice president, general manager, Biobanks Data Analysis Platform, DNAnexus
• Alexander Gruzdev, vice president of sales and marketing, Silver Lake Research Company
• Elena Gruzdev, representative, Silver Lake Research Company
• Alex Harding, head of business development, CRISPR Therapeutics
• Sam Blackman, founder, head of R&D, Day One Biopharmaceuticals
• Davy Chiodin, chief development officer, Day One Biopharmaceuticals
• Matt Donne, director, business operations, Renasant Bio
• Jimi Olaghere, founder, VP of commerce, Resurgence (one of the first people cured of sickle cell disease with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing)
• Maurice Garland, head of sales, Ferring Pharmaceuticals
• Stephen Scully, co-founder, interim chief technology officer, Liberate Bio
• Ilyas Said, patient advocate and board member, Sickle Cell Disease Patient Community of Tanzania
• Alain Romero, consultant, independent
• Jingyi Liu, clinical fellow, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
• John Mennel, managing director, Monitor Deloitte
• Doug McConnell, co-founder and CEO, Safi Biotherapeutics
• Sarah Alspach, senior vice president, external affairs, bluebird bio
• Eva Gallagher, vice president, head of medical affairs, Agios Pharmaceuticals
• Audra Boscoe, vice president, health economics, outcomes research, Agios Pharmaceuticals
• Kobina Dufu, head of cell and translational biology, Pfizer

Major Sponsors

• Silver Lake Research Company
• bluebird bio
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Agios Pharmaceuticals
• Pfizer

I’m excited about this campaign in terms of the breadth and depth of the impact it will have for people with sickle cell disease.

As Alan Anderson, executive director of Sickle Forward, puts it:

“Sickle Forward firmly believes in ensuring that every child, irrespective of their birthplace, has access to timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment for sickle cell disease. Through a combination of grant and private foundation support, Sickle Forward recently launched a bold initiative to screen 100,000 infants for sickle cell disease in Mali and Togo. This comprehensive approach, coupled with access to routine treatment, holds the potential to save lives. The funds raised through the Timmerman Traverse for Sickle Forward will facilitate a significant expansion of the screening and treatment programs across Africa, furthering our mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by sickle cell disease.”

This expedition has potential to save many lives in the short-term, and even more by advancing research over the long-term.

Thank you for your support.