Kennedy to serve second term as SCBIO board chair

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Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. CEO Lou Kennedy will serve a second term as board chair of economic development organization SCBIO.

Kennedy become president and CEO of respiratory medication manufacturer Nephron, headquartered in West Columbia, in 2007. The company has shipped one billion doses of product in each of the last seven years, according to a news release.

Other members of the 2019 executive committee include vice chair Stephanie Yarbrough, partner with Womble Bond Dickinson LLP; treasurer Michael Rusnak, executive director of the Medical University of South Carolina Research Foundation; and secretary Josh Ridley, global business development director of polymer extrusion company Zeus.

“With the critically important efforts we are undertaking to advance pharmaceuticals, life sciences R&D, biotech, med-tech and the health IT industries in South Carolina, we require strong, expert leadership from across the state, fully integrating our business, education and economic development sectors,” SCBIO president and CEO Sam Konduros said in the release. “These diverse leaders who represent the width and breadth of our state and industry will effectively champion our vision of building the business of life sciences in South Carolina for years to come.”

SCBIO is a public/private economic development organization focused on building and advancing the life sciences industry in South Carolina. More than 400 firms and 15,000 professionals are involved in the research, development and commercialization of innovation health care, medical, industrial, environmental and agricultural products.

The nonprofit organization has offices in Columbia, Greenville and Charleston. The executive committee and board of directors is the organization’s policy- and strategy-making body.