Medicines360 Appoints Andrea Olariu, MD, PhD as Chief Executive Officer 

Dr. Olariu brings depth of expertise in Clinical, Medical and Regulatory Affairs, and Product Development 

SAN FRANCISCO – May [30] – Medicines360, a mission-driven nonprofit women’s health pharmaceutical organization, announced today that its Board of Directors has named Andrea Olariu, MD, PhD as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Olariu served most recently as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Medicines360 and succeeds Tina Raine-Bennett, MD, MPH, FACOG.

“Dr. Olariu assumes leadership at an exciting time for Medicines360,” said Leslie Benet, PhD, Professor of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and Medicines360 Board Chair. “With increasing unmet needs in women’s health, coupled with for-profit entities’ divestment in women’s health product development, the convergence of these elements makes our mission to expand equitable access critical – now more than ever. Dr. Olariu’s deep and varied experience in Clinical, Medical and Regulatory Affairs, and Product Development makes her an ideal choice to lead Medicines360 into the future. The Board has every confidence that she is the right leader at this time in our trajectory, to execute the vision and drive plans to realize our mission.” 

Since joining Medicines360 in 2010, Dr. Olariu has held a number of key roles for the organization. As COO of Medicines360, Dr. Olariu oversaw Clinical/Medical and Regulatory Affairs, Product Development, and the Quality Department; and served as Chief Executive Officer of its for-profit subsidiary, CuraePharma360. Dr. Olariu has extensive experience designing and conducting clinical trials from proof-of-concept to large pivotal Phase 3 studies. She led the clinical and regulatory strategy, resulting in multiple FDA approvals of the company’s hormonal IUD, LILETTA.

“I am honored to assume leadership of M360 at a pivotal moment – not only in the history of our organization – but also at a time when the nation’s attention has been squarely focused on women’s health and access to care. I look forward to continuing to lift up the role that nonprofit pharmaceuticals like ours play in product development and policy advocacy to expand access for women.” 

Prior to Medicines360, Dr. Olariu developed and implemented clinical/medical and regulatory strategies for several medical devices that received approval in the US, Canada, and the European Union. She has also spent more than 15 years in academia, as an Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Szeged in Szeged, Hungary and a Senior Lecturer of Immunology at the Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Romania. Dr. Olariu has authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles in medical publications, is the recipient of several academic honors, and has spoken at national and international conferences. 

Medicines360 was founded to develop new approaches to address unmet needs in women’s health by advancing global, equitable access to critical medicines. With the appointment of Dr. Olariu, the organization will continue expanding beyond reproductive health and contraception to also address the most pressing issues affecting women globally. 

About Medicines360

Located in San Francisco, California, Medicines360 is a global nonprofit pharmaceutical organization with a mission to accelerate the timeline from health innovation to access for all women. Medicines360 is committed to working with healthcare providers, advocacy groups, and patients to deliver innovative and meaningful treatments that help women around the world have greater access to the medicines they need. For more information, visit www.medicines360.org.

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AVIBELA can be made available in the following 88 countries

  1. Algeria
  2. Angola
  3. Bangladesh
  4. Belize
  5. Benin
  6. Bhutan
  7. Botswana
  8. Burkina Faso
  9. Burundi
  10. Cambodia
  11. Cameroon
  12. Cape Verde
  13. Central African Republic
  14. Chad
  15. Comoros
  16. Costa Rica
  17. Cuba
  18. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  19. Djibouti
  20. Dominica
  21. Dominican Republic
  22. Egypt
  23. El Salvador
  24. Equatorial Guinea
  25. Eritrea
  26. Ethiopia
  27. Gabon
  28. Ghana
  29. Grenada
  30. Guatemala
  31. Guinea
  32. Guinea-Bissau
  33. Haiti
  34. Honduras
  35. India
  36. Indonesia
  37. Ivory Coast
  38. Jamaica
  39. Kenya
  40. Lao PDR
  41. Lesotho
  42. Liberia
  43. Libya
  44. Madagascar
  45. Malawi
  46. Malaysia
  47. Maldives
  48. Mali
  49. Mauritania
  50. Mauritius
  51. Mayotte
  52. Morocco
  53. Mozambique
  54. Myanmar
  55. Namibia
  56. Nepal
  57. Nicaragua
  58. Niger
  59. Nigeria
  60. Pakistan
  61. Panama
  62. Papua New Guinea
  63. Philippines
  64. Republic of the Congo
  65. Rwanda
  66. Sao Tome and Principe
  67. Senegal
  68. Seychelles
  69. Sierra Leone
  70. Somalia
  71. South Africa
  72. South Sudan
  73. Sri Lanka
  74. Kitts and Nevis
  75. Lucia
  76. Vincent & the Grenadines
  77. Sudan
  78. Swaziland
  79. Tanzania
  80. Thailand
  81. The Gambia
  82. Timor-Leste
  83. Togo
  84. Tunisia
  85. Uganda
  86. Vietnam
  87. Zambia
  88. Sri Lanka

Tina Raine-Bennett, MD, MPH, FACOG

Chief Executive Officer

Tina Raine-Bennett, MD, MPH, is CEO of Medicines360. Previously, she served as a senior research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research and the research director of the Women’s Health Research Institute. She is a Board-Certified Obstetrician Gynecologist who received her medical training at the University of California, San Diego, and post-graduate residency training and MPH at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship. She was also senior staff physician at Kaiser Permanente and has a special interest in family planning and adolescent reproductive health.

As the director of the Women’s Health Research Institute, Dr. Raine-Bennett focused on expanding research on women’s health within the Division and translating women’s health research into clinical practice and policy within the Ob/Gyn departments in Northern California. She also promoted the involvement of clinicians in research designed to improve the health outcomes and healthcare experiences of women at Kaiser Permanente and women in general.

Prior to Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Raine-Bennett was a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She was based at San Francisco General Hospital where she was also the medical director of the New Generation Health Center, a UCSF affiliate site that provides community-based reproductive health services. Dr. Raine-Bennett’s research has focused on contraceptive methods and on elucidating factors that influence contraceptive choice and continuation, and she was principal investigator on NIH grants to assess hormonal contraceptive use predictors and develop interventions to improve contraceptive access.

Her past and current research on emergency contraception has focused on the safety of making emergency contraception more accessible and she conducted a pivotal clinical trial to make emergency contraception available to teens without a prescription. She served on the editorial board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications. She was the Treasurer of the Board of Directors for the Society of Family Planning and Society of Family Planning Research Fund. She has also served as an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and on national committees for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the National Medical Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.