Louis P. Kassa III, CEO of the Hepatitis B Foundation, Blumberg Institute and Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center named to Philadelphia’s Power 101
Doylestown, Pa., March 1, 2023 – Louis P. Kassa III, MPA, chief executive officer of the Hepatitis B Foundation, Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) was chosen by the Philadelphia Business Journal for its Power 101 list, which is being released this week.
Kassa became named CEO of the organizations on July 1, succeeding co-founder Timothy M. Block, PhD. In 2019, Dr. Block was named by the Philadelphia Business Journal to its Power 100 list.
The magazine noted that Lou Kassa not only led a major expansion at the PABC’s Doylestown campus and attracted new companies nationally, he partnered with Brandywine Realty Trust to open B+labs at Cira Centre in Philadelphia last year.
Dr. Block commented: “Lou’s selection doesn’t surprise me, given the extraordinarily beneficial impact that he’s had on the Pennsylvania Biotech Center, plus the life sciences community in the region. He’s an international authority on biotechnology entrepreneurship and incubators. The creation of B+labs, the PABC’s growth and Lou’s outreach across the country are extremely impressive. He’s been instrumental in bringing innovators and technology from the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston and North Carolina to Bucks County and Philadelphia. That’s getting noticed and has reversed a trend, having energy and investment coming in this direction rather than leaving the region.”
The PABC has nearly 100 member companies, mostly small to mid-size science, research and pharmaceutical companies. Nearly 50 of those companies have operations on the Doylestown campus. It is home to the Hepatitis B Foundation, which operates globally, and the Blumberg Institute, which is the Foundation’s research arm. PABC companies have produced drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and medical devices, and a recent economic study found that the PABC’s economic impact exceed $7.3 billion during the period 2016-2021.
About the Hepatitis B Foundation:The Hepatitis B Foundation established the PABC in 2006 to be a home for its research institute and create a knowledge community that would accelerate the pace of research toward a cure for hepatitis B and liver cancer. The Foundation is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. Founded in 1991, the Hepatitis B Foundation is based in Doylestown, Pa., with offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. To learn more, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@hepbfoundation).
About the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute: An independent, nonprofit research organization, the Blumberg Institute was launched in 2003 by the Hepatitis B Foundation to advance its research mission. Today, the Institute is one of the nation’s leading centers for translational research in hepatitis B and liver cancer. The Institute supports drug discovery, biomarker discovery and translational biotechnology around common research themes such as chronic hepatitis, liver disease and liver cancer in an environment conducive to interaction, collaboration and focus. For more, follow us on Twitter, @BlumbergInstit1, and LinkedIn.
About the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC): The PABC uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success, advancing biotechnology, maximizing synergies among nonprofit scientists and their commercial colleagues, and launching new ideas and discoveries that will make a difference. Follow us on LinkedIn.