News Details
Josh Bilenker, MD, Former Medical Officer for FDA and Partner at Aisling Capital, Named to NCCN Foundation Board
The NCCN Foundation, which through private philanthropy and grants advances the mission of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) to improve the quality and effectiveness of care for patients with cancer, welcomes Josh Bilenker, MD, Partner at Aisling Capital and former Medical Officer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the newest member of the Board of the NCCN Foundation.
FORT WASHINGTON, PA — The NCCN Foundation, which through private philanthropy and grants advances the mission of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) to improve the quality and effectiveness of care for patients with cancer, welcomes Josh Bilenker, MD, Partner at Aisling Capital and former Medical Officer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the newest member of the Board of the NCCN Foundation.
Dr. Bilenker is a Partner at Aisling Capital, an investment firm in New York, NY, that supports leading healthcare companies in the development and commercialization of innovative heathcare products. In that role, Dr. Bilenker currently serves as a board director at LensAR, Inc., Roka Bioscience, T2 Biosystems and ViewRay, Inc., and as a board observer at Aragon Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Bilenker also contributes to the Board of Directors at BioEnterprise in Cleveland, OH.
Previously, Dr. Bilenker was a Medical Officer in the Office of Oncology Drug Products at FDA. During his time with FDA, Dr. Bilenker performed clinical reviews of investigational new drug and biologic licensing applications. Dr. Bilenker trained as a Resident and Fellow at the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania, earning board certification in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine. While at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Bilenker authored Phase I and II clinical trials and completed training in drug discovery and clinical study design and statistics.
Dr. Bilenker received his M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and earned his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University where he graduated summa cum laude in English.
Dr. Bilenker is a notable addition to the NCCN Foundation Board of Directors, said Patricia Goldsmith, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Bilenker will provide valuable expertise and guidance to the important work of the NCCN Foundation given his experience in hematology and oncology practice, as well as business management and finance. The NCCN is certain that Dr. Bilenker will contribute greatly to future NCCN Foundation endeavors.
It is an honor and privilege to join the NCCN Foundation Board, said Dr. Bilenker. For years, NCCN has set the standard for evidence-based medicine in oncology. Now, through the work of the NCCN Foundation, patients have direct access to the accumulated wisdom of the NCCN, in the form of readable guidelines geared to them. As new drugs, devices, and diagnostics make their way into the clinic, these guidelines will help give context to the many complex choices patients will be making with their doctors.
Through private philanthropy and grants, the NCCN Foundation advances the mission of NCCN to improve the quality and effectiveness of care to patients with cancer. The NCCN Foundation began full operations in 2010. Chaired by Sam Donaldson, ABC News veteran and a cancer survivor, the NCCN Foundation Board of Directors is comprised of members from various corporations, academic medical institutions, and advocacy groups who are committed to gaining philanthropic support for resources and programs for patients with cancer, as well as research dollars to further the careers of young investigators, clinicians, and nurses at NCCN Member Institutions.
One of the primary initiatives of the NCCN Foundation is to gain support for the development of the NCCN Guidelines for Patients™. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients™ are translations of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guideline®) into patient-friendly resources outlining appropriate treatment for cancer.