Curable, a nonprofit research accelerator that applies engineering approaches to medicine to develop solutions for rare diseases, has announced that its chief executive officer Lisa Boyette, M.D., Ph.D., has been named a 2016 PharmaVOICE 100 honoree. The PharmaVOICE 100 is an annual list of inspirational and innovative individuals recognized for their positive contributions to the life-sciences industry.

“I am proud to join such distinguished colleagues in the 2016 PharmaVOICE 100,” said Dr. Boyette. “We founded Curable in 2014 to accelerate medical research and develop a cure for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in time to save the life of my brother Jon and other patients with this disease. Thanks to our team’s dedication and determination, we are making great strides toward our goal of getting new therapeutic options and an early diagnostic for PSC in phase II clinical trials in five years.”

“Dr. Lisa Boyette is smart, resolute and resourceful; she is a force of nature,” said Dietrich A. Stephan, PhD, who is chairman of Curable and also chairman of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. “She has brought together all the PSC stakeholders—researchers, patients, clinicians, investors and scientists—in a coordinated effort, and is leveraging resources and expertise from academia, government, and industry to break down barriers and make rapid progress toward effective therapies for the disease. Based on Dr. Boyette’s leadership and Curable’s early success, the organization is now expanding its scope to serve all patients with a rare disease.”

PharmaVOICE 100 honorees have inspired or motivated their colleagues, peers, and even competitors; have affected positive changes in their own organizations through innovative and game-changing strategies and thinking; and given back to their communities and other philanthropic causes.

PSC is an autoimmune disease of the bile ducts that leads to liver failure. There are about 50,000 patients with PSC in the U.S. today. No one knows what causes this disease, and there are currently no effective medical therapies.