Mark Sullivan awarded Officer of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours List

Instituted in 1975 by Queen Elizabeth, the Sovereign Head of Australia, the award is “an Australian society honour for according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.”  

Mark established MDGH in 2005 as a not-for-profit, independent biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and delivery of affordable medicines for the people who need them most. MDGH, headquartered in Melbourne but with operations in the UK and US, is an Australian-registered charity.

Under his inspirational leadership, MDGH has made significant contributions to the development of treatments for neglected diseases. MDGH was the first not-for-profit organisation globally to achieve solo FDA approval of a novel medicine when its compound, moxidectin, was approved for the treatment of river blindness in 2018. Nearly 200 million people are at risk for river blindness, a disease occurring predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa. The company is now working on better treatment options for 7 different neglected diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries.

On receiving the Officer of the Order of Australia award, Mark Sullivan said:

“This is a wonderful recognition of our work at MDGH, and it is particularly meaningful as the nomination for the Order of Australia comes from our peers”. But this award belongs to us all at MDGH, as well as our partners, collaborators and supporters. It is their outstanding efforts and tireless work that have made this possible. The recognition of those efforts is, indeed, an honour.”

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