Antony Ross OBE appointed Chair of MedAccess Investment Committee

MedAccess today announced the appointment of Antony Ross to its Board of Directors and as Chair of its Investment Committee. Antony is currently senior adviser at Bridges Fund Management, a UK-based private markets investor, where he chairs two investment committees.

During his 20 years at Bridges, Antony has played a key role in establishing the company as a leader in impact investing. He founded the company’s work on Social Outcomes Contracts and established Bridges Evergreen Holdings, which invests in businesses that are helping to tackle pressing social and environmental challenges. Antony is also a trustee for the Bridges Impact Foundation.

Antony brings more than 30 years of private equity and venture capital experience in a wide range of businesses. He spent his early career at 3i, heading up the company’s Newcastle and Cambridge offices before leading the company’s healthcare team, which invested in medical technology and biotech businesses across Europe.

Outside of his work for Bridges, Antony lectures on social enterprise and impact investment at the London Business School and Judge Business School. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Bristol University and has an MBA from London Business School. Antony was awarded an OBE for services to social enterprise and social investment in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

“Antony’s first-class knowledge and experience of impact investment for health will be a major asset to our Board and Investment Committee,” said MedAccess Board Chair Helen Rees. “We have a rich pipeline of opportunities to increase access to health products for both infectious and non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Antony will help ensure we direct our resources at the opportunities that will do the most to improve public health.”

“MedAccess has developed a high impact innovative model ensuring more people benefit from critical medical products,” said Antony Ross. “I look forward to working with the team to shape and support more opportunities bringing medical products to those in need.”

Antony succeeds Diana Noble CBE, founding Chair of MedAccess’ Investment Committee. During her time as Chair, proposals scrutinised by the Committee led to ten guarantees being provided to manufacturers or global health organisations. These included a guarantee for a new, highly-effective mosquito net, dual tests for HIV and syphilis, and RTS,S, the world’s first malaria vaccine.

“I’m so proud of the impact that MedAccess has generated in just a few years since its establishment in 2018,” said Diana Noble. “Literally millions of patients have received life changing or life saving treatment that would have otherwise not reached them, countries and donors have been able to stretch their healthcare budgets much further and markets for the products MedAccess support have more suppliers with sustainably lower prices. This has only been made possible by the brilliant MedAccess team who work creatively and flexibly to maximise this impact with our partners.”

Antony Ross was appointed as a MedAccess director at the Board’s meeting on 14 September. He will assume the role of Chair of the Investment Committee during the autumn. Diana Noble will step down from the MedAccess Board and its Investment Committee at the end of 2023.