Management Sciences for Health Bolsters Supply Chain Management Capabilities with New Talent

September 03, 2021

Management Sciences for Health Bolsters Supply Chain Management Capabilities with New Talent

Arlington, VA—September 3, 2021—Management Sciences for Health (MSH) announced today the recruitment of two internationally recognized experts in health supply chain management as part of its ongoing commitment to offering the industry’s leading pharmaceutical systems and supply chain management services. 

{Dr. Iain Barton}
Dr. Iain Barton

Dr. Iain Barton joins MSH as a senior fellow. In this role, Dr. Barton will support MSH’s innovation and thought leadership in health strategy, policy, advocacy, and execution. A global health pioneer, Dr. Barton is responsible for developing and deploying the concept of Regional Distribution Centers in the mid-2000s to support the scale-up of USAID’s Supply Chain Management System in support of PEPFAR and the Supply Chain Control Tower that supports the Global Fund’s Pooled Procurement Mechanism. Other innovations developed under Dr. Barton’s leadership include Unjani Clinics, Warehouse-in-a-Box, Clinic-in-a-Box, and SSiH—a mega-distributor model enhancing access to medicines across Africa.

Dr. Barton is a medical doctor with 10 years of clinical practice and 20 years of health care business and NGO management experience, specializing in pharmaceutical supply, demand generation, and market shaping. He has a unique mix of experience as the CEO of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and as an executive vice president and CEO of various health supply chain logistics companies, including Imperial.

Dr. Barton has served on the advisory boards of Merck For Mothers, South Africa’s Public Health Enhancement Fund, People That Deliver, and The Africa Resource Center. He currently serves on the advisory boards of the University of Cape Town Department of Global Surgery and Insights By Experts, a marketplace for African advisory services. Dr. Barton received his MB, ChB, medicine at the University of Cape Town.

René Berger, Pharmaceutical Systems And Supply Chain Practice Area Lead
René Berger

René Berger joins MSH as the pharmaceutical systems and supply chain practice area lead. Mr. Berger is a global health, supply chain, and HIV and AIDS expert with more than 25 years of international development experience across sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, he was a senior vice president at Chemonics International, Inc., where he provided leadership, management, strategic direction, and oversight of a $9.5 billion, eight-year USAID contract to source, procure, deliver, distribute, and report on HIV, malaria, family planning/reproductive health, and maternal/child health products. Prior to that, he managed HIV and AIDS teams out of USAID Mission offices in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia as well as work at USAID in Washington, D.C. He served in the United States Peace Corps in Malawi for two years.

Mr. Berger holds a master’s of public health in epidemiology and international health from John Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

In making the announcement, MSH’s vice president for global health systems innovation, Dr. Daniel H. Kress, said, “MSH has a long and successful track record of accomplishment and innovation in the area of strengthening supply chains to improve health in developing countries. The addition of Dr. Barton and Mr. Berger will enable MSH to continue to be a global leader in supply chain and pharmaceutical system strengthening. I could not be more pleased to welcome both to MSH.”

MSH has been helping countries strengthen their pharmaceutical systems for more than two decades, including improving access to quality medicines via robust, efficient supply chains. From pharmaceutical policy and regulation to procurement and logistics, MSH works with the public and private sectors, nongovernmental organizations, and donors to create replicable solutions through operations research, technical services, documentation, and information sharing. More information available here.