For the third straight year, Louis P. Kassa III, MPA, chief executive officer of the Hepatitis B Foundation, Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), has been chosen by the Philadelphia Business Journal for its 2025 Power 100 list, which can be found here.

Pennsylvania State Sen. Steve Santarsiero of Bucks County, a strong supporter of the three nonprofits that Kassa leads, said, “It is no surprise that Lou continues to get attention for his growing influential role in the nation’s biotech industry by promoting the exceptional nonprofit model of nurturing independent research into viable commercial ventures that improve health outcomes.”

The Philadelphia Business Journal noted that Kassa now is implementing the successful PABC model elsewhere. Last fall the State of New York selected the Blumberg Institute, which operates the PABC, to manage a life sciences incubator that will be part of a planned $430 million cell and gene therapy campus on Long Island.

Kassa was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the three Doylestown nonprofits he now heads from 2014 to 2022. He was named one of the “10 Best COOs of 2020” by Industry Era, a global publication.

A Bucks County resident, Kassa earned an undergraduate degree at the Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University.

Kassa is a board member of numerous organizations: Bucks County Workforce Development Board, Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, Startup Bucks, Yards Sciences, Bucks County Music Project, Family Foundations Partnership and Triumph in Recovery. 

The Blumberg Institute currently has 11 research grants from the NIH and Department of Defense and a multi-year research contract with the NIH, which provides salary and benefits for 28 scientists and 10 support staff. The Hepatitis B Foundation has grants from the NIH, CDC and FDA. If this federal funding was terminated, the Blumberg Institute and Hepatitis B Foundation could lose nearly $7.5 million in 2025 alone. 

“The drastic, arbitrary cut in NIH indirect cost funding that were set to become effective this week would eliminate billions of dollars that support medical and public health research projects nationwide,” Hepatitis B Foundation President Chari A. Cohen, DrPH, MPH, said. “It also would result in thousands of jobs being cut, and we stand to lose an entire generation of the world’s best and brightest scientists.” 

The NIH cut in indirect reimbursement rates was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, first in 22 states that signed onto a lawsuit (which did not include Pennsylvania), and later expanded to the entire U.S. 

Ju-Tao Guo, MD, the Blumberg Institute’s acting president and chief scientific officer, says: “What’s happening at the NIH is being called an effort to eliminate waste, but reimbursement of research facilities and administrative costs has always been closely monitored by federal officials. It’s important to consider that these costs cover critical research activities such as patient safety, research security and hazardous waste disposal for NIH grants.” 

The bottom line is that slashing the reimbursement of research costs will slow and limit medical research, ending progress toward new treatments that millions of patients desperately need and jeopardizing America’s position as the world’s leader in biomedical innovation, in the view of the Hepatitis B Foundation, Blumberg Institute and PABC leadership. 

About the Hepatitis B Foundation: As the world’s leading hepatitis B advocacy and research organization, the Hepatitis B Foundation is one of the most active proponents of improving hepatitis B screening, prevention and treatment of the disease. We are the only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. Founded in 1991, the Hepatitis B Foundation is based in Doylestown, Pa., with staff in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. To learn more, go to www.hepb.org, read our blog, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@hepbfoundation) or contact us through info@hepb.org or 215-489-4900.

About the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute: An independent, nonprofit research organization, the Blumberg Institute was launched in 2003 by the Hepatitis B Foundation to advance its research mission. Today, the Institute is a leading center for translational research in hepatitis B, liver cancer and related diseases. The Blumberg Institute operates in the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), which it manages, in Doylestown, Pa. The Institute also runs a state-of-the-art incubator in Philadelphia, B+labs at Cira Centre, which is a partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust. Visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn and X, @BlumbergInstit1.

About the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC): The PABC uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success, advance biotechnology, maximize synergies among nonprofit scientists and their commercial colleagues. The PABC has nearly 100 member companies and organizations, mostly small to mid-size science, research and pharmaceutical companies. Almost 50 of those companies operate on the Doylestown campus, which is home to the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Blumberg Institute. The PABC also manages B+labs at Cira Centre, a new incubator in Philadelphia, in partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust. PABC companies have produced numerous FDA-approved drugs and medical devices, and a recent study found that the PABC’s economic impact exceeded $7.3 billion and created more than 1,100 new jobs during 2016-2021.