Dr Valerio Reggi, graduated in 1978 from the University of Milan, Italy, Faculty of Pharmacy, and received his Post-Doctoral Degree in Pharmacological Research in 1982 from the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan, Italy. He worked in pharmacological research and international cooperation until 1986 when he joined Unicef in New York as Programme Manager, Essential Drugs. He then joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in 1989 where he has occupied different positions in the areas of drug regulation and access to medicines for neglected tropical diseases until he retired at the end of 2011. He is currently a consultant working with WHO and the Asian Development Bank to support the work of national drug regulatory authorities.