When the International Pemphigus & Pemphigoid Foundation (IPPF) named Ramesh Swamy its new Board President, the decision fused professional acumen with lived experience. The Vadakkencherry, Kerala born, Los Angeles-based financier founder of boutique merchant bank Halifax West, was diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris a decade ago. That detour from spreadsheets to skin biopsies ignited what Swamy calls his “second startup”: building a support ecosystem for patients who often feel marooned by rarity and misdiagnosis.
A Career Built on Capital – and Community
Swamy’s résumé reads like a collision of Wall Street and Hollywood. After an early stint in Morgan Stanley’s structured – finance group, he launched Halifax West in 2016, advising middle-market companies on M&A, corporate restructurings, and principal investments most recently in climate-tech and digital-health ventures.
Beyond the balance sheet, Swamy moonlights as an executive producer with London/ Los Angeles studio Anna Barbara Films, backing documentaries that champion underrepresented voices. Board service is a through-line: Legal Aid Foundation of LA, Association for Corporate Growth, and now IPPF. Colleagues describe him as “equal parts spreadsheet and soul.”
Understanding Pemphigus & Pemphigoid
Pemphigus vulgaris and related pemphigoid disorders are rare, potentially life-threatening autoimmune diseases that cause painful blisters across skin and mucous membranes. Because incidence hovers around one to five cases per million, diagnosis often drags on for months especially among South Asians, who face a disproportionately higher prevalence. Delays amplify infection risk, scarring, and emotional isolation.
IPPF steps into that vacuum by pairing patients with trained peer coaches, funding clinician-education webinars, and maintaining a Natural History Registry that scientists mine for treatment clues. Swamy joined the board in 2018; as president he’ll now steer strategy, fundraising, and advocacy.
Swamy’s Five-Point Agenda
Research Acceleration: Triple enrollment in IPPF’s registry and seed-fund novel biomarkers that could shorten diagnostic timelines.
Clinical-Trial Equity: Partner with academic dermatology centers to recruit patients of color, who are historically under-represented.
24/7 Patient Navigation: Build a digital triage tool that routes new cases to dermatologists within 48 hours.
Policy Presence: Lobby Congress for orphan-drug grants and tele-dermatology reimbursement.
Global Partnerships: Leverage Halifax West’s India network to pilot education programs in high-incidence regions.
“The power of showing up for one another is the true antidote to rare-disease isolation,” Swamy wrote in his acceptance note.
More Than a Title: Why This Matters
Lived-experience leadership: Swamy’s dual vantage – patient and financier – aligns financial rigor with empathetic stewardship.
South Asian visibility: His presidency highlights a community statistically at greater risk yet often missing from leadership tables in U.S. health nonprofits.
Private-sector leverage: Halifax West will match employee donations and orchestrate an annual venture – capital pitch day, seeding start – ups focused on blister disorder therapeutics.
