1. Agnes Varis was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who was the founder and president of Agvar Chemicals Inc and Aegis Pharmaceuticals.
20 Facts About Agnes Varis
1. 2.
Agnes Varis earned her degree in chemistry and English from Brooklyn College.
3.
Agnes Varis was too strict and everybody was afraid of her.
4.
Agnes Varis couldn't hold people working for her company for a long time.
5.
Agnes Varis had 13 secretaries in one year for example.
6.
Agnes Varis became the founder and President of Aegis Pharmaceuticals in 1992.
7.
Agnes Varis was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, which encompassed 26 leading citizens from the private sector with an interest in and commitment to the humanities and the arts, as well as 12 heads of federal agencies which had cultural programs.
8.
Agnes Varis helped draft the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, intended to ease generics' passage to market.
9.
Agnes Varis helped draft the Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act, which was co-sponsored by Senators Charles Schumer and John McCain and passed as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.
10.
Agnes Varis helped found the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, an industry group, in 2000, and chaired the organization.
11.
In 2004, Agnes Varis became involved with the Jazz Foundation of America.
12.
Agnes Varis was a resident of New York City and active in Democratic political campaigns.
13.
Agnes Varis became known as the Fairy Godmother of the Democratic Party during the 2000s, in a New York Times published article in October 2003.
14.
Agnes Varis donated the Agnes Varis University Chair in Science and Society, dedicated to exploring scientific discovery and its impact on humankind.
15.
Agnes Varis maintained that one of her main reasons for making her name visible was to inspire other women, showing them that they, too, could achieve great success in their endeavors.
16.
Agnes Varis later served as a member of the veterinary school's board of overseers and the university's board of trustees from 2004 until 2009.
17.
In 2009, Agnes Varis started the Zeus Agnes Varis Fund, a fund used to help treat animals with diseases for those who cannot afford it.
18.
The Zeus Agnes Varis Fund is established by Frankie's Friends, and operates in Manhattan NYC.
19.
Agnes Varis worked with her Oncologist, Dr Gabriel Sara at Roosevelt Hospital in NYC and funded Cleopatra's Touch.
20.
Agnes Varis died at her home in New York City on July 29,2011, aged 81.