Peter L. Saltonstall

Peter L. Saltonstall is the President and CEO of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD®). He joined NORD in 2008 after having served for more than 30 years as a senior executive in both for-profit and nonprofit healthcare environments.

Under his leadership, NORD has maintained the integrity of the Orphan Drug Act while forging new relationships between the patient community and the executive branch, Congress, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Social Security Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), drug and device companies, and with the medical, academic and investment communities. His efforts to collaborate and build partnerships stem from his view that advances for the rare disease patient can be achieved best through joint efforts. Today, Peter continues to be one of the country's lead voices on rare disease issues to industry, FDA, Congress, and the government.

Peter is committed to the globalization of the rare disease patient community, as diseases do not recognize geographical boundaries and research can be expedited when patients from many countries are involved. He has helped establish collaborative programs with patient communities throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, Asia, and South America.