posted 11-12-2021 12:32 PM               

Thomas P. Fisher, 54, of Hopatcong and Glen M. de Vries, 49 of New York, New York, died in the crash, Trooper Brandi Slota, a spokesperson from the State Police, said early Friday.

We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries. He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired.

Such a tragic loss. Warm and full of life, Glen made us laugh and lit up the room. He was a visionary, and an innovator – a true leader. Lauren and I are heartbroken and will remember the precious time we got to spend together.

Our deepest sympathies are with his partner, Leah, and all his loved ones. The world lost you too soon, Glen.

Very saddened to have learned about Glen's passing.

I am saddened to learn of the passing of fellow space explorer Glen de Vries. I take some small consolation in knowing he fulfilled his life-long dream, and lived his life to the fullest. My thoughts go out to his family, friends, and partner Leah. Glen will be dearly missed.

Glen de Vries is the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, the world’s most used clinical research platform, and is Vice Chair Life Sciences & Healthcare at Dassault Systèmes. Glen is a Trustee of Carnegie Mellon University, the author of “The Patient Equation,” and an instrument rated private pilot.

Glen planned to spend his life in academic biology. He was a bench scientist working in prostate cancer at Columbia University in the mid-1990s, when with colleagues and friends he landed on the idea of making electronic research infrastructure the foundation for a new generation of clinical trials. He co- founded Medidata in 1999 to that end, which subsequently became the world's leading cloud platform for medical research. The company’s software has powered over 25,000 clinical trials with more than seven million patients in every therapeutic area, from vaccines to cancers and rare diseases. In 2019, in one of the largest healthcare technology acquisitions in history, Medidata was acquired for $5.8B by Dassault Systèmes.

He remains connected to his academic roots, serving as a Trustee of his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University. His scientific publications have appeared in Cancer, The Journal of Urology, Molecular Diagnostics, and Applied Clinical Trials. His book, The Patient Equation (de Vries & Blachman, 2020), envisions a future of medicine inspired by his decades of experience in life sciences, working with hundreds of pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device companies, academic institutions, and patient advocacy organizations around the world.

Outside of work, Glen takes every opportunity to fly his small plane, from short excursions around his home in New York City, to trips across the United States. He has dreamed of traveling to space for as long as he can remember.