Dr. David Young, OBIO Board Chair
Managing Partner, Actium Equity Partners
David S. Young is Founder and Managing Partner of Actium Capital Advisors – an early stage life sciences private equity fund. Actium combines innovation, capital allocation and operations in a new business model for biotechnology focusing on antibody therapeutics. He founded ARIUS Research Inc., and was President and Chief Executive Officer until the company was sold to Roche in 2008.
ARIUS (TSX: ARI) raised $40 Million dollars, but spent only $30 Million dollars to reach a $200 Million deal with Roche, of which $192 Million was paid to investors. Dr. Young solely funded the startup of ARIUS in 1999, and conducted the fundamental discovery and proof-of-principle experiments to obtain the patents at the core of the company’s technology, FunctionFIRST. This unique approach to drug discovery creates functional anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies that belong to a class of revolutionary cancer treatments. Dr. Young and ARIUS have received many awards including Entrepreneur of the Year from ACCE, and Company of the Year from BIOTECanada.
Dr. Young received his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science degrees from the University of Toronto. He also did his General Surgery and Cardiovascular Surgery training at the University Toronto. While at U of T he won over 15 academic awards or scholarships. He is an inventor, author, or co-author of over 300 patents, publications, and scientific abstracts. In addition to his role as OBIO Board Chair, he co-chairs the Collaborative Health Research Projects selection committee, a joint funding program of NSERC and CIHR.
Stephen Fanjoy, OBIO Director
Chief Executive Officer, Deveraq Logic
Stephen Fanjoy is the CEO of Devera Logic and a management consultant to startups and Fortune 100 companies. Previously he was the founding President of Therapeutic Monitoring Systems. Stephen is a founding member of the board of directors of OBIO, Co-Chair of the OBEST Strategies for Interconnectivity and Industry Priorities and a member of the Ottawa Life Sciences Cluster Executive. He recently served as a member of the OBEST Advisory Board and leader of the OBEST Eastern Ontario Regional Cluster. Stephen has over 18 years of experience in enterprise software, including executive and senior management roles in strategy, product management, marketing, analyst relations, and business development for SHL VISION* Solutions (acquired by Autodesk), Oracle, and Watchfire (acquired by IBM) . He is a former director and a member of the executive committee of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario and chair of the Ottawa eBusiness Cluster. Stephen is an honours graduate of the Dalhousie University School of Business and a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).
Helen Findlay, OBIO Director
EVP and COO Actium Research Inc.
Ms. Findlay is an executive with over 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Most recently as EVP and CBO at ARIUS, she was responsible for business development activities valued at over $400 million and for overseeing operations in the company. Her background in both science and business has brought key strategic insight and management capabilities to both established and start-up companies. She has managed a profitable pharmaceutical marketing consulting business, been named as a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and is an inventor on over 115 patents. Ms. Findlay is an advisor on the Ontario Centres of Excellence SAB, a director of OBIO, and President of the board of Tapestry New Opera.
Gail Garland, OBIO Director
Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Bioscience Industry Organization (OBIO)
Prior to founding OBIO as President & CEO in 2009, Gail held leadership roles in biotech, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. She worked with international healthcare companies including Alcon and Johnson & Johnson in general management, marketing, brand strategy, sales and business development. In the bioscience industry, Gail worked for Axela and Bioniche where she led teams with worldwide responsibilities for commercialization, distribution and licensing.
Gail was awarded the University of Toronto Arbor Award in recognition of her years of service on the Rotman Alumni Board, as co-chair of the Rotman Vision Fund and as a student mentor. She has volunteered extensively in the bioscience industry and for numerous charity groups. Gail served as a member of the advisory board for Pathways to Employment in Biotechnology at the University of Toronto.
Gail holds a Chartered Director Designation in Corporate Governance from McMaster University and The Conference Board of Canada. She has a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA (Dean’s List) from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Adam Buckley, OBIO Director
Vice President, Operations, Variation Biotechnologies Inc. (VBI)
Adam Buckley, OBIO Director
Vice President, Operations, VBI Vaccines
Adam co-founded VBI Vaccines in 2002. He has been responsible for a number of roles through VBI’s development stages, including business development, corporate development, finance and operations. His efforts included attracting seed capital to VBI, developing its first business plan, protecting intellectual property and structuring the company. He had an active role in the company’s Series A financing, raising $35.7 million (U.S.), and has led several key technology acquisitions for the company, including the acquisition of Epixis S.A. in 2011 which provided VBI with one of its core platform technologies. Most recently, Adam has held operational responsibilities for the company’s research and development site in Ottawa, Canada, leading efforts for the efficient and milestone driven development of the company’s vaccine products and platforms. Mr. Buckley is a recent recipient of the Ottawa Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” award and obtained his M.B.A. and B.Sc. at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Dr. Brent Norton, OBIO Director
President & Chief Executive Officer, PreMD Inc.
Dr. Norton founded PreMD in 1992 and has since served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a Director. Active in medical practice, management and research for over 15 years, Dr. Norton has represented and led multiple medical groups and scientific initiatives. As a physician-entrepreneur, his cross-functional knowledge and skills enable him to guide PreMD and its products from the scientific stage through to successful commercialization.
Dr. Norton serves as a Director on the boards of public and private medical companies in Canada and the U.S. and is an Advisory Council Member of the Richard Ivey School of Business MBA Biotech Program. He is also an active volunteer, previously serving as Chairman, Friends Project, for the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and as a committee member of a Canadian Intergovernmental Economic Commission, Advanced Technology Group.
Dr. Norton completed his medical training at McGill University in 1984. He subsequently completed a Master of Business Administration (1989) degree at the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.
Niclas Stiernholm, OBIO Director
CEO,Trillium Therapeutics Inc.
Dr. Stiernholm is currently CEO of Trillium 
Therapeutics Inc. (TTI), a privately held Canadian biopharmaceutical company. His primary responsibilities include overseeing the company’s strategic direction, executing business development plans and ensuring that the company’s scientific programs continue to advance in good time. Under his direction and leadership, TTI has raised $20 million in venture financing, in-licensed several preclinical programs from academic institutions, acquired a private Australian company. He also negotiated and executed significant license agreements with three major US biotechnology companies, generating substantial sublicensing revenues.
Dr. Stiernholm joined TTI from YM BioSciences where he acted as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. While there, he led the company’s in-licensing efforts and built a broad pipeline of clinical oncology products. He also played a key role in the success of YM’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2002. Dr. Stiernholm started his career as a member of Allelix Biopharmaceuticals’ business development office.
Dr. Stiernholm received his undergraduate degree from Elon University in North Carolina, and his Ph.D. degree in Immunology from the University of Toronto, where he also conducted postdoctoral studies. He currently serves on several corporate and scientific advisory boards, including the Ontario Genomics Institute, AIM Therapeutics, YM BioSciences, and Tarix Pharmaceuticals.
Lisa Crossley, PhD, P.Eng., OBIO Director
CEO, VitalHub Corporation
Dr. Crossley is the CEO of VitalHub. Previously, she was CEO of Quantum Dental Technologies Inc., a Toronto-based biotech company that has developed a novel caries diagnostics device for the early detection of tooth decay. Prior to joining the QDT team, Dr. Crossley was the Founder & Principal of BioVentures.ca, a venture management firm that provided support to early-stage companies, specializing in assisting start-ups in the Biotechnology space. BioVentures.ca also worked extensively with venture capital firms in the US and Canada, providing technical and business due diligence for potential investments. Dr. Crossley’s previous work experience included 5 years as CEO of Natrix Separations, a venture-backed biotech company based in Burlington, Ontario. In this role she raised $27 Million in venture capital financing, negotiated channel partner agreements with major multinational companies in the Life Sciences space and built a global customer base in the Biopharmaceutical, Veterinary Vaccine and Life Sciences Lab markets. Prior to Natrix Dr. Crossley directed global therapeutics manufacturing for Dyax Corp., a Boston-area biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Crossley holds a B.S.c. in Anatomy & Cell Biology from McGill University and a B.Sc.E. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University. Dr. Crossley is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario.
James M. Rae, OBIO Director
President and Chief Executive Officer, Viron Therapeutics
James Rae brings to Viron over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing, marketing, financial, human resource and R & D operations of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. He has considerable experience in fund-raising/financing from public, private and government sectors, and in deal-making with multi-national companies. James Rae is the President and founder of Remedis, a health-care business consultancy specializing in the re-structuring and financing of health-care businesses. Prior to establishing Remedis, he was President and C.E.O. of Cangene, a publicly-listed biotech company where he was responsible for re-structuring and orchestrating a reverse take-over of the company. Mr. Rae was previously the Chairman and C.E.O. of Vaxis Therapeutics Inc. in Kingston, Ont., and Chairman and C.E.O. of Resolution Pharmaceuticals. Most recently he has been the C.E.O. of Cytochroma Inc., a Markham-based biotech company which he transitioned over an 18-month period from a research entity into one advanced into clinical development with a diversified product base. Mr. Rae is presently Chairman of Queens Scientific Breakthrough Fund (Kingston) and holds directorships in a number of Canadian biotech companies.
Dr Don Stewart, OBIO Director
Chief Executive Officer, PlantForm Corporation
Dr. Don Stewart, an entrepreneur and scientist, is a founder of PlantForm Corporation and assumes the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Stewart brings 25 years management experience in the biotechnology industry to this role. Dr. Stewart is also the founder and President of Alba Biologics Group, a consulting company, providing expertise on drug candidate evaluation, development and manufacturing strategies.
Previously as the Director Research and Development for Cangene Corporation, Dr. Stewart was responsible for the company’s Mississauga based research and development group. Cangene is one of Canada’s leading biopharmaceutical companies and in his role Dr. Stewart led programs on the development of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant protein drugs. Dr. Stewart gained experience in other aspects of therapeutic drug development while responsible for cGMP manufacturing for clinical trials, animal efficacy and toxicology studies and a clinical trial.
Dr Stewart graduated with a Ph.D from the University of London, UK and gained academic experience at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada
Prabh Bob Singh, OBIO Treasurer
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Jeremy Grushcow, OBIO Secretary
Ogilvy Renault
OBIO BOARD SUBCOMMITEES:
