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
Therapeutic Monitoring Systems
Stephen is President of Therapeutic Monitoring Systems (TMS) and leads the implementation of the company’s commercialization strategy, business development, marketing and product management. Prior to joining TMS, as a consultant and software executive, Stephen helped guide many technology start-ups to define and successfully execute their business strategy and plans, including sell-side M&A and financing valued at over $60 million. Stephen has over 16 years experience in enterprise software, including senior management roles in product management, marketing, analyst relations, alliances and business development for SHL VISION* Solutions (acquired by Autodesk), Oracle and Watchfire (acquired by IBM). In addition to his board membership at OBIO, Stephen is a Director of CMC Ontario, Chair of the Ottawa eBusiness Cluster and a member of the Advisory Boards of Infonium, a healthcare business process software company, and Devera Logic, an enterprise security software company. Stephen is an honours graduate of the Dalhousie University School of Business and a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).
Helen Findlay, OBIO Director
Managing Partner
Actium Equity Partners
Ms. Findlay is an executive with over 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to Actium Equity Partners, she was EVP and CBO at ARIUS where 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. Ms Findlay was Managing Director of a profitable pharmaceutical marketing consulting business, was named as a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and is an inventor on over 115 patents. Ms. Findlay currently is a Director of the Argonaut Rowing Club and of Tapestry New Opera Works and holds volunteer positions in various charitable organizations.
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 currently serves 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.
Simon P. Goulet, OBIO Director
Chief Operating Officer
PharmaGap Inc.
Simon joined PharmaGap in 2003 as CFO and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2004. PharmaGap is a preclinical stage biotech developing novel peptide drugs for oncology. Simon is also on the management advisory team at Therapeutic Monitoring Systems Inc., an Ottawa-based health information technology startup developing clinical decision support software for the ICU. Prior to his current activities in the life sciences he was Vice President, Investment Banking with Credit Suisse First Boston in New York and TD Securities in New York and Toronto, where he was responsible for numerous assignments raising capital and executing M&A transactions. He co-founded a company in Connecticut that licensed financial software to the American Stock Exchange and has sold diagnostic imaging products to hospitals for Kodak’s Health Sciences Division. Simon has a B.Sc. (Biochemistry) from Queen’s University and a MBA from the University of Western 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.
Peter Pekos, OBIO Director
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dalton Pharma Services
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Dalton Pharma Services, Peter Pekos, MSc, sets the vision and strategy for Dalton’s growth and success. Mr. Pekos is responsible for the general management of the company and is accountable for Dalton’s business, including business development, sales and marketing.
Peter Pekos’ academic career began at the University of Toronto, where he obtained a Chemistry/Biochemistry double specialist with a minor in Biology. He then moved on to York University where he completed a Masters in synthetic chemistry, and founded Dalton Chemical Laboratories in 1986.
At its inception, Dalton was selling compounds from Peter’s Masters’ Thesis. In April 2000, the company moved into a 42,000 square foot facility and grew from a staff of 20 to more than 90 employees. Over the years, Dalton has grown with the needs of its clients and now offers ‘one stop shopping’ for the discovery and manufacture of innovative drug molecules, custom peptides and oligonucleotides, from research through Phase I, II and III, and up to commercial production.
A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Pekos is also the President of Ashbury Biologicals, Inc., a phytopharmaceutical company which in 2001 received an award for being the Top 10 Canadian companies to invest in. In 1995, Mr. Pekos founded Jupiter Consumer Products, a company targeting the development of adult focused confections. The business was grown then sold in 1999. Mr. Pekos serves on the YORKbiotech Board of Directors, a not-for-profit, Regional Innovation Network for biotechnology and related industries. Mr. Pekos is also on the Business Advisory Board of Origin BioMed, Inc., a biomedicinal natural health products company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In previous years, Mr. Pekos served on the Scientific Advisory Board for Lab Business, one of Jesmar Communications biotechnology publications and on the Business Advisory Board for Critical Outcome Technologies, Inc., publicly owned Canadian drug discovery company.
An active Angel Investor, Mr. Pekos invested in a Joint Venture focused on cancer therapeutics and previously invested in Powerlasers, a company founded out of University of Waterloo that developed technology to laser weld reflective metals. While Mr. Pekos served on the Board of Powerlasers, the company was grown and ultimately sold to Defasco and currently manufactures $150 million worth of auto parts per year.
As a York University Alumni and Donor, Mr. Pekos is often invited to be a speaker at the University for the Bethune College Careers Series and actively donates to scholarship funds at both York University and University of Toronto.
Prabh Bob Singh, OBIO Treasurer
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Jeremy Grushcow, OBIO Secretary
Ogilvy Renault
OBIO BOARD SUBCOMMITEES:
