Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization Announces Election of Shelley Boyd, Jeremy Bridge-Cook, Michael Cloutier and Cathy Szabo to its Board of Directors

Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization Announces Election of Shelley Boyd, Jeremy Bridge-Cook, Michael Cloutier and Cathy Szabo to its Board of Directors

Toronto, Ontario, November 4, 2015 – Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (“OBIO®”), a non-profit organization that is Ontario’s leading advocate for the life science sector, announces  the election of four new members to its Board of Directors: Shelley Boyd, Jeremy Bridge-Cook, Michael Cloutier and Cathy Szabo.

“OBIO is delighted to welcome four new Directors to the Board,” said Dr. David Young, Chair of the Board of Directors.  “Their range of experiences and expertise will both complement and augment the group of thought leaders OBIO has brought to the table to build a sustainable biosciences sector that creates jobs, attracts expertise and ideas, elevates health outcomes and builds a more prosperous economy.”

 “OBIO’s Board is an integral part of the advocacy, sector promotion and strategic leadership work that we do.” said Gail Garland, President and Chief Executive Officer of OBIO. “I and the rest of the OBIO team are looking forward to the support and contributions of this impressive group as we move forward building companies, the industry and an industry friendly environment.”

OBIO is also pleased to announce that Jung-Kay Chiu, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright, will continue to serve as Secretary for the OBIO Board of Directors and that Prabh Bob Singh, Partner PWC will continue as Treasurer. 

Michael Cloutier, Director and Vice Chair
Michael Cloutier is CEO, PTC Therapeutics and an Executive Leader & Human Resources Strategist with demonstrated success at national and global levels within the Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Health Sciences industries. Mr. Cloutier has identified, initiated and created strategic plans for organizational transformation and performance enhancement. He delivers results through building and maintaining strong relationships internally and externally across all stakeholder populations. Michael is recognized as a focused and ethical leader who demonstrates linear and abstract thinking to meet and exceed the needs of an organization.

Jeremy Bridge-Cook, Director
Dr. Bridge-Cook was named Senior Vice President of Research and Development of Luminex in May 2012. Previously he served as Senior Vice President of the Assay Group and Vice President, Luminex Molecular Diagnostics. He also served at Tm Bioscience, which became Luminex Molecular Diagnostics following the acquisition of Tm Bioscience by Luminex in March 2007. Dr. Bridge-Cook joined Tm Bioscience in July 2000 as Director of Business Development and served in various capacities thereafter, including Vice President of Business Development, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development. Prior to joining Tm, Dr. Bridge-Cook worked as a venture capital investment analyst at MDS Capital Corporation and University Medical Discoveries Inc. Dr. Bridge-Cook has a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Toronto.

Shelley Boyd, Director
Shelley Boyd, MD, FRCSC, is a clinician-scientist and Ophthalmologist specializing in diseases of the retina. She trained at the University of Toronto, with fellowships at Moorfields Eye Hospital, UK and the Scripps Research Institute, California.  She is Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology & Vision Sciences, with cross-appointment to Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, and Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University. Shelley was formerly Head of the Ocular Angiogenesis Research Program, worldwide, with Novartis (Switzerland), overseeing pre-clinical and translational aspects of the Ranibizumab (Lucentis) program – the standard of care treatment for “wet” Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).  She is President & Chief Scientific Officer of Translatum Medicus inc (TMi), a spin-off from St Michael’s Hospital, dedicated to saving sight for patients with “dry” AMD.  With a patented lead compound, TMi-018, and a translational platform, TMi de-risks and accelerates drug development for dry AMD.  Dr. Boyd is director of Canada’s only dedicated High-risk dry AMD Clinic.

Cathy Szabo, Director
Cathy Szabo is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Providence Care, the leading provider of Aging, Mental Health and Rehabilitative care in southeastern Ontario. In her over 30 years of experience, Cathy has focused on Health System Improvement, creating organizational cultures of quality and excellence while delivering patient care that meets individual’s needs. Under her leadership, Central CCAC developed a Medication Management Support Services program which was awarded Best Innovation Healthcare Practice in Canada by the National Research Corporation (NRC).  Additionally, this program was recognized at the bronze level by the Institute for Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).
A dedicated advocate for healthcare, Cathy is an active member of the Knowledge Exchange Board, Canadian Patient Safety Institute; the International Society for Quality in Health Care; Centre for Health System Design and Management, Conference Board of Canada; Osgoode Hall Health Law Program; and GS1 Canada Health Care Advisory Council.  In addition, Cathy is the Chair of Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC). Throughout her career, Cathy has successfully delivered cost-effective models of care by applying evidence-based leading practices from around the globe to service delivery in Ontario.  Cathy holds a Master of Public Health, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and a diploma of Clinical Administration from the Ontario Hospital Association.  She is a Registered Nurse and a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders.

About the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization

The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization engaged in the development of an integrated health innovation economy for Ontario and one that will become a global leader in providing health technology products and services to the international marketplace. OBIO advances this goal through advocacy, promotion and strategic leadership and via collaborative partnerships with industry, academia, patients and government. For more information, visit the OBIO website www.obio.ca and follow OBIO on Twitter @OntBioscience. 

OBIO Contact
Gail Garland
President and Chief Executive Officer
gailgarland@obio.ca
416-673-6619