Alexander Fried – Associate, Life Sciences Venture Capital, Business Development Bank of Canada – Toronto, ON

Alex Fried joined BDC Venture Capital in 2007 as a Life Sciences Associate.

Prior to joining BDC Venture Capital, Alex was a Process Improvement Engineer with Aventis Pasteur, where he specialized in scale-up, optimization and compliance of vaccine development operations. Alex has also participated in a diverse set of entrepreneurial endeavours, including an in-house start-up at Flagship Ventures.

Alex holds an MBA from The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business; an MASc in Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto; and a BEng in Chemical Engineering, McGill University.

Dr. Maha Katabi - Vice-President, Life Sciences, Ventures West – Montreal, QC and Toronto, ON

Dr. Maha Katabi joined Ventures West as Vice President, Life Sciences in 2004. She focuses on deal generation and portfolio management in the Life Sciences sector.

Prior to joining Ventures West, Maha was Vice President, Business Development of Chronogen Inc., a drug discovery company developing human therapeutics to treat age-dependent diseases. Prior to joining Chronogen, she was responsible for managing investments in the Life Sciences field with T2C2 /Bio, L.P., a prominent Quebec biotechnology venture fund.

Maha holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from McGill University.

Damian Lamb - Managing Director, Genesys Capital - Toronto, ON

Damian is a founder and Managing Director of Genesys Capital. Damian brings a unique experience base, blending skills in both the commercial and technical side of biotechnology. Since co-founding Genesys Capital Partners in 2000, Damian has been instrumental in raising over $125 million in venture capital funds, and has been involved in deploying over $60 million in 16 investments. He serves on the Board of Affinium Pharmaceuticals Inc., DELEX Therapeutics Inc., Millenium Biologix Inc., and Ionalytics Corporation. Damian works closely with these and other Genesys investee companies to strategically position the companies to best build value for all shareholders.

In 2001, Damian played a key role in creating two seed capital funds associated with Canada's leading research institutes. The Discovery District Biotechnology Fund was set up in partnership with leading Toronto-based research institutes (the University of Toronto, University Health Network, Hospital for Sick Children, and Mount Sinai Hospita). The Ottawa Biotechnology Innovation Fund was set up in partnership with leading Ottawa-based research institutes (the University of Ottawa, Ottawa Health Research Institute, and the National Research Council of Canada). Damian is the President of the Ottawa Biotechnology Innovation Fund and a director of the Discovery District Biotechnology Fund.

Prior to founding Genesys Capital Partners Inc., Damian was an Investment Manager with MDS Capital Corp. He is a frequently invited speaker at biotechnology industry conferences and has been a judge for the BioNorth Top 10 Canadian Life Sciences Companies contest from 2000 - 2002.

Damian graduated from McMaster University , Faculty of Health Sciences, with a MSc in molecular neurobiology. Damian also holds an MBA from Queen's University.

Jeff Leiden - Managing Director, Clarus Ventures - Boston, MA

Jeffrey Leiden, MD, PhD has more than 20 years of experience in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors. Dr. Leiden was President and COO of Abbott Laboratories, Pharmaceuticals Products Group, and a member of the Abbott Board of Directors and the TAP Board of Directors from 2000-2006. From 1987-2000 Dr. Leiden held several academic appointments including Chief of Cardiology and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of Chicago, the Elkan R. Blout Professor of Biological Sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. During his academic career, Dr. Leiden was involved in starting several biotechnology companies including Vical and Cardiogene. He is an elected member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Leiden has recently led financing on behalf of Clarus Ventures and is Chairman of the Board of Variation Biotechnologies, Inc. He is also a non-executive director of Shire plc and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ravinia Festival and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Leiden received both his medical degree and PhD from the University of Chicago and an honorary MA from Harvard University.

Richard Meadows - Managing Partner, CTI Life Sciences Fund - Montreal, QC

Richard Meadows is a Managing Partner with CTI Life Sciences Fund and one of its co-founders. He joined the Fund from his previous position as a Venture Partner with VantagePoint Venture Partners, a US$2.8 billion private Equity fund based in San Bruno California. Richard was also a Partner in the Biotechnology Group of CDP Capital Technology Ventures ($1.2 billion). Mr. Meadows has extensive experience in operations, general management in biopharmaceuticals, and finance. He has made and managed investments in the cancer, cardiovascular, auto-inflammatory and immunology areas. He has represented investors on some 12 Company Boards.

Richard did his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and a M.Sc. in Cardiovascular Physiology, both from McGill University, circa 1972-76. Richard is also a graduate of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (1985) and one of the first EMBA grads in Canada!

CTI LIFE Sciences Fund L.P. with $100Million of invested capital, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is a limited partnership formed to make venture capital investments in high quality emerging life sciences companies primarily in Canada with a small number of selected investments in the United States.

Dr R. Dana Ono - Managing Director Life Sciences, Vimac Ventures - Boston, MA

Dana's experience includes over 20 years of senior management in public and private biotech companies. Most recently, he was a co-founder, President and CEO of IntraImmune Therapies, Inc., a biotechnology company which he sold to Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq:ABGX) in 2000. Prior to heading IntraImmune, he was founder and principal manager of several successful early stage biotech companies in the Boston area.

Throughout his career, Dana has been engaged in the strategic planning, product management, technology acquisition and commercial development of biotech startups. A founding director of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Inc., Dana is a frequent spokesperson for the biotechnology industry. He has authored a number of scientific articles and edited the book, "The Business of Biotechnology-From the Bench to the Street."

Dana received his AM and PhD in Biology from Harvard University and his AB in Earth & Planetary Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University.

Jorge Ramírez – Associate, ProQuest – Princeton, NJ and Montreal, QC

Mr. Ramírez joined ProQuest in 2005 as an Associate. Prior to joining ProQuest, Mr. Ramírez was the General Manager of Neurology Products at Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems. While at Cyberkinetics, he led the regulatory and clinical development teams for the Company’s epilepsy monitoring device. In addition, he had line management responsibility for sales, marketing, manufacturing, and product development for Cyberkinetics’ preclinical research products. Previously, Mr. Ramírez worked as a management consultant at Monitor Company.

Mr. Ramírez received B.A. degrees in neuroscience and Spanish literature from Amherst College, where he graduated magna cum laude. He received an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.

Joe Regan – Vice President, Investments: Life Sciences, GrowthWorks - Toronto, ON

Joseph Regan is a Vice President, Investments at GrowthWorks Capital. Joe joined GrowthWorks in early 2003 and brings 15 years of life sciences venture capital and pharmaceutical industry experience. He has been active in both company creation and the strategic growth of portfolio companies. Joe brings a wealth of knowledge to numerous GrowthWorks’ investee Boards, including Aegera Therapeutics Inc, Viron Therapeutics Inc., Cytochroma Inc., Targeted Growth Inc., Receptor Therapeutics Inc, Sampling Technologies Inc. and Dynacon Inc. Additionally he manages and Chairs the Sunnybrook Working Ventures Medical Breakthrough Fund. Joe has an Honours BSc (with distinction) from the University of Guelph and an MBA (Dean's List) from McMaster University.

Samuel Wu, MD, PhD - Principal, SV Life Sciences (SVLS) - Boston, MA

Dr Samuel Wu joined SVLS in 2002 and is focused on biotech and medical device investments. He is actively involved as a board observer at Alba Therapeutics, Archemix, Confluent Surgical, Mpex Pharmaceuticals and Sapphire (formerly Rejuvenon). Prior to joining SVLS, Samuel was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey and Company's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products practice, where he led teams of consultants serving clients on M&A, portfolio analysis and other strategic issues. Samuel earned an MD and a PhD in Biochemistry from Stanford University and completed his internship in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds an AB in Biochemistry from Harvard College.