Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board
Mr. Gérard Limoges, C.M., F.C.A.
Mr. Limoges is a Senior Executive with more than 40 years of experience in accounting, auditing, consulting, mergers and acquisitions in a wide spectrum of industries across Canada. In 1999, he retired as Deputy Chairman of Ernst & Young Canada. In 2000, Mr. Limoges served as Commissioner on the Quebec Government's Clair Commission on health care and social services. He sits on the Board of Directors of several organizations and companies, including Alexis Nihon REIT, Hartco Corporation, Aeterna Zentaris Inc., Atrium Innovations, Supratek Pharma Inc, and the Clinical Research Institute of Montréal. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Limoges is a member of the Order of Canada.

Mr. Paul-Henri Gagnon
In June 2003, following a career in corporate finance, Mr. Gagnon founded PHG Capital inc., a private company with a mission to provide financial counseling services and to offer management consulting and capital asset tracking. Mr. Gagnon was a partner with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ (a venture capital investment fund) for 7 years, between 1996 and 2003. Previously, he was Vice-President of Investment at Investissement Québec (a Quebec government organization dedicated to financing SMEs). Mr. Gagnon also worked for nearly 15 years with the Bank of Montreal, where he held many positions, including director of market development for Quebec, director of two branches, and credit officer at the central office. He possesses extensive Board experience, having been a member of the boards of directors of more than 20 companies.

Dr. John Hooper, President and Chief Executive Officer
Former CEO of Phoenix International, which grew under his leadership from 20 to 2,600 employees in sixteen countries and annual revenues of $300 million. Phoenix was sold to MDS for $500 million in April 2000. Dr. Hooper has 37 years of relevant experience, including 32 at the executive level, and a successful track record managing time sensitive R&D for profit. Dr. Hooper was twice named “Entrepreneur of the Year” for Quebec in the life sciences and has served on the Board of more than 10 companies.

Mr. Nitin Kaushal
Mr. Kaushal is currently a Managing Director at Desjardins Securities. He sits on the Boards of Directors of Victhom Human Bionics, Forbes Medi-Tech and Protox Therapeutics. He is a former member of the Institutional Sales team at Orion Securities, a leading Canadian independent investment dealer.
Mr. Kaushal was the President and Managing Director of Vengate Capital, a Life Sciences and Healthcare Investment Banking & Advisory Firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director at HSBC Securities in its Healthcare Group and a Senior Investment Manager with MDS Capital Corp, a Health and Life Sciences Venture Firm. He was also the Assistant Manager at Pricewaterhouse. Mr. Kaushal earned his Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) from the University of Toronto and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Mr. Jacques R. Lapointe
Mr. Lapointe brings over thirty years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with over twenty of these in senior executive positions both in Canada and internationally. Among these, Mr. Lapointe was Chairman and CEO of ConjuChem Inc and before that President and COO of BioChem Pharma. He spent many years with GlaxoWellcome plc as CEO of the Canadian and UK Operating Companies and later as a member of the company’s Worldwide Executive Committee where he was responsible for Global Commercial and Business Development. This followed earlier employment with the Johnson & Johnson organization where he held senior marketing and operations positions.
Now semi-retired, he sits on a number of public and private corporate and charitable boards.

Dr. Camille Limoges
Former Deputy Minister for Research, Science and Technology in Quebec, Dr. Limoges has had a long career in the public and academic sectors, where he also held posts as President of the Science and Technology Council of Quebec and Director of the Interuniversity Center for Research on Science and Technology (CIRST). Dr. Limoges received his doctorate from the Sorbonne, Paris in 1968 and taught at the Université de Montréal, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University and Université du Québec à Montréal.
Dr. Limoges is the author or co-author of six books, over one hundred other scientific contributions and fifty reports and other works on science policy issues. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, has received two doctorates honoris causa and is the recipient of the “Medal of Merit” from the Institut de recherche clinique (2002) and the “Prix du Québec” (2004) for his contribution to the conception and implementation of science policy in Quebec.

Mr. Peter Hentschel
Mr. Hentschel is a Senior Executive with more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare and consumer products industries. Former Senior Vice President at Mölnlycke Health Care AB until his retirement in 2006, Mr. Hentschel turned around an unprofitable wound care franchise to a highly profitable business, introducing several new products. Mr. Hentschel was also involved in the 2005 sale of Mölnlycke Health Care to APAX Partners, and the 1998 MBO process where Mölnlycke Clinical was sold to Nordic Capital. Mr. Hentschel is currently on the Board of Directors of Unomedical A/S, Carmel Pharma AB, and Aidera AB, and has been on the Board at Medeikonos AB and Kirudan A/S.

Dr. Ulf Tossman
Dr. Tossman studied at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, where he earned a PhD in Pharmacology. A few years later he joined Astra Pharmaceutical where he was involved in global marketing as well as project management within the CNS area. Thereafter, Dr. Tossman joined Schering as Medical Director, Northern Europe. During this time he built a medical and regulatory organization in the Nordic Countries. He was also an elected member of the Schering Medical Directors Europe group. Shortly after the formation of Fresenius Kabi, Ulf Tossman joined as Executive Vice President, Global R&D (Parenteral Nutrition). Dr. Tossman has been working with private equity investments within the health care sector since 2001, and he is Investment Director at Innovations Kapital.

Mr. Keijo Väkiparta
Mr. Väkiparta has been with Finland's BioFund since June 2001. Prior to joining BioFund he worked over 20 years with Tamro Group, a leading health care company in Northern Europe, where he acted as President of Tamda and Tamro MedLab Groups and Vice President of New Ventures. Mr. Väkiparta was also the Chairman of the Boards of subsidiaries of Tamda and Tamro MedLab in Nordic countries, Baltic states and Russia. Mr. Väkiparta has also been the Marketing Director of Kolmi-Set (today Mölnlycke Health Care) and Managing Director of Medi-Tex, joint venture with Finnfund and LAFICO and Tam-Cross, a joint venture with Finnish Red Cross. Mr. Väkiparta is Chairman of the Board of Juvantia Pharma Ltd and member of the Board of LAB Pharma Oy, Cellartis AB and Ipsat Therapies Oy.

Mr. Jan Mellegers
Mr. Mellegers founded Biotech Turnaround Fund (BTF) in October 2000, building on his experience in international financial markets and his biomedical investment expertise. BTF currently has 140 million Euros under management and is raising an additional 225 million Euros for its 2nd fund. Mr. Mellegers was a pilot and section leader in the Dutch Air Force for many years. In 1982, he joined Drexel Burnham Lambert (DBL) and managed their Amsterdam securities office from 1987 until 1990. DBL Securities' office was taken over by Wertheim Schroder (WS) and, from 1990 to year-end 1993, Mr. Mellegers co-managed the WS Securities office and set up a derivative business unit (long-term interest & currency hedging). It was through DBL's, and later WS's research of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, that he became involved with numerous biotechnology financings. After a sabbatical year, Mr. Mellegers established the United Asset Management office in Amsterdam in 1995. As Managing Director until January 2000, he was responsible for marketing their investment management capabilities to Europe's top tier pension funds. UAM had $203 billion in assets under management at the end of 1999 and was taken over by Old Mutual in 2001.

Mr. Michael Atkin
Mr. Atkin is presently CEO of Ulysses Pharmaceuticals. He has raised $38 million of financing for private Canadian biotechnology companies, and served as founding CEO of Aegera Therapeutics. Previously Director of New Products in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Neuroscience Global Marketing Group in Princeton,
New Jersey, Mr. Atkin was responsible for marketing strategy and pre-market development of drugs for treating stroke, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders and migraine. He was also responsible for lifecycle planning for a marketed $100 million migraine drug, and for licensing in the area of pain and migraine. Before joining BMS, Mr. Atkin was Vice -President, Business Development for Lederle International Division. Over his career he has executed over 20 significant licenses, acquisitions, joint ventures and divestitures. He is a director of three private biotechnology companies.