Demystifying early-stage drug, device and platform development in academic settings – March 16, 2022

Session Description

During this session our panelists will present and discuss the scientific and business activities that can transform an “invention” developed during academic research into a business opportunity that can attract investment and industry partnerships. You will learn from real-world examples about the steps that increase likelihood of success of technology development, important considerations during discovery phase, and the added value of building the intellectual property and business strategy in an academic settings. This session aims to stimulate the idea of “thinking commercially” during the research and discovery phase for everyone interested in drug, device and platform development at UofT. 

The goal of PRiME's Jump Start series is to provide a comprehensive look into the essential steps involved in development of pre-clinical drugs, devices, and platform technologies. In the series we engage with experts to discuss important considerations to ensure success at each step of the development process.

These workshops are open to all Trainees and Principal Investigators at UofT. 

SPEAKERS

Cheryl Reicin, JD
Partner, Torys LLP
Cheryl Reicin is the practice leader of Torys’ Life Science Group, a cross-border group in both Canada and New York. Her group is the only legal group in Canada that is fully dedicated to life science in the financing and corporate area and is consistently ranked as the No 1 life science group in Canada. Cheryl represents the whole spectrum of biotech, medical device and health technology companies, from start-ups to multi- billion public companies, as well as venture capitalists, investment banks and academic medical centers. She advises companies, in joint ventures and licensing transactions, financing and mergers and acquisitions throughout the world. She has the sole distinction of being ranked in international and national rankings as a leading lawyer in life sciences in both the US and Canada and has received numerous recognitions and awards, including, among others, LMG Life Science’s Finance & Transactional Lawyer of the Year; Best Lawyers in Canada – Life Science Lawyer of the Year and Best of the Best – Leading Lawyer in Life Science,  Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence and the Hall of Fame of  Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women. She is involved in numerous charitable endeavors, including, among others, serving as a trustee for The Hospital for Sick Children and as founder of Canadian Women in Life Sciences. Cheryl is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Parimal Nathwani, MSc, MBA
President & CEO, TIAP
Parimal Nathwani has over 15 years of experience in various aspects of the biotechnology industry including corporate finance, business development, transactions, intellectual property management, technology development and operations. He has been actively involved in forming and managing start-ups, preparing and executing on business plans, raising early-stage capital and in- and out-licensing activities. Before joining Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners, Parimal was a healthcare analyst with a boutique investment bank, where he conducted equity research on publicly-traded biotechnology companies in Canada and the U.S. He has also led commercialization activities out of BC Women’s and Children’s Hospital as part of his role at the University of British Columbia’s Industry Liaison Office, and was a research scientist at a start-up biotechnology company involved in drug discovery targeting ABC Transporters. Parimal received his MBA from Simon Fraser University and his M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia.  He currently sits on the boards of TRIUMF Innovations, Zucara Therapeutics, Cohesys Inc. and Vasomune Therapeutics and is an observer on the board of Encycle Therapeutics.

Molly Shoichet, PhD
University Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, UofT
Professor Molly Shoichet is University Professor, a distinction held by less than 2% of the faculty, at the University of Toronto. She served as Ontario’s first Chief Scientist in 2018 where she worked to enhance the culture of science. Dr. Shoichet has published over 650 papers, patents and abstracts and has given over 420 lectures worldwide. She currently leads a laboratory of 30 and has graduated 220 researchers. Her research is focused on drug and cell delivery strategies in the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, retina) and 3D hydrogel culture systems to model cancer. Dr. Shoichet co-founded four spin-off companies, is actively engaged in translational research and science outreach. Dr. Shoichet is the recipient of many prestigious distinctions and the only person to be inducted into all three of Canada’s National Academies of Science of the Royal Society of Canada, Engineering and Health Sciences. In 2018, Professor Shoichet was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2011, she was awarded the Order of Ontario. Dr. Shoichet was the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for North America in 2015, elected Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2016, won the Killam Prize in Engineering in 2017 and elected to the Royal Society (UK) in 2019. In 2020, Dr. Shoichet was awarded the NSERC Herzberg Gold Medal and won the Margolese National Brain Disorders Prize. Dr. Shoichet received her SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1987) and her PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Polymer Science and Engineering (1992).

Jennifer Fraser, MSc MBA
Director, Innovation, UofT
Jennifer Fraser is a business professional focused for the last 20 years on commercializing early stage technology. Whether the work has been for a start-up company, a venture capital firm or a university, the goal has always been the same; ensure promising technologies have the resources and a plan to make it to the market. She received her MSc. In Microbiology and Immunology from Western University in 1994 and her MBA from the prestigious Ivey School of Business in 2002. She has developed her own inventions for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. She has performed technology and business due diligence on investment opportunities and built an extensive network of industry experts to advise her. She is currently leading a team of excellent innovation and entrepreneurship professionals as the Director of Innovation at the University of Toronto.

Charles Andres, PhD, RAC
Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Charles J. Andres, Ph.D., RAC, is an award winning author and attorney working in the intellectual property, FDA and transactional spaces.  Charlie works with clients to build integrated legal and regulatory strategies that mirror business plans and best position companies for success.  Acting as investor counsel, Charlie’s diligence work has resulted in greenlighting over $9B in investments. Charlie has also built and sold patent portfolios and their associated companies, and facilitated licensing and partnership deals, worth approximately $8B in aggregate. Charlie has obtained patents and built patent portfolios covering three FDA approved drugs, as well as drug candidates currently in phase I, phase II and phase III clinical trials.  A trusted advisor, Charlie has been invited to speak at conferences and programs worldwide. In addition, he has co-authored over 100 legal publications and three Supreme Court amicus briefs.