Vice-President, Pharmacology and PK

Dr. Jianmin Duan obtained his PhD in Pharmacology in 1989 from Dalhousie University in Halifax. Following a 2-year MRC post-doc scholarship sponsored training in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Western Ontario, Jianmin worked for 21 years in drug discovery and development at Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd. His pharmacology and pharmacokinetic expertise, as well as strategic leadership roles in drug R&D was well recognized and rewarded with 2 Silver Research Awards and four promotions, leading to the position of Director of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacology (PK/PD) at Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd in 2008. At the same time, Jianmin also served at the Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) International Drug Discovery DMPK/Pharmacology Council (2005-2013), and was appointed as the Project Leader of BI Global R&D DMPK Strategy Optimization (2005) and the Head of BI Global Human DMPK prediction Working Group (2005-2013).

Jianmin founded his own pharmaceutical consulting company in 2013. He is currently serving several local and international Pharm/Biotech companies on drug R&D, in the areas of translational DMPK/PD/Tox evaluations, clinical trials and formulation design, data analysis, and regulatory submissions.

Jianmin’s expertise in effective applications of translational medicine to streamline drug R & D have been exemplified in his 57 peer-reviewed scientific papers and >40 presentations at international conferences, as well as in his contributions to >20 R&D projects in his client companies over the past 5 years.

Jianmin has served at the editorial board of The Open Drug Metabolism Journal and The Online Journal of Toxicology. He is an invited reviewer for several international DMPK/PD journals including: Drug metabolism and Disposition, Pharmaceutical Research, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences; AAPS Journal, Xenobiotica and Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Head of Drug Development

Dr Polyak has over 20 years of extensive academic research and broad industrial experience in the biotechnology Industry, focusing on organic, medicinal and peptide chemistry, as well as all chemical aspects of development of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. In 2017-2018, Dr Polyak held the position of Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Biosentica Laboratories Inc., where he directed R&D and commercialization of a natural health product Etrexa™. Prior to that, Dr Polyak was both Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CSO at Aluron Biopharma. Dr Polyak also led drug development programs including FDA approved drug – EGRIFTA™ at Theratechnologies.

At Montdorex, Dr Polyak serves as Director, Drug Development and focuses on Investigational New Drug (IND) application, working closely with various regulatory agencies.

Director of Operations

Marie-Noëlle Ip joined Montdorex in September, 2020, as Director of Operations. Prior to that, she was Director of Operations at Verlyx Pharma Inc. (previously known as Oncozyme Pharma Inc.) from May, 2009 until December, 2017, when the company was sold.

From 1989 to 2003, Marie-Noëlle worked at BCE Inc., initially in the legal department, then in corporate strategy. She subsequently worked in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada as Executive Assistant and Researcher in the policy group. Prior to joining Verlyx (Oncozyme), she was a Program Director at the Ottawa-based Council of Canadian Academies, managing the conduct of assessments by expert panels on the science underlying pressing issues and matters of public interest.

Toxicology and Clinical Development Advisor

Dr. Colin Bier is managing and scientific director of ABA BioResearch, an independent bioregulatory consulting company with extensive regulatory experience in strategic management and development during the preclinical stage of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals as well as medical devices and diagnostics. Dr. Bier provides expertise in the design, conduct and execution of preclinical toxicology (safety) and pharmacology studies in support of registration and interaction with worldwide regulatory bodies. Dr. Bier has worked with and assisted more than 60 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Dr. Bier received his Ph.D in experimental pathology from Colorado State University and then pursued additional training as a Medical Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow and the Douglas James Fellow in the Department of Pathology of McGill University.

Dr. Bier has extensive management experience in the biomedical sector having held senior scientific and executive management positions in contract research and private industry as well as the hospital sector.

Business Development Advisor

Dr. Colin has worked for more than 35 years in the field of drug development, and has to his credit more than 15 new product approvals in the United States and Canada, including a dozen in gastroenterology and hepatology related therapeutic areas. Patrick Colin is a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Université de Montréal, where he obtained his B.Pharm., a master’s degree and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences.

Dr. Colin is the founder and president of a drug development consulting firm, PCC Inc., specialized in Phase 1-3 clinical drug development. His pharmaceutical career is very varied, as he has held several senior management positions within the international pharmaceutical industry, as well as in many biotechs of which he was often co-founder. He also participated to the success of the Quebec firm Axcan Pharma for more than twelve years, as vice-president of clinical research and head of R&D.  His significant contribution and international experience in the field of digestive and liver diseases have brought him a recognized reputation in Canada and abroad.  He has also managed numerous pharmaceutical and clinical development projects in other therapeutic areas, including oncology, dermatology, psychiatry, women’s health, cardiology, COVID-19, etc. Dr. Colin is currently co-founder and Chief Development Officer at Laurent Pharma, a company specializing in cystic fibrosis and COVID-19. In addition, he published and presented more than 75 drug development projects, whose extensive repertoire includes both pre-clinical and clinical research. Finally, Dr. Colin is a member of the Dean’s Circle and the Centennial Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Université de Montréal and is a guest speaker at the latter as well as at Université Laval. Dr Colin will assist the clinical development of Montdorex vast array of novel compounds.

Regulatory Affairs Advisor

Dr. Noel is an independent consultant with over 30 years experience in technology assessment, biopharmaceutical product development, and development and implementation of regulatory strategies for expedited commercialization. She has prepared and obtained regulatory approval/clearance for numerous INDs, orphan drug designations, and 13 NDAs, over various therapeutic areas but a focus in oncology.  In addition to her consulting practice, she previously participated in several successful start-up ventures, including co-founding of OncoEthix, an oncology drug development company that was sold to Merck; co-founding of a novel drug distribution system called Oncology Therapeutics Network that was sold to Bristol Myers Squibb; and development of the first healthcare business plan, its $75 million financing, and development and marketing of the first PCR test kits at Cetus Corporation, a venture that became Roche Molecular Diagnostics. Dr. Noel has a PhD in biophysics from the University of Michigan.

Clinical Development Advisor

Dr. Revati Shreeniwas is a physician specialized in internal medicine and pulmonary disease with 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical development. She has designed and implemented more than 50 US and international (Phase 1-4) trials and been the clinical lead for regulatory interactions with the FDA and EMA. She serves as consulting Chief medical Officer to small innovative biotech companies. She graduated from Armed Forces Medical College, India and served on the faculty of Stanford University and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Revati practiced clinical medicine for 15 years prior to entering pharmaceutical industry and is licensed to practice medicine in California.

Director

Dr. Colin Bier is managing and scientific director of ABA BioResearch, an independent bioregulatory consulting company with extensive regulatory experience in strategic management and development during the preclinical stage of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals as well as medical devices and diagnostics. Dr. Bier provides expertise in the design, conduct and execution of preclinical toxicology (safety) and pharmacology studies in support of registration and interaction with worldwide regulatory bodies. Dr. Bier has worked with and assisted more than 60 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Dr. Bier received his Ph.D in experimental pathology from Colorado State University and then pursued additional training as a Medical Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow and the Douglas James Fellow in the Department of Pathology of McGill University.

Dr. Bier has extensive management experience in the biomedical sector having held senior scientific and executive management positions in contract research and private industry as well as the hospital sector.

Director

Mr. Fang has over 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship and in information technology. He is a member of the founding team of Riverdelta Networks (1999), which was acquired by Motorola in 2001. In 2003, he cofounded Casa Systems, a company specialized in telecommunications. Casa Systems went public on NASDAQ in 2019. Recently, Mr. Fang ventured into the field of Biotechnology with the cofounding of Sense Therapeutics in 2019.

Dr. Chow is a specialist in molecular biology and has studied repair enzymes for more than thirty years. He demonstrated his abilities in drug development from laboratory benches to clinical trials during his tenure at Oncozyme. He is the leading expert on EE(Trmt2) with many publications in highly regarded scientific journals.  His work has led to the identification of Pentamidine as an anti-cancer agent.

Dr. Chow has a successful track record in drug development. He co-founded Oncozyme Pharma Inc in 1999. He remained as President until 2010, CSO until 2014, and founding Scientist until early 2015. During this period, Dr Chow successfully raised 2 rounds of financing to develop Pentamidine both pre-clinically and clinically, including successful negotiations with Health Canada and FDA (USA) to commence several clinical trials. In 2012 Dr. Chow and his team  identified and developed a proprietary form of Pentamidine that combines hepatoselectivity, hepatoprotective, and anticancer properties.  In 2014, this proprietary form of Pentamidine went into clinical trial to target liver diseases. Oncozyme Pharma was renamed Verlyx Pharma in 2014 to concentrate on this leading compound VLX103 for liver diseases. Verlyx Pharma was acquired by Odan Laboratories Ltd in 2018.

Dr. Chow is the founder, CSO and CEO of Montdorex.  He also holds the post of Co-chair for Research Ethic Board (REB) sub-committee for the Center of Applied Ethics at McGill University Hospital Center. He is also President of the User Committee at Montreal Chinese Hospital, where he previously served on the Executive Committee of  the Hospital Board.

Dr. Cournoyer obtained his MD degree from the University of Sherbrooke, Québec. He completed his Internal Medicine Post-Graduate training in the same institution, then trained in Hematology at McGill. He then undertook several years of research training in basic science, starting in the Department of Biochemistry at McGill under the supervision of Professor Clifford P. Stanners. He subsequently joined the laboratory of Dr. C. Thomas Caskey, in the Molecular Genetics Institute of Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas. From 1998 to 2003, he was member of the Board of Directors of Héma-Québec. He served as Director of the Office of Research Ethics of the McGill University Health Centre from 1999 to 2013. He is currently Associate Director of Division of Hematology at McGill University Hospital Center; Associate Professor of Medicine and Oncology and affiliated member of the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University. He has sat on advisory boards for several public organizations, including the Fonds de la recherche en du Québec–Santé and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. His basic research interest has focused on somatic gene transfer/gene therapy applied to cancer treatment.

Dr. Kotra is an academic entrepreneur with expertise in drug discovery and development (kotralab.uhnres.utoronto.ca). Kotra group specializes in the areas of medicinal chemistry, preclinical and clinical development of small molecule and natural product-based drugs. Dr. Kotra authored/co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed original research articles, several book chapters, and delivered over 110 scientific and plenary talks globally. Kotra research group has contributed to a number of research programs in the areas of infectious, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Kotra is a recipient of several awards including the Premier’s Research Excellence Award from the Province of Ontario (Canada), Rx&D Health Research Foundation Research Career award, GlaxoSmithKline/Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences Young Investigator Award. Dr. Kotra is a co-founder of WinSanTor Inc., San Diego, California, USA (drugs targeting diabetic neuropathy, 2012- ), CIDAVA Innovations—an India-Canada joint venture (antimalarials, 2013-16), CannScience Innovations, Inc., Toronto, Canada (now Scientus Pharma, Inc.; novel cannabinoid products for medical uses, 2014-). He serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Scientus Pharma Inc. (Toronto) where he maintains Chief Scientific Officer role, Avicanna Inc (2017), and the College of Reviewers at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Kotra lives in Toronto with his wife, Dasantila and their two daughters.

Dr. Kotra is Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and Multi-Organ Transplant Program; and Director, Center for Molecular Design and Preformulations, University Health Network, Toronto (Canada).