OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr Errol De Souza PhD
Non-Executive Chairman
Dr De Souza is a leader in the development of therapeutics for treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. He has substantial experience as an executive in the biopharmaceutical industry, having founded companies (Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.) and served as President and CEO of several public (Biodel Inc.; Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp.) and private (Archemix Corp. and Neuropore Therapies Inc.) biotech companies. Dr De Souza has raised several hundred million dollars in capital in private and public sectors and has taken companies public (Neurocrine Biosciences IPO) and sold companies (Synaptic sale to Lundbeck) to provide liquidity and build shareholder value. Over Dr De Souza’s career, he has served in a number of high-ranking R&D roles, including SVP and US head of R&D for Aventis (1998-2002), co-founder and EVP of R&D at Neurocrine (1992-1998) and Head of CNS at DuPont Merck (1990–1992). Dr De Souza has served on multiple editorial boards, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Committees and is currently a Director of several public and private companies and currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Catalyst Biosciences, Inc (CBIO), Cyclerion Therapeutics (CYCN) and Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX). He has previously served on the board of directors of several public companies including IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), Palatin Technologies (PTN) and Synaptic Pharmaceuticals (SNAP).
Dr Errol De Souza – Executive Chairman
Mr David Wilson
Non-Executive Director
Mr Wilson is Chairman and founding partner of WG Partners and has over 30 years’ experience in investment banking in the City of London. Previously Mr Wilson was CEO of Piper Jaffray Ltd, where he also served as Global Chairman of Healthcare and on the Group Leadership Team. Mr Wilson has held senior positions at ING Barings as Joint Head of UK Investment Banking Group, Deutsche Bank as Head of Small Companies Corporate Finance and UBS as Head of Small Companies Corporate Broking. Mr Wilson was previously Senior Independent Director of Optos plc prior to its successful sale of Nikon Corporation for ~$400m as well as a Non-Executive Director of BerGenBio AS.
David Wilson – Non-Executive Director
Mr Alan Fisher BCom, FCA, MAICD
Non-Executive Director
Mr Fisher is an experienced corporate advisor and public company director. He has a proven track record for implementing strategies that enhance shareholder value. His main areas of expertise include mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity raisings, business restructuring and strategic advice.
Alan Fisher – Non-Executive Director
Dr Jane Ryan PhD
Non-Executive Director
Dr Jane Ryan has over 30 years of international experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries having worked in Australia, US and UK. She has held senior executive roles in management of research and development programs as well as business development and alliance management. Throughout her career, she has led many successful fundraising campaigns and licensing initiatives including the awarding of a $230m US Government contract. Dr Ryan is currently a non-executive director of Anatara LifeSciences Ltd. Dr Ryan has an interest in public health and the advancement of science and currently chairs the Advisory Board of the ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney and was previously a Board Member of Veski; Diabetes Victoria, TechInSA, and the Diabetes Vaccine Development Centre.
Dr Jane Ryan – Non-Executive Director
Mr Mitchell Kaye BA, JD
Non-Executive Director Nominee
Mr Kaye is the Head of Business Development and Strategy for Deep Track Capital, a Greenwich, CT. based biotechnology investment firm. He is also the Founder and Chief Exploration Officer for Sabbatical Ventures, LLC, an investment and advisory firm which focuses on investing in seed-stage companies. Most recently Mr Kaye served as Senior Advisor to Boston-based High Vista Strategies, an endowment-style investment firm, on the launch of High Vista’s multi-manager biotechnology platform. Prior to his engagement with High Vista, Mr Kaye served as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Marketing for San Francisco-based BVF Partners (2013-2019), a leading biotechnology investment fund. Mr Kaye founded and ran MedClaims Liaison, a direct-to-consumer health insurance advocacy firm (2010-2013). He started his career by co-founding Brown Simpson Asset Management, and its successor firm, Xmark Opportunity Partners, where he served as Co-CIO and CIO, respectively (1996 – 2010). He has significant experience as a senior executive specialising in fundraising, client relations, transactions, investments, operations and talent acquisitions. Mr Kaye holds a Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University. He has served on numerous boards of public and private biotechnology companies (including Mendel Biotechnology Inc). He has also served on the boards of several private companies and not-for-profit organisations, including the New York Alzheimer’s Association.
Mitchell Kaye – Non-Executive Director
Mr Aaron Weaver CFA, LLM
Non-Executive Director Nominee
Mr Weaver is a Principal at Apeiron Investments, focused on the life sciences and technology sector. From 2013 – 2017, he was an investment banker at Credit Suisse in London within the Capital Markets Solutions team, advising on capital structuring and issuances for a full spectrum of corporate issuers from pre-revenue companies to public listed companies. He was a capital markets solicitor at Allen & Overy LLP, London from 2007 – 2013. Mr Weaver currently serves on the board of Bionomics as Apeiron’s nominee. He holds a Masters of Law from the Queensland University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a registered solicitor in the United Kingdom.
Aaron Weaver – Non-Executive Director
Mr Miles Davies
Non-Executive Director Nominee
Mr Davies is a 15-year veteran of the financial services industry with deep multi-sector and multi-function experience. He has a proven track record in advising private and public company Boards of Directors and shareholders of businesses that range in Enterprise Value size of $100m to $5bn. He has completed numerous M&A transactions across a variety of sectors including healthcare, along with strong experience in capital raising and restructuring opportunities during his time at Rothschild & Co. Mr Davies is currently an Investment Professional at Apeiron Investment Group Ltd and is Chief Business Officer for Leaf4Life Inc.
Miles Davies – Non-Executive Director