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Leadership
Executive management
Gord Froehlich – President and Chief Executive Officer
Gord Froehlich joined Kane Biotech in February 2005 as vice-president, business development and was appointed president of the Company in March, 2006 and CEO of the Company in May, 2007. Mr. Froehlich brings extensive expertise in leadership, strategic planning, licensing and commercialization of biotechnology products to Kane Biotech. Prior to joining Kane, Mr. Froehlich spent 25 years in the biotechnology industry at Monsanto Canada in various senior leadership positions.
Mr. Froehlich has served on the board of directors of a number of companies and also served as governor and director with the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange.
Mr. Froehlich holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan.
Dr. Sri Madhyastha – Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Sri Madhyastha was appointed Chief Scientific Officer in May of 2007. Dr. Madhyastha joined the Company as senior scientist and manager in January 2002, and later assumed the responsibilities of vice-president of research. He brings over 20 years experience in scientific research, management and teaching to Kane Biotech. Dr. Madhyastha has over fifty publications in refereed scientific journals and five patents.
Prior to joining Kane Biotech, Dr. Madhyastha held several senior research positions in the biotechnology industry including director of research and development at Viventia Biotech Inc. (formerly Novopharm Biotech Inc.) and director of research and human resources Nutratech Inc.
Dr. Madhyastha holds a B.Sc., Biology and Chemistry and a M.Sc., Biochemistry and Microbiology from Mysore University, India and a PhD, Applied Microbiology from the National Institute of Nutrition, India. Dr. Madhyastha completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Manitoba and Auburn University, Alabama. He has also previously served as adjunct professor in the department of animal science, University of Manitoba.
Eric Johnstone, CA – Chief Financial Officer
Eric Johnstone was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Kane Biotech Inc. in 2007, after most recently holding the position of the Company's controller. Mr. Johnstone was previously employed as a Manager of Audit and Assurance at BDO Dunwoody, LLP, working with a broad cross-section of businesses and organizations in Manitoba and Ontario. His services are provided to Kane Biotech Inc. through an agreement with Genesys Venture Inc.
Mr. Johnstone is a Chartered Accountant.
Marcus Enns – Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Marcus Enns is the former president of Kane Biotech . Mr. Enns stepped down as president in March 2006, and has since maintained the role of vice-president, corporate affairs. He has considerable experience raising capital for public and private biotechnology companies and has worked with both TSX, and TSX Venture Exchange listed companies. His services are provided to Kane Biotech through an agreement with Genesys Venture Inc. (GVI)
Mr. Enns joined GVI in 2000. Prior to joining GVI, he was employed in the banking industry.
Mr. Enns holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree from the University of Manitoba.
Genesys Venture Inc.
Administrative and business management responsibilities for Kane Biotech Inc. are managed by Genesys Venture Inc. (GVI). GVI is a business development and incubation organization that provides experienced, cost-effective management for emerging health and biotechnology companies.
Board of directors
Dr. Albert D. Friesen
A successful entrepreneur, Dr. Albert Friesen has been instrumental in the founding and early stage development of several biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in North America including Winnipeg Rh Institute, ABI Biotechnology, Viventia Biotech Inc., Genesys Pharma Inc., KAM Scientific Inc. and Medicure Inc. Dr. Friesen is currently president, CEO and chairman of Medicure Inc.
Dr. Friesen’s notable achievements include the establishment of several GMP (good manufacturing process) facilities for the production of human pharmaceuticals, as well as the initiation and management of the research and clinical development of numerous pharmaceutical candidates including more than 15 INDs (investigational new drug application) and 2 successful NDAs (new drug application). He was the co-founder, first chairman of the Industrial Biotechnology Association of Canada and has been a member of the Industrial Advisory Committee to the Biotechnology Research Institute in Montreal.
Dr. Friesen is the recipient of a number of awards including Distinguished Alumni, University of Manitoba and the Order of Manitoba. He holds a B.Sc. (Hon.), M.Sc. and a PhD in Protein Chemistry from the University of Manitoba.
Dr. George Zhanel
Dr. George Zhanel, a microbiologist and pharmacologist, is a professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology/Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, and Coordinator of Antibiotic Resistance in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.
Dr. Zhanel’s research has been published in over 150 scientific papers and abstracts in the past five years alone, and based on his expertise on antibiotic resistance, he is a much sought after speaker on the subject at national and international engagements.
Dr. Zhanel holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology/Infectious Diseases from the University of Manitoba and a Doctor of Clinical Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota.
Peter de Visser
Peter de Visser is the founding partner of De Visser Gray Chartered Accountants, a Vancouver based accounting firm. He has been in public practice for well over 20 years. Mr. de Visser has considerable experience as director of publicly traded companies, and was formerly the chief financial officer of Medicure Inc.
Mr. de Visser holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Accountant.
Dr. Geoffrey Grant
Dr. Geoffrey Grant brings over 30 years of pertinent industry and academic experience to Kane Biotech’s Board. He is the former director, Arlington Technology Incubator (ATI), University of Texas. Previous to joining ATI, Dr. Grant spent five years as senior manager, research and technology, University of North Texas Health Science Centre, Fort Worth, where he led and managed all aspects of technology commercialization and intellectual property protection.
Dr. Grant began his career as a researcher, serving at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in San Diego, California as a part of the Neuroendocrinology Group. In addition to authoring numerous publications, grants and patents, Dr. Grant was the co-discoverer of Somatostatin, which became the first genetically engineered peptide made commercially available. Somatostatin was commercialized by Genentech Inc.
Dr. Grant holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and PhD. in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of California - San Diego.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Tony Romeo
Dr. Tony Romeo, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia is a world-renowned expert in biofilm microbiology and global regulator gene technology. He is the discoverer of Kane Biotech’s core technology.
Dr. Romeo’s has over one hundred publications in refereed scientific journals, as well as several patents. In addition to his ongoing research on biofilms, he continues to work on projects related to Kane Biotech's technology.
Dr. Romeo holds a PhD and M.Sc. from the University of Florida.
Dr. Dennis Cvitkovitch
Dr. Cvitkovitch is Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, where he has been since 1998. His research focus uses a variety of biochemical, molecular biological and in silico technologies to understand the mechanisms of cell-to-cell signaling and its role in biofilm formation and genetic exchange.
Dr. Cvitkovitch has a Ph.D. in Oral Biology from the University of Manitoba and currently holds a prestigious Canada Research Chair. In addition, he holds grants from the National Institutes of Health in the United States, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Science and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
