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Meet the Faculty

16th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress
Pat Forsythe.png

Pat has over 25 years of commercial experience in the Canadian pharmaceutical industry in a range of therapeutic areas from Oncology to Specialty Biotech to traditional Primary Care. He has been involved in over 15 unique launches in a variety of therapeutic areas. 

 

Attention to the needs of patients and the community are central priorities that have shaped the direction and activities of the companies he has led. This approach has helped create a team and company culture that is characterized by its commitment to excellence; strong collaboration across disciplines and the ability support the patients and customers they serve.

Pat Forsythe

Vice President &

General Manager

Eisai Inc.

Sandra Heller.png

Sandra Heller is the General Manager of Seagen Canada Inc, a small biotech company focusing in oncology. She has been with Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics) for more than six years. 

 

Before joining Seagen, Sandra also worked for Gilead, Roche, and EMD Serono. 

 

Overall, Sandra has more than 20 years of commercial strategy and marketing experience focused mainly in hematology and oncology.

Sandra Heller

General Manager

Seagen Canada

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Bio Coming Soon

Jayne Paterson

VP, Business Unit Head, Oncology

GSK

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Bio Coming Soon

Tamer Yacoub Hanna

Multi-Channel Engagement Manager

AbbVie

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Bio Coming Soon

Andrea Schwarz

Commercial Lead, Canada

BeiGene

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Leandra Wells, PhD, MBA is the Respiratory Business Unit Head at GSK, responsible for the performance, strategic direction and growth of the business unit in Canada.

Leandra began her career in an entrepreneurial start-up driving significant growth and success as the Director of Sales & Business Development at Innomar Strategies Inc. From there, Leandra joined the client side of the pharmaceutical industry and has taken on diverse and escalating roles that spanned Reimbursement, Medical Affairs, Sales, Marketing and Supply Management in both small and large Pharma, including Janssen, Allergan, and Emergent BioSolutions.

Leandra spent 12 years teaching an MBA course she co-developed for the Schulich School of Business called “Commercialization in Pharma and Biotech”. She sits on several boards at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. 

Leandra has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, and a PhD in Molecular Developmental Biology from the University of Toronto. Leandra completed her undergraduate Honours Genetics Degree with Distinction, from the University of Western Ontario.

Leandra Wells

VP, Business Unit Head, General Medicines

GSK

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Janine Pajot is the Vice President, Human Resources for Bayer in Canada, focusing on all aspects of human resource management, including talent management, leadership development, and total rewards. Janine is steering the inclusion and diversity journey at Bayer. She is a member of Country Leadership Team, responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Canadian organization.


Prior to working in Human Resources, Janine held progressive commercial roles in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently serving as Vice President for the General Medicine division of Bayer in Canada. 


Janine is passionate about people and dedicated to fostering a high performing organization with a lens towards ensuring a culture of inclusion and belonging.  Janine sits on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Caregivers Organization.


Janine has an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor and a Leadership certification from Notre Dame University.

Janine Pajot

VP, Human Resources

Bayer

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David Renwick has more than two decades of experience driving the growth, value and efficiency of healthcare companies from start-up through all stages of growth. He has consistently led by example as a player coach who imparts the strategies, accountability, clarity, ownership and courage that empowers teams to exceed expectations, redefine the possible and compete where it counts. Applying a strong business acumen and challenging the status quo, David is passionate about addressing the unmet needs of individuals that are marginalized or stigmatized in our society. 

 

David led the launch of Narcan Nasal Spray in 2016 that has brought individuals and communities the ability to save thousands of lives due to the opioid crisis in Canada. 

 

David was inducted into The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame in 2019 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. David proudly serves as a Trustee for the BGC Canada (formerly The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada) Foundation Board.

David Renwick

VP & GM, Canada

Emergent Biosolutions

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Carol Stiff is General Manager for Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. where she is the lead for the launch of the Canadian affiliate in rare diseases and overseas the business and

operations for Rhythm in Canada. Previously Carol was President and Head of Canada for

Santen where she launched she launched the Canadian affiliate and led integrated local and global launch teams. Carol also played an extended role in supporting Santen USA in

developing its patient services program.

 

Carol has spent the last 23 years in various roles in the Canadian health sciences environment including pharma, biotech, surgical and OTC. Her experience spans agency services, patient services, sales, marketing and organizational building in a variety of therapeutic areas such as pain management, neurology, hematology, immunology and ophthalmology.

 

Carol is graduate of the inaugural 2018-2019 cohort of the Centre for Drug Research and

Development’s (CDRD) Executive Institute. She held a seat on the Innovative Medicines (IMC) Canada’s CEO Steering Committee, served on the IMC Governance Committee and the IMC Scientific & Stakeholder Engagement Operational Team, is a member of the Healthcare Business Women’s Association (HBA) where she volunteers on the HBA mentorship program and is a regular panelist on several Canadian industry organizations.

Carol Stiff

General Manager

Rhythm Canada

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Bio Coming Soon

Robin Hunter

General Manager

Tolmar

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Kevin Leshuk, a graduate of McMaster University, has over 25 years of Canadian based biopharmaceutical experience having held significant and progressive roles at Pfizer, Roche Canada, and Celgene. He founded FORUS Therapeutics Inc in late 2020.

 

FORUS Therapeutics is a unique Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company based in Toronto. Its priority is to develop and commercialize important novel medicines for Canadians living with cancer.

Kevin has extensive knowledge across broad areas of the industry, having built and led executive teams across multiple and diverse disease areas. He has held significant leadership roles at BIOTECanada, including Treasurer and Executive Board member. Kevin is a passionate champion for the Canadian Life Sciences Industry and for access to medicines for all Canadians.

Kevin lives in Oakville, Ontario with his wife Diana and their two adult children.

Kevin Leshuk

President & CEO

FORUS Therapeutics

Bob McLay

Vice President

and General Manager

Sobi Canada

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Bob McLay is the VP, General Manager of Sobi Canada. As GM of Sobi Canada, he oversees all operations and commercial aspects of our business strategy and performance. For the past three years he has been the Immunology Franchise Head for the US and Canadian business. In that role he was responsible for the commercial process, performance and success for Sobi North America.

 

For the past several years Bob has served as Chair for RAREi.  RAREi is an informal network of Canadian research-based bio-pharmaceutical organizations involved in developing therapeutics for rare diseases. The purpose of RAREi is to provide a forum to address common public policy issues.Their vision is to help shape the Canadian health system and policy environment to facilitate patient access to diagnostics and medicines that improve the lives of Canadians with rare disorders.

 

Bob joined Sobi North America in 2016 from Merus Labs where he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing in Toronto. He also has held roles as a Sales Director for Takeda Canada, Marketing Director with Graceway Pharmaceuticals, and Sales leadership roles with Pfizer and Alcon. 

Bob earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Auburn University Harbert College of Business in Alabama. While at Auburn, Bob was a graduate assistant football coach for the Auburn Tigers. Prior to that, he received Bachelor of Science degree from University of Guelph in Ontario. He resides in the Burlington, Ontario.

Bob McLay is the VP, General Manager of Sobi Canada. As GM of Sobi Canada, he oversees all operations and commercial aspects of our business strategy and performance. For the past three years he has been the Immunology Franchise Head for the US and Canadian business. In that role he was responsible for the commercial process, performance and success for Sobi North America. 

For the past several years Bob has served as Chair for RAREi.  RAREi is an informal network of Canadian research-based bio-pharmaceutical organizations involved in developing therapeutics for rare diseases. The purpose of RAREi is to provide a forum to address common public policy issues.Their vision is to help shape the Canadian health system and policy environment to facilitate patient access to diagnostics and medicines that improve the lives of Canadians with rare disorders.

Bob joined Sobi North America in 2016 from Merus Labs where he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing in Toronto. He also has held roles as a Sales Director for Takeda Canada, Marketing Director with Graceway Pharmaceuticals, and Sales leadership roles with Pfizer and Alcon. 

 

Bob earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Auburn University Harbert College of Business in Alabama. While at Auburn, Bob was a graduate assistant football coach for the Auburn Tigers. Prior to that, he received Bachelor of Science degree from University of Guelph in Ontario. He resides in the Burlington, Ontario.

Bob McLay

VP, General Manager

Sobi Canada

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Ross Glover is the General Manager of Taiho Pharma Canada, Inc. He leads the Taiho Pharma Canada Executive Team and oversees the operations for the company in Canada, as well as the expansion into the Mexican pharma market. 

 

Ross has more than 30 years’ experience in the Pharma industry and his team is proud to have delivered two new options for oncology patients in Canada since opening the doors at Taiho in February 2017. 

 

Prior to joining Taiho Pharma Canada, Ross was a member of the Canadian Leadership Team at Sanofi Genzyme and led the MS business unit. Prior to that, Ross held senior leadership positions in oncology and neurology and had built multi-functional teams to support the business and the clinical direction for breast cancer, colon cancer, lymphoma, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. 

 

Ross has extensive experience in navigating the complicated Regulatory and Market Access process and has worked to develop some unique outcomes while making drugs available for patients who are in need.

Ross Glover

General Manager

Taiho Pharma Canada

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Christine Lennon became General Manager of Incyte Biosciences Canada in April 2020, expanding the company’s North American footprint to develop Incyte’s medical, regulatory and commercial strategy in Canada.


Prior to joining Incyte, Christine was President and CEO of Epigene Therapeutics. Prior to that, she spent eight years with Novartis in a variety of roles. Christine has held leadership roles with Neurochem, Shire (now Takeda), and BioChem Pharma, and has worked with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) on potential COVID-19 solutions as part of the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program. She has worked as an advisor to life sciences startups and served as an executive-in-residence and advisor to the healthcare venture capital teams at Business Development Bank of Canada (now Amplitude Ventures) and at Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec Capital.


Christine earned both her MBA and BSc from McGill University and earned her Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D) in 2020. Christine serves as a judge and mentor for the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship and McGill University’s Desautels MBA School and is a McGill University Scarlet Key Award Recipient.

Christine Lennon

General Manager

Incyte Biosciences Canada

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Andrew Casey is the President & CEO of BIOTECanada, responsible for the strategic operations of the Association representing Canada’s biotechnology sector. He is the lead spokesperson for Canada’s biotechnology industry, communicating on the industry's behalf with government, regulators, international bodies, media and the Canadian public. In his capacity as head of BIOTECanada, Andrew also serves as Director, Board of Directors, BIOTECanada; Vice Chair, International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA); Director, Board of Directors, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Commercialization of Research (IRICoR); and Director, Board of Directors, Arthritis Alliance of Canada (AAC).


Prior to joining BIOTECanada, Andrew served as Vice President, Public Affairs and International Trade with the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and previously Assistant Vice-President, Government Relations with the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association.

 

Andrew is a native of Montreal. After attending Loyola High School (Montreal) and St. Lawrence CEGEP (Quebec City) he graduated from Carleton University (Ottawa) with a degree in Political Science.

Andrew Casey

President & CEO

BIOTECanada

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Bio Coming Soon

Brian Bloom

Chairman & CEO

Bloom Burton & Co

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