Meet the Faculty
15th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress
Brian Heath is Vice President & General Manager of Amgen Canada Inc, with over 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Innovative Medicines Canada and the Advanced Coronary Treatment Foundation.
Brian Heath
VP & General Manager
Amgen Canada
Carol Stiff
Head of Canada
Santen
Carol Stiff is Head of Canada for Santen Canada Inc. In her 5 years at Santen, Carol has built and executed the Canadian entry plans for pharma, surgical device and OTC products in ophthalmology. 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 pharmaceuticals and biotechnology in agency services, patient services, sales, marketing and organizational building. Her experience spans 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, a member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) and a sponsor of the HBA D&E Collaborative.
Carol Stiff
Head of Canada
Santen Canada
Frank Stramaglia is the general manager of Astellas Pharma Canada and leads business operations in the country. He also is a member of the Board of Directors of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC).
Frank, who has 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, initially joined Astellas in 2007 as a product manager, responsible for the infectious disease portfolio. In 2008, he was named to the role of market access manager, which was the first full-time position dedicated to market access within the Canadian organization. Frank has since held a number of increasingly senior roles in market access, as well as sales and marketing and was named Commercial Director of the Year in 2016. Most recently, he held the position of Director of Sales for the Canadian affiliate.
Prior to joining Astellas, Frank worked in sales for Galderma Canada, Bayer and Roche in increasingly senior roles. Frank holds a Bachelor’s degree from McMaster University in Kinesiology and maintains a keen interest and commitment to working with industry associations and healthcare stakeholders.
Frank Stramaglia
General Manager
Astellas Pharma Canada
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
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
Peter Brenders is currently the General Manager of BeiGene Canada, leading the Canadian affiliate operations including recruiting and developing a cross-functional team to introduce new cancer therapies.
Over the past 30 years, Peter has worked extensively in the Canadian health system, sat on public and private Boards, led in large companies like Sanofi Genzyme, Schering Plough and Genzyme Canada, worked for a health ministry in government, led the Canadian national biotech association, has been the founder and CEO of several start-ups and was the CEO of the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation.
Peter was inducted into the Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame in 2016 and was the founding host of the NPC Podcast leading 40 episodes across its five seasons.
He has a science degree from Western, an MBA from McMaster as well as executive education from Harvard and Stanford.
Peter Brenders
General Manager, Canada
BeiGene
Paul Petrelli has a proven track record of performance and experience leading people and business in biotechnology and rare disease in both Canada and the United States.
His experience includes building and growing businesses with companies like GlaxoSmthKline, AstraZeneca, Biogen and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Paul is a member of the board of the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society of Canada; the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization Program at McMaster University Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences; and BIOTECanada, where he serves as chair.
Paul is also Director-in-Residence at the Rotman School of Management Director Education Program. He serves as faculty on the Marketing Pharmaceuticals in Canada Program and the National Pharmaceutical Congress. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree, Genetics Specialist, from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors program at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Paul Petrelli
General Manager
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
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
Founder, President & CEO
FORUS Therapeutics
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
Respiratory Business Unit Head
GSK
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
Driven by a life-long commitment to improving Canadians’ health and well-being, Pamela works with Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies to ensure that Canadians continue to have timely access to the medicines they need.
Prior to joining Innovative Medicines Canada, Pamela was President and CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society, Canada’s largest health charity. Pamela previously served as President and CEO of the Canadian Healthcare Association (now Healthcare CAN), the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, the Collegium of Work and Learning and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Pamela has held senior public service positions with Health Canada and the Department of National Defense.
She has been active in many organizations as a senior volunteer, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Chair), the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Outward Bound Canada (Chair), the Canada Dance Festival (Chair), Triathlon Canada and the International Triathlon Union. She currently serves on the Board of Outward Bound International and the Global Advisory Council of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
Pamela Fralick
President
Innovative Medicines Canada
Ronnie Miller is President & CEO of Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada, responsible for the growth and success of the Canadian Pharmaceuticals Division.
Ronnie has more than 40 years of extensive and varied experience in the pharmaceutical industry. After completing his BSc at the University of Glasgow, Ronnie worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative in London. He became the National Sales Manager for Roche in the United Kingdom in 1979, and later became Product Manager in Switzerland and Deputy Divisional Director of the Pharmaceutical Division in Japan. Ronnie was appointed President and CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals in Canada in April 2000.
Ronnie was recently re-elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC). He was previously Chairman of the IMC Board in 2007 and has since fulfilled two subsequent terms. Prior to this, Ronnie was the Chair of the IMC Prairies Core Team and sat as Co-Chair of the Health Research Foundation. He also served on several committees including the IMC Public Affairs, Stakeholder Relations, and the British Columbia Sub-Committee, and was Chair of the Federal Affairs/FPT Relations Standing Committee. Ronnie is a member of the Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Ronnie Miller
President & CEO
Roche Canada
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
General Manager
Eisai Inc.
As the Regional Business Director for International with Ambry Genetics, Danielle leads the international business development strategy for Ambry’s precision medicine offering in several geographies including Canada and Europe. She has held numerous roles across the pharmaceutical industry.
Danielle is a leader in the healthcare inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) space. She is Co-Founder and Chair of Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Canada, Co-Chair of the Equity and Diversity Collaborative (EDC) and Steering Committee member of the Inclusive Life Sciences Collaboration (ILSC) where the HBA and collaborator organizations curate opportunities for the advancement of IDEA in the business of healthcare. In 2021, she was awarded the Leadership, Excellence and Dedication Award for her impact across the Canada and dedication to the HBA mission.
Danielle is a mentor and speaker at the Ryerson Science Discovery Zone incubator and serial speaker at national and local events. She holds a Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation and has been published by the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL), and holds Master of Biotechnology and Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto.
Danielle Portnik
Regional Business Manager, Int'l
Ambry Genetics
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 & General Manager
Emergent Biosolutions
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
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
Vice-President, Human Resources
Bayer Canada
Fiona is currently the General Manager for Labtician Théa, a unique and exciting Joint Venture between Canada’s Labtician Ophthalmics Inc. and France’s Théa Pharma Inc. Fiona joined the Labtician Théa team in January of 2020, and was excited for the opportunity to be part of a talented team dedicated to supporting the eye health of Canadians and the Eye Care Professional Community in Canada.
Prior to joining the Labtician Théa team, Fiona spent 8 years at Allergan Canada in various roles, including senior marketing roles, and most recently held the role of Business Unit Director for the Eye Care & GI Franchises. During her time at Allergan, Fiona had the privilege of launching several products across the OTC, Rx and Surgical spaces, and working with a team of passionate individuals. Fiona also spent 8 years at Hoffmann La Roche, working in various sales and marketing roles in therapeutic areas such as HIV, Hepatitis C and Transplant medicine.
Fiona received an HBSc in Developmental Biology, followed by a Master’s in Biotechnology from the University of Toronto.
Fiona McCloskey
Country Manager
Labtician Théa