Lumira Capital Announces Formation of CEO Advisory Board and Welcomes Five Healthcare Industry Veterans

TORONTO, May 30, 2014 /CNW/ - Lumira Capital, a leading healthcare venture capital firm, announced today the formation of its CEO Advisory Board and named five veteran executives from the pharmaceutical, diagnostics and medical device industries as its founding members.  The board will provide strategic input into Lumira Capital's investment strategy and due diligence and offer guidance and mentorship to the management teams of the firm's portfolio companies.  In 2013 Lumira Capital held final closings on two new investment funds, Lumira Capital II and the Merck Lumira Biosciences Fund, and currently manages over $250 million of capital.

Named to the CEO Advisory Board were:

• Maurice Ferré, M.D. - Former President and CEO, MAKO Surgical Corp.
• Barry Fishman - Former President and CEO, Teva Canada
• Paul Lucas - Former President and CEO, GlaxoSmithKline Canada
• Thomas Wellner - Former President and CEO, CML HealthCare Inc. and co-CEO, LifeLabs
• Theodore Witek, DrPH - Former President and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

Commenting on the CEO Advisory Board, Peter van der Velden, managing general partner of Lumira Capital, noted: "We are very pleased to welcome this group of accomplished healthcare executives to Lumira Capital.   We look forward to tapping into their collective experience building successful companies and developing innovative products across multiple sectors of the life sciences industry.  We see immediate and long term opportunities for this group to provide tactical and strategic guidance to our existing portfolio companies, as well as the opportunities to leverage the breadth and depth of their global relationships with strategic partners, clinical opinion leaders, regulatory authorities and healthcare payers in both our existing portfolio and in new investment opportunities we are evaluating."

Biographies of the Lumira Capital CEO Advisory Board members follow below.

Maurice R. Ferré, M.D. - Former President and Chief Executive Officer, MAKO Surgical Corp.
Dr. Maurice R. Ferré was the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of MAKO Surgical Corp, serving from 2004 until the acquisition of the company by Stryker Corp. for $1.7 billion in 2014.

In June 2007, Dr. Ferré received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 award for emerging companies in Florida. In 1993, he founded Visualization Technology, Inc., a medical device company for image-guided surgery, where he served as Chief Executive Officer until 2002 when the company was acquired by GE Healthcare, the healthcare division of the General Electric Company.  Dr. Ferré served as Vice President of Strategic Development for GE Navigation, a Division of GE Healthcare, until 2004.

Dr. Ferré holds an M.D. and a Master's degree in Public Health from Boston University.

Barry Fishman - Former Chief Executive Officer and President, Teva Canada
Mr. Fishman served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Teva Canada from 2008-2013.   Globally, Teva Pharmaceuticals is the world's leading generic drug maker, employing approximately 45,000 and posting $20.3 billion in net revenues in 2013.    Mr. Fishman has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

Mr. Fishman started his pharmaceutical career at Eli Lilly, where he advanced through several cross-functional leadership roles, including Vice President of Marketing. He served as a Director at Markham Stouffville Hospital Corporation and is an Advisor of Merus Labs International Inc.   He holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Great Distinction from McGill University

Paul Lucas - Former President and CEO, GlaxoSmithKline Canada 
Mr. Lucas served as President and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Canada from 1994 until 2012, where he was responsible for all pharmaceutical operations in Canada. During his time with GSK, he built the company into a national leader, producing and shipping more than CAD $2 billion worth of products, representing approximately 25% of the total Canadian pharmaceutical market.    Previous to joining Glaxo Canada in 1986, he held progressive management positions at Eli Lilly Canada and McNeil Pharmaceutical.

Mr. Lucas sits on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Genomic Institute, was Chairman and member of the Board of Directors for TM Bioscience, was on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Regional Research Alliance and is the Chairman of Life Sciences Ontario. He served in the past as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D)

He received his BSc (Honours) in Biology and Chemistry from Queen's University, and obtained his Chartered Directors designation (CDir) from the Directors College, a joint venture of McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada, in 2009.

Thomas Wellner - President and Chief Executive Officer of Revera
Mr. Wellner joined Revera, a leading provider of seniors' accommodation, care and services, in March of 2014. Prior to joining Revera Mr. Wellner was co-CEO of LifeLabs, Canada's largest laboratory services company. In 2012, as CEO of CML Healthcare he led the company through its $1.2 billion merger with LifeLabs. Prior to CML, Tom spent 20 years with Eli Lilly & Company in a variety of senior operational and strategic leadership roles in Canada, China, United States, Latin America, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Wellner sits on the Boards of Diamedica (DMA - TSX) and Life Sciences Ontario (LSO - Industry Association). He is also on the Board of Governors of Rothesay Netherwood School, a private Atlantic Canadian boarding school.   He has served on the editorial committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe and has led business cases at INSEAD and Harvard Business School.  Mr. Wellner is a graduate of the Queen's University Bachelor of Science, with Honours in Life Sciences.

Dr. Theodore Witek - Former President and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
Dr. Witek was appointed President and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. in 2008 and was Head of the Prescription Medicine business.  Prior to his current role, Dr. Witek served as Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim Portugal. During his tenure with Boehringer Ingelheim beginning in 1983 he held various clinical research positions, including Director of Respiratory and Immunology Clinical Research.

Dr. Witek served on the Board of Directors of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) and was the Chair of the Health Technology Assessment Committee. He was appointed to the Ontario Health Innovation Council and is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto's Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. Dr. Witek is the author of more than 100 scientific papers as well as several chapters and books.

Dr. Witek holds an MBA from Henley Management College in the UK, a Doctor of Public Health from Columbia University and a Master of Public Health from Yale University.

About Lumira Capital
Lumira Capital is a leading North American healthcare and life sciences venture capital firm. Currently managing over $250 million, Lumira Capital is an active investor that works closely with entrepreneurs developing transformative therapeutics and medical technology innovations. Previous Lumira Capital investments include Pharmasset (acquired by Gilead Sciences), Ception Therapeutics (acquired by Cephalon), Resonant Medical (acquired by Elekta), Morphotek (acquired by Eisai), and Corus Pharma (acquired by Gilead Sciences), as well as public companies such as MAKO Surgical (recently acquired by Stryker Corp.), DepoMed and Ista Pharmaceuticals. Lumira Capital has partners in Toronto, Montréal and Boston.

SOURCE: Lumira Capital

Visit www.lumiracapital.com for more information.