James Bonnar is the Chief Executive Officer of Nyrada Inc (ASX:NYR), a preclinical stage, drug development company. The Company specialises in the development of novel small molecule drugs pertaining to the underlying pathological processes involved in cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and chronic inflammatory diseases.

What is your journey in becoming a CEO?
Working at the laboratory bench, and moving into quality assurance, regulatory affairs and management has given me a diverse skillset in the pharmaceutical industry and made the transition to CEO feel like a logical progression. An analytical chemist by training, I have over 25 years of experience in the industry. In the last 13 years I have mainly been involved in neurology clinical research, working in a broad variety of director and C-level roles, taking drugs from the laboratory and through preclinical and then human testing. Along the way, I also spent several years working in China where I established and managed a successful healthcare product manufacturing operation.  Being a people person, I am now relishing the opportunity to front Nyrada to the investment community.

Tell us a bit about your business and how you are commercialising?
Nyrada Inc (ASX:NYR) is an innovative pharmaceutical company with a focus on discovery and early stage development of novel treatments in areas of unmet clinical need and significant commercial potential. Our business model is to commercialise early, after safety and initial efficacy proof-of-concept has been established in the target patient population. Nyrada has two lead programs: a small molecule cholesterol-lowering drug (PCSK9 inhibitor) to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and a drug to treat brain injury including traumatic brain injury and stroke. Shareholder value will be realised through licencing or the sale of drug assets and our cholesterol-lowering drug is expected to enter the clinic in late 2021.

How are you managing with the current COVID-19 pandemic on both business and personal front?
COVID-19 has had minimal impact on Nyrada operations. We operate largely as a virtual company, a model successfully adopted by a growing number of discovery and early phase pharmaceutical companies, and so the transition to working from home was seamless. Operations at our contract laboratory in China were affected for a short time only, causing minimal disruption. By the time lockdown occurred in India, where our drug synthesis vendor is located, we were able to implement a contingency plan, utilising a second facility in China. Transport and logistics are now back at full capacity meaning there are no delays anticipated in the movement of materials. One negative was that several investor events were cancelled or postponed meaning we had to adapt. In response we held an investor webinar instead which was very well attended, and I can see this engaging format becoming more popular in future.

What’s the most exciting thing about running your business?
Getting to interact everyday with so many bright and talented individuals. Also, travelling together as a team on a journey of discovery to help address serious and life-threatening diseases is very exciting and a key motivator. Previously, I worked on a brain injury study and saw first-hand the devastating affect it has on patients and their loved ones. Also, I lost a close friend to brain injury following a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago and it was extremely sad and frustrating knowing that the treatment options were so limited.

How do you measure success?
On a personal level, success is about meeting the standards I set for myself and living up to my values which are honesty, integrity and the search for truth, a fundamental tenet in science. In terms of Nyrada, success is underpinned by creating and clearly communicating to stakeholders our vision, adopting the right business model, conducting high quality research, and successfully executing on the optimal strategy. Long-term success will be judged by myself and our shareholders on developing safe and effective drugs that maximise return on investment. Success along the way is measured by delivering key milestones on time and within budget.

What do you think is the most important quality of being a CEO of a listed company?
I believe self-awareness and maintaining high ethical standards are two key attributes. The former because it drives learning and improvement, and the latter because it builds trust, which is vital in establishing and building relationships, and in fostering the right corporate culture. If you have these attributes, are smart, have a good work ethic and are passionate about what you do then you will be successful as a CEO.

What is your favourite book?
Two books I read recently that were hard to put down:
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight the creator of Nike, for entrepreneurial inspiration and because it highlights the value that passion, persistence, and a great team can bring to a business.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, the extremely interesting yet sorry tale of Theranos, for how not to operate a technology company, where there was vision and of entrepreneurial spirit in spades, but poor science coupled with bad ethics and leadership.

What message do you want to send to our readership in Asia?
Recent events have made us think more about the importance of our health and the fragility of life and this has raised the profile of technology companies developing new medicines to treat life-threatening diseases. Nyrada has two very exciting programs, both of which have huge commercial promise. Our cholesterol-lowering drug has the potential to improve and extend lives and our brain injury drug will offer hope to stroke and traumatic brain injury patients who currently have limited treatment options.

How can people connect with you?
Email:
Website: https://www.nyrada.com/

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Dr. Roger Aston is the Executive Chairman of PharmAust (ASX:PAA), a clinical-stage company developing targeted cancer therapeutics to address both human and animal healthcare. The company specialises in repurposing marketed drugs lowering the risks and costs of development. These efforts are supported by PAA’s subsidiary, Epichem, which is a highly successful contract medicinal chemistry company that generates significant annual revenues.

What’s your journey in becoming an Executive Chairman?
Through an insatiable appetite to understand the underlying features and mechanisms of disease and to try to find therapies, I have travelled a circuitous journey from leading peptide and antibody companies to Oncology and device companies. This path offered a broad and diverse educational experience which I now hope I can share through the CEO and Chairmanship of Biotech and Healthcare businesses.  My CV pasted below should you need an extract.

Tell us a bit about your business and how you are commercializing?
During the past 6 years PharmAust (ASX:PAA) identified and developed a drug that could offer benefit to both human and veterinary oncology. The drug in question is a registered product owned by a global major specialising in veterinary products; this drug (MPL) is now being repurposed by PharmAust for applications in oncology and other indications. One of the principal modes of action of the drug is known as the mTOR pathway, a central metabolic pathway in all eukaryotic cells, which therefore enables potential intervention and regulation in many diseases. The repurposing of a known drug allows PharmAust to access substantive manufacturing and toxicology information from its partner with whom it has granted a global option to license the technology. To date, PharmAust has concluded two important evaluations of MPL in canines with cancer and a safety and efficacy evaluation in Man at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. PharmAust’s commercial strategy is to seek commercialisation, marketing and distribution partners for the veterinary and human applications, as the Company validates the technology on a product by product basis. Harnessing the marketing and distribution capabilities as well as the financial muscle of a global major offers a fast track journey to market.

How are you managing with the current COVID-19 pandemic on both business and personal front?
In these strange times plagued by COVID-19, PharmAust as well as the rest of the Biotechnology industry has had to adapt and comply with guidance and safety measures introduced by governments. Face-to-face meetings have taken on a new meaning with a heavy reliance on communication technology platforms such as Zoom, Google and Microsoft. Once the new routines were embraced by PharmAust the R&D side of the business could proceed with alacrity unhindered. The latter was further made possible because PharmAust sub-contracts its research studies to academic and commercial collaborators and partners. The synthetic medicinal chemistry business, Epichem, has continued to produce reagents and drugs for customers whilst complying with the imposed measures to minimise transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

What’s the most exciting thing about running your business?
Progress and successful R&D provides the basis of products that can impact health and wellbeing of Man and animals. What could be more exciting? Of course, success in R&D also brings benefits to shareholders who invest their hard-earned dollars to enable progress.

How do you measure success?
Success has to start with the basics, products need to be safe and effective. In these circumstances’ success milestones would include: partnering and licencing, product approval by regulatory agencies and of course seeing the dollar return on investment.

What do you think is the most important quality of being an Executive Chairman of a listed company?
Communication! A CEO’s ability to communicate an opportunity to investors and shareholders underpins the funding for a biotechnology company. An ability to communicate an opportunity to commercial partners is the basis of establishing Option and Licence agreements. Communication with staff enables sharing of visions for the Company.

What is your favourite book?
That’s a tough one, I have many favourite books from both the Classics and Fiction, however, it is hard to beat the Tolkien trilogy of the Lord of the Rings.

What message do you want to send to our readership in Asia?
Never give up! Perseverance in your endeavours is the only way to achieve success. The growth in Asia over the next decade is a wonderful opportunity to ride the wave to commercial success.

How can people connect with you?
Email:
Website: https://pharmaust.com/

Want to be on the list next time this company raises capital? Open an account with Fresh Equities and start exploring capital raises – freshequities.com

Paul Anderson is the Managing Director of Orthocell (ASX:OCC), a regenerative medicine company dedicated to the development of novel collagen medical devices and cellular therapies for the repair and regeneration of human tendons, bone, nerve and cartilage defects.

What’s your journey in becoming a Managing Director?
I started with a health science background working within the hospital critical care setting before moving into a sales role within the surgical medical device, capital goods and consumables industry. From these roles I graduated into management positions before being presented with an opportunity to enter into a start-up company in the area of tissue regeneration back in 2000. I started as a national sales director before migrating into the Managing Director role. From there we drove the company to a trade sale with an American multinational company effecting one of the early regen med transactions. Following this I started Orthocell (ASX:OCC) on the back of some very exciting intellectual property (IP) that I became aware of from the University of Western Australia that addressed an area of clinical need for soft tissue repair and regeneration. Along the way, I have built knowledge of how to translate and guide growth of new medical technologies and approaches.

Tell us a bit about your business and how you are commercializing?
Orthocell works in the musculoskeletal regenerative medicine space and has developed two product platforms that are used in a variety of degenerate or torn soft tissue injuries. Firstly, a collagen based medical device that assists in the surgical repair and regeneration of Bone, Tendon and Nerve tissue and secondly a non-surgical cell-based therapy for the regeneration of degenerate tendon tissue. Both are in advanced stages of development and regulatory approval processes with our first product recently approved for sale in Europe. Further to this we are driving our products into the US market and are actively involved in the regulatory submissions of our products into the USA, Europe and Asian markets.

How are you managing with the current COVID-19 pandemic on both business and personal front?
Certainly, these have been challenging times both professionally and personally. We have had to closely examine all the potential risks to our business and to proactively manage those risks. We have enacted the appropriate spacing guidelines and procedures and have managed our workforce enabling those who can work from home to do so. We have had some disruption to our surgical cases, however we are a pre material revenue Company and hence not greatly affected by a temporary suspension of surgeries. We have continued to drive our R&D activities and to continue to develop the regulatory submissions which are so important to the increasing value of our opportunities. We look for the positives in this situation and whilst we have seen some interruptions, I have been delighted with the professionalism of our staff, the maintenance of our productivity and the ability for us to embrace technology to improve our communication internally and across our stakeholders.

What’s the most exciting thing about running your business?
To develop products and technologies and to guide those technologies through proof of concept, animal studies, human studies and regulatory approvals is a deeply satisfying process. However, the most fulfilling experience is to see those products make profound impacts on peoples’ lives and this has been and is an absolute privilege beyond my expectations.

How do you measure success?
Ultimately success is governed by the Company’s ability to continue to add value and maximise shareholder return. This in my mind however is also entwined with the ability to contribute to society and to add to the net national benefit through the generation of IP and the upskilling of our workforce to effectively make a difference.

What do you think is the most important quality of being a Managing Director of a listed company?
Certainly, one needs to be robust, however the key attributes lie in understanding the strategic pathway of the Company and the experience of how to create a team, build culture within a team, and to lay out a defined pathway enabling them to execute. We want our employees to have ownership of their positions and projects, to work with passion and enthusiasm and to underpin this with a knowledge-based approach all within a quality assured process.

What is your favourite book?
That’s a tough question! I do enjoy non-fiction and have a fascination for maritime history. However, I have recently finished a book Titled ‘As Far as The Eye Can See; A History of Seeing’. A fascinating historical look at how we see things through our eyes and the effect changing technology has on what we see and who we are as a society. A fascinating and thought-provoking work by a great new Author in S Denham Wade.

What message do you want to send to our readership in Asia?
Orthocell is company with a suite of innovative, largely de risked regenerative medicine products that are strongly differentiated in the global market. We are well funded with a run way that will enable the achievement of our significant milestones and multiply our market capitalisation.

How can people connect with you?
Email:
Website: https://www.orthocell.com.au/