Chlorion Pharma, Inc. was founded in 2004 by Drs. Jeffrey Coull, Martin Gagnon and Yves De Koninck. Our platform science was conceived of and demonstrated by the founders, in collaboration with other scientists, working at Laval University in Quebec City and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Presently, the company’s state-of-the-art research and development facility is situated in Laval, Canada.
Chlorion’s vision is to become the predominant drug development company in the chloride modulation space, as it pertains to disorders of the central nervous system. Considering the broad involvement of aberrant chloride homeostasis in both psychiatric and neurological conditions, the company is achieving this vision by pursuing first-in-class therapeutics for a range of indications, including pain and epilepsy, as well neurodegenerative, affective and movement diseases.
The majority of therapeutics under development are designed to act primarily in the CNS; we believe that a central mechanism of action is critical for a therapeutic to effect meaningful symptom relief (and potentially disease modification) for individuals afflicted by the conditions targeted (e.g. neuropathic pain).
The objective of our lead program is to develop a systemically-administered and mechanism-based (CCC modulator) first-line-of-therapy for neuropathic pain.
This therapeutic, and others, will be developed to the point that sound proof-of-concept is achieved, after which we intend to enter into strategic partnership(s) with a full-scale pharmaceutical company.
Jeffrey A.M. Coull, PhD
President, Acting Chief Executive Officer and Co-FounderJeffrey A.M. Coull co-founded Chlorion Pharma, Inc. in 2004, and has since served as the company’s President and Acting CEO.
Previously, Dr. Coull was a consultant at SHI Consulting, a management consulting firm, where he provided strategic and operational advisory services to life sciences companies, including several Fortune 500 clients. Dr. Coull earned his PhD in pharmacology from McGill University, and graduated with a BSc in life sciences from Queen’s University (Tricolour Award).
In 2006, Dr. Coull received a Doctoral Prize from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the highest distinction for doctoral research in the country.
He has authored several patent applications and scientific publications, including articles in Nature and the Journal of Neuroscience.
In addition to his frequent invitations to speak on the topics of commercialization, biotechnology and intellectual property, Dr. Coull has contributed to pieces in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, among others.
In addition to his work with Chlorion, Dr. Coull serves on the board of Toronto Brigantine, Inc., a non-profit organization offering sail training programs to youth. He is married and has a young daughter.
Martin Gagnon, PhD
Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Co-FounderDr. Gagnon possesses nearly 15 years of research experience in drug design and discovery, having led efforts that have culminated in patented compounds for cancer treatment under commercial development, and in the identification of Chlorion’s CL-Series compounds.
Combining a PhD in Pharmacology & Therapeutics from McGill University and post-doctoral fellowships in molecular oncology, organic chemistry and cellular neurobiology, Dr. Gagnon has a strong background in several key areas that include rational drug design, high-throughput assay design and screening, cell biology, biochemistry and radiochemistry. His extensive knowledge of both biology and chemistry gives him unique abilities to integrate these two crucial yet rarely unified fields. For his research efforts, Dr. Gagnon has obtained several awards, notably from Hewlett-Packard and GlaxoSmithKline.
More recently, Dr. Gagnon has been involved in several successful public and private funding initiatives. He is also managing several projects concurrently, both in house and with academic and industrial partners.
Franz Hefti, PhD
Vice President and Chief Development OfficerDr. Hefti brings nearly 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry to Chlorion, in addition to over a decade of experience in academia. Prior to joining Chlorion, he led drug development efforts at Rinat Neuroscience Corporation as the company’s Executive Vice President of Drug Development. During Dr. Hefti’s tenure at Rinat, three antibody drug candidates were brought from the discovery stage to preclinical and clinical development. The success of these programs led to the acquisition of Rinat by Pfizer in 2006.
Previously, Dr. Hefti was Senior Vice President of Neuroscience Research at Merck & Co., where he coordinated the company's neuroscience research worldwide, serving as site head for neuroscience research centers in the U.K. and U.S. While working with Merck, small molecule drug candidates covering six drug targets in the neuroscience area were taken into development. Dr. Hefti was also Director of the Neuroscience Research Department at Genentech, and previously spent more than a decade in academia as a Professor at the University of Southern California, and Associate Professor at the University of Miami. He has published over 250 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology, as well as a recent textbook entitled "Drug Discovery for Nervous System Diseases" (John Wiley & Sons). Dr. Hefti received a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich and did his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute in Munich.Giorgio Attardo, PhD
Senior Director of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical DevelopmentDr. Attardo has a proven track record for identifying and advancing novel therapeutics from early discovery, through pre-clinical development, and into early clinical development. As such, he provides a strong foundation for the design, synthesis and development of Chlorion’s drug candidates.
Before joining Chlorion, Dr. Attardo was Senior Director of Chemistry and Pharmaceutics at Gemin X Biotechnologies, Inc. During his five-year tenure at Gemin X, he designed Obatoclax, an anti-neoplastic compound acting via the inhibition of Bcl-2, and spearheaded its pharmaceutical development for phase I and II clinical development. Dr. Attardo was also instrumental in the acquisition and non-clinical development of a second, anti-neoplastic small molecule. Previously, Dr. Attardo spent twelve years at BioChem Pharma in the positions of Associate Director of Chemistry and Anticancer Program Director. In these roles, he was responsible for the scientific direction of the anticancer, immunomodulator, and nucleoside medicinal chemistry groups. His efforts in drug discovery and preclinical development led to several preclinical drug candidates, including troxacitabine and EPC-2407. Dr. Attardo obtained a PhD in medicinal chemistry under the direction of the late Professor Bernard Belleau at McGill University, has authored or co-authored 40 publications and 55 conference presentations, and is an inventor on more than 25 issued patents and patent applications.Irenej Kianicka, DVM, PhD
Director of Pharmacology and ToxicologyDr. Kianicka has over 17 years of experience in drug research and development, with particular emphasis on non-clinical toxicology and pharmacology.
During his career in the biopharmaceutical industry, he has supported the GLP and non-GLP development of several drug candidates in the CNS, anti-cancer and anti-microbial therapeutic areas. Specifically, Dr. Kianicka has led or contributed to safety pharmacological and toxicological analyses at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Chronogen, Gemin X Biotechnologies, and Shire BioChem. He holds a PhD in physiology from the University of Sherbrooke, as well as a DVM from the Veterinary University Kosice in Slovakia, and is author or co-author of 19 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals.
Dr. Martial Lacroix
Director and Representative of AgeChem Venture FundDr. Lacroix has served as Vice President of AgeChem since inception. Prior to this, Dr Lacroix, co-founded BioChem Pharma Inc. and acted as its Director of Technology Transfer. From 1986 to 1995, he also held a number of positions with BioChem ImmunoSystems, Inc., including Director of Research and Development and Director of Quality Control.
Between 1981 and 1986, Dr. Lacroix was also a Professor-Scientist in the Department of Virology at the Institut Armand-Frappier.
Dr. Lacroix received a BSc and a MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Montréal and a PhD from the University of Toronto. Dr. Lacroix has authored 33 scientific publications and holds 8 issued patents.
Mr. Jean-Francois Leprince
Director and Representative of CTI Life Sciences FundMr. Leprince is Managing Partner at CTI Life Sciences Fund, a private venture capital company funding North-American bio-therapeutics companies.
Mr. Leprince obtained his chemical engineering degree from the Institut National Supérieur de Chimie Industrielle in Rouen, France in 1970. He started his working career in 1971 at The Dow Chemical Company in the Specialty Chemicals division before joining the Pharmaceutical division in 1978. From 1979 till 1994 Mr. Leprince held various managerial and operational positions in Belgium as General Manager of the Benelux, Switzerland as General Manager of the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia Region and subsequently as Vice-President Europe, in France as President of the French subsidiary.
With the merger of Marion Merrell Dow to Hoechst in 1995, Mr. Leprince became the Managing Director of one of Hoechst Marion Roussel’s three subsidiaries in France.
In 1998, Mr. Leprince became President of Hoechst Marion Roussel Canada and then of Aventis Pharma Canada, a role he held until the end of 2004. He was also on the Board of Directors of Rx&D (Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies) and acted as Chairman in 2002.
Mr. Leprince acted as Chairman of the ACT (Acute Coronary Treatment) Foundation. He was a Board Member of the Montreal Board of Trade as well as the French Chamber of Commerce of Canada. He also served at the Board of Montreal International as well as the Advisory Board of the CACDS (Canadian Association of Chain Drugstores). In 2004, he was elected President of the Centre for Health Management Research at the University of Montreal.
Mr. Leprince lives in Montréal with his wife Carine and his three children Dorothée, Thibault and Florian.
Ms. Isabelle Dufresne
Director and Representative of Fonds BioInnovationMs. Dufresne brings a wealth of experience in corporate finance, strategic intellectual property management, and technology transfer in the life sciences domain. She has served for more than six years as a Director of Investments at the Centre québécois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB), a technology transfer center that aims to stimulate and support technology transfer and innovation within bio-industry companies in Quebec. Additionally, she is affiliated with the Fonds Bio-Innovation, a venture capital fund that supports early-stage and Quebec-based biotechnology companies.
Before joining the CQVB, Ms. Dufresne spent two years as Project Manager for Development and Technology Transfer at SOVAR, one of four university research valorization entities whose mission is to commercialize discoveries made by researchers at Laval University and CHUQ (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec). She has participated in the start-up and growth phase of several innovative life sciences companies, including those focused on human health, animal health, nutraceuticals, industrial enzymes and recombinant proteins.
Ms. Dufresne holds Masters degrees in both microbiology/immunology (MSc) and pharmaceutical management (MBA) from Laval University and a bachelor degree in medical Biology from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Prior to her MBA, she also worked in Canada's largest infectiology research lab (CRI-CHUL) as a research assistant.
Currently, Ms Dufresne is a member of several boards of directors and scientific advisory boards of CQVB/Fonds-Bionnovation portfolio companies.
Dr. Shermaine Tilley
Observer and Representative of CTI Life Sciences FundPrior to joining CTI, Dr. Tilley was Senior VP at Drug Royalty Corporation, a Bay Street private equity firm doing investments in biopharmaceuticals. At DRC, she managed the due diligence, the analysis group and participated in closing 12 transactions totaling over $200M.
Before DRC, Dr. Tilley ran and managed a research laboratory, holding faculty positions at the NYU School of Medicine and Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), New York, and on the PHRI Board of Directors. Concomitantly with her tenure at NYU School of Medicine and PHRI, she consulted for the National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for 10 years.
Dr. Tilley holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an MBA from the University of Toronto. In addition, she is a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts. Since 2002, she is a member of the Rotman (U. Toronto School of Management) Advancement Board.
Currently, Dr. Tilley is a member of several scientific and clinical advisory boards of CTI portfolio companies.
Dr. Franz Hefti
Member and Chief Development OfficerDr. Yves De Koninck
Member and Co-FounderDr. De Koninck co-founder Chlorion Pharma in 2004, along with Drs. Coull and Gagnon.
Dr. De Koninck is a Senior Scholar of the Fonds de la recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Laval University and has been the Director of the Division of Cellular Neurobiology at the Centre de Recherche Université Laval Robert - Giffard since 2000. He is also Adjunct Professor in Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University and core member and co-founder of the McGill Centre for Research Pain.
Dr. De Koninck is Scientific Director of the Quebec Pain Research Initiative (www.qpri.ca) and Director of the Pain Axis of the Regroupement en Santé Mentale et Neuroscience du Québec, the two main networking bodies in the province of Quebec coordinating pain research activities in the Province. Dr. De Koninck is also member of the Advisory Board of the Nano-Innovation Platform of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and member of the Program Review Committee of the Center for Biophotonics, Science and Technology at the University of California in Davis.
He has received numerous prestigious research awards, including the Early Career Award from the Canadian Pain Society and was selected among the Top 50 under 40 by Radio-Canada and the magazine Commerce (2000). Moreover, Dr. De Koninck has made numerous key contributions to understanding spinal sensory mechanisms over the last 15 years, in particular in the identification of chemicals involved in the control of pain transmission. He has published over 40 high-impact peer-reviewed articles on this and related topics. Over the last 10 years, as Project Leader, he has raised over $27M in research funds from provincial and national agencies.
Dr. John Andrews
MemberDr. Andrews is currently President and Head of Research & Development at NeurAxon, Inc., a leader in discovering and developing next generation pain therapeutics focused on the inhibition of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), an enzyme involved in modulating pain and central nervous system neuronal sensitization.
He has over 20 years experience in industrial drug discovery, working in progressively senior positions at Schering, Organon, Janssen and Descartes. Positions held by Dr. Andrews in the pharmaceutical industry range from Section Head to Project Coordinator to Vice President of Drug Discovery (central nervous system) at Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a Johnson & Johnson company).
In addition to NeurAxon, Dr. Andrews’ small company experience stems from his previous role as President of Descartes Therapeutics.
He has been responsible for multiple drug development projects that have entered clinical testing, including several first-in-class therapies. Therapeutics developed under Dr. Andrews’ leadership at Organon NV and Schering AG are currently registered; others are in phase I, II, III clinical development in indications such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and pain.
Dr. Andrews has a continuous 25 year publication record in CNS drug discovery, and has contributed to over 10 issued and pending patents related to drug discovery and implementation.
Dr. Andrews has been advising management of Chlorion since 2005.
Dr. Terrence Doyle
MemberDr. Doyle was educated in chemistry at Loyola College (BSc, 1963) and the University of Notre Dame (PhD, 1966). Following postdoctoral work he joined Bristol-Myers at Candiac Quebec where he worked in the areas of CNS and Infectious disease chemistry. In 1975 he was transferred to the Syracuse BM facility to head up Natural Products Research and Antitumor Chemistry. He worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb for 27 years ending his career as an Executive Director with responsibilities for anti-tumor chemistry, natural products chemistry and computational chemistry. Previously he had also had extensive managerial experience in microbiology, immunology, experimental therapeutics, molecular biology and in project management. His group was involved in the development of Taxol® and Etopofos and in the discovery and/or development of six other compounds presently in development at Bristol-Myers Squibb. He is the holder of 51 U.S. patents for anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor agents and an author of over 175 published research articles, review articles and abstracts related to cancer chemotherapy.
In late 1993 he took advantage of an early retirement offer from BMS and helped found Vion Pharmaceuticals Inc. as head of Research and Development. The clinical development of, TriapineTM, CloretazineTM, and VNP40541 are in progress. In addition -L-FD4C has been outlicensed to Achillion. It is in development for the treatment of HBV and AIDS.
Since December of 2002 he has served on the scientific advisory board of GeminX Biotechnologies Inc as a consultant. He was involved with the development of their pan Bcl inhibitor GX15.70 and their p53 program lead agent GX14.91. He has also been a consultant in the areas of Medicinal Chemistry and for the SBIR program at NIH.
In 2006 he retired from both Vion and GeminX and is now a consultant.
Dr. David Lowe
MemberDr. Lowe has more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical drug discovery and product development and an established track record of generating diverse clinical candidates.
He most recently served as Chief Scientific Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Memory Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Hoffman-La Roche Inc. Before that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Fidelity Biosciences and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of EnVivo Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Lowe has held senior Neuroscience R&D positions in three large pharmaceutical companies, including with Sandoz Ltd (now Novartis), Bayer AG, and Roche Bioscience, where he served as the Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head, CNS.