Board of Directors
The Imunexus Board of Directors, Management and Research and Development teams are experienced personnel with substantial achievements across the fields of drug development and commercialisation of new therapeutics, scientific research, business development and finance.
Collectively, the team have significant experience in the identification, design and development of successful antibody technology platforms and potential antibody products and have a history in establishing strong patent portfolios.
The Company's management team are experienced in deriving value from intellectual property through licensing, mergers and acquisitions within the pharmaceutical industry.
Philippa Lewis
Non-Executive Chair
Philippa Lewis is a Professional Company Director, Chairperson and Chief Executive with expertise in the Medtech, Biotech, Digital and Artificial Intelligence sectors.
Philippa has extensive global, commercial and corporate engagement with demonstrated success. Founding over ten start-ups she has led local and North American IPOs, reverse mergers, complex M&A transactions, strategic capital management and multilateral joint ventures within North America, Europe, China and Australia. She was nominated as Zurich Business Leader of the Year and Telstra Business Woman of the Year and is currently an official company mentor for the Australian Technology Competition as well as an appointed grants assessor for the NSW Government Medtech and Pharma Growth Centre.
Philippa is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, The Institute of Public Companies Canada via Simon Fraser University, and The Adelaide University in respect of Legal Arbitration and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, The MTAA, The Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators and The Resolution Institute.
Don Brumley
Non-Executive Director
Don has 30 years’ experience as a senior partner of Ernst & Young, Oceania, has extensive experience in IPO’s, transactions and audit. Don has advised and worked with a number of Boards, ranging from some of the largest in Australia to fast growing entrepreneurial and medium sized organisations. Don was the Oceania IPO Leader at Ernst & Young and worked with clients listing on the AUS, US, UK and key Asian stock exchanges. He held positions as Biotech Markets Leader, National Leader of Strategic Growth Markets and on the Board of Partners of Ernst & Young. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Acrux Limited (ASX: ACR) and previous Board positions include Bio-Gene Technology Ltd (Chair, ASX:BGT) and Murray River Organics Group Limited (ASX: MRG). Don is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Chris Elliot
Non-Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
Chris Elliot has 20 years’ experience as a finance and management executive within both chartered accounting and commercial firms, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, APN Outdoor Group Limited (ASX:APO) and Mandoe Media Pty Ltd. Chris is a director of Accension Pty Ltd which is engaged to provide CFO and Company Secretary services to Imunexus. He has extensive experience across the finance, media and digital technology industries, including executive, finance, commercial, business development and operational roles across these industry sectors. Chris is a graduate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia where he is currently a member.
Dr Albert Agro
Non-Executive Director (Elect), Chief Medical Officer
Albert Agro is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer for GRI Bio Inc, where, he and the executive team secured the company’s IPO, NASDAQ listing via a reverse merger, and help solidify GRIBio Incs near $25 million financing to move its NKT cell modulator platform into diseases of fibrosis and autoimmunity. The lead program is in Phase 2 for IPF Previously, Albert was the CEO and President of Sublimity Therapeutics Ltd, an Irish-based biotech developing novel therapeutics in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease therapeutic area. He oversaw the $80M Series B financing for the Phase 2b ready company by securing OrbiMed Partners as the lead investor in the syndicate.
Dr. Agro has held executive positions at Colomba Therapeutics (CEO) which has recently filed an NDA in the area of Cardiovascular complications; KalGene Inc (CMO) an Alzheimer’s disease-focused company with a Phase 1-reeady asset that targets toxic oligomers; Versanum Inc (CEO), a wasabi-based botanical company looking at the role of wasabi in memory and learning; Vivo Biopharmaceuticals (President) a Phase 2-ready oncology focused company developing a novel formulation of temozolomide in GBM, and Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc (CMO) where he was responsible for the clinical development and ultimate regulatory approval of a sublingual formulation of apomorphine for the management of OFF episodes for patients with Parkinson’s disease. The company was later sole to Sunovion for $850M. He also served at Ironshore Pharma (CMO), Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (CMO), Stem Cell Therapeutics (CMO) and TransTech Pharma (EVP of Clinical Development).
Dr. Agro is a non-executive board member at St. Elizabeth’s Foundation; Canada’s largest not-for-profit organization involved in the provision of home care services and support to the elderly community across Canada.
He has maintained an adjunct position as Associate Professor, Department of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario since September 1996. He is the recipient of a Michael J. Fox Foundation Clinical Scholarship for his work on Apomorphine.
Ms Maria Halasz
Non-Executive Director (Elect), Director Of Commercialisation
Experienced company director who has been guiding companies through early development, scale-up and expansion in her various roles as chief executive, corporate finance adviser and investor. Recognised for her broad, international experience she has built enduring business relationships in Australia, the USA, Europe, Japan and China at senior levels with capital market participants and in the life sciences industry. Maria is a graduate in molecular biology and has an MBA. Maria is graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a non-executive director of the Garvan Research Foundation and councillor at the Australian Industry Group (AiG).
