BIOSCIENCES MANAGERS - Key Persons


Alan Cainey

Job Titles:
  • Senior Partner
Alan is passionate about the model adopted by the company for identifying suitable investments in the life sciences area which not only address many of the diseases, illnesses and medical device challenges of today but enable investors to share in the benefits of investing in these areas both monetarily but also ethically. Role Alan has been Chief Financial Officer since BioScience Managers inception in 2004. He is responsible for finance, IT, company secretarial and governance and is currently a Senior Partner. Concurrently he is also a Director for a number of companies within the group, including BioScience Managers, which cover activities ranging from stockbroking, corporate finance, funds management and trustee services. As the group holds a number of Australian Financial Services Licences, he is conscious of ensuring that all entities comply with the law, regulations and best practices in all their dealings. Experience Previously, Alan worked as a financial controller and finance manager in the telecommunications and utilities industries with responsibilities not dissimilar to his current ones. Alan started his career in audit and accounting services working across the largest international accounting and professional services firms, known as the "Big 4", in the UK and Australia. Qualifications Alan holds a BA degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Bruce McHarrie

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Senior Executive
  • Senior Partner
Bruce is a highly experienced director and senior executive with an international background in finance, operations, investment management, license and research funding, strategy and business development. Role Senior Partner Experience Key competencies include strategic planning in commercial and not-for-profit organisations, financial and operational management, public and private board experience, member of remuneration and audit committees, corporate finance, State and Federal Government liaison, corporate governance and risk management. He has held senior management and director positions in Cooper & Lybrand Deloitte London, Rothschild Asset Management (UK), Telethon Kids Institute and has provided interim executive management and consulting services to a variety of healthcare and medical research organisations. Qualifications Bruce holds a Bachelor of Commerce, is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dennis J. Purcell

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
  • Industry Expert Advisor
  • Founder and Senior Advisor at Aisling Capital LLC
Dennis is Founder and Senior Advisor at Aisling Capital LLC. During his tenure, Dennis has been directly involved with over two hundred completed transactions and supervised over $15 billion of financing and advisory assignments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical products industries. Dennis is a frequent commentator on the industry and has been honoured in various publications as a top contributor to the Life Sciences industry. He sits on numerous private and public healthcare company boards, such as Real Endpoints and Summus Global. He is actively involved with many of the industry's professional organizations, such as BIO, the Life Sciences Foundation, the NYC Investment Fund and NYU's office of Therapeutics Alliance. He is a member of the University of Delaware Investment Committee and Harvard Kennedy School - M-R CBG Advisory Council. He is Executive Chairman of Poliwogg Holdings, a company devising new financed products for the healthcare industry. Qualifications Dennis received his M.B.A. from Harvard University and his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Delaware.

Dr Adam M Hill

Job Titles:
  • Leader
Adam is a highly experienced leader in the life sciences with a career developed at the interface of Industry, Academia and Health systems. A dual-qualified Clinician and Mechanical Engineer, Adam is excited about the interface of healthcare and technology. Adam is a leader in the Life Sciences industry with a career developed at the interface of Industry, Academia and Health systems. Most recently, Adam led a public listed diagnostics company (Oncimmune) through a tricky turnaround, and transition from the founding team. As CEO of Oncimmune plc, Adam led the redevelopment of the strategy and delivered a turnaround transformation. Concurrently, he is a visiting Professor at Imperial College London, an independent NED of Imperial College Health Partners, Vice-Chair of the Association of British HealthTech Industries. Previously, Adam was Chief Strategy Officer and an Executive Director of McLaren Applied Technologies focused on applying the company's deep technical expertise to developing high growth businesses, including a Health Technology programme.Adam is a dual-qualified Clinician and Mechanical Engineer, graduating from Imperial College London as a Medical Doctor, whilst also earning a PhD in Engineering; following his academic education, Adam attended Imperial College Business School, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He received his postgraduate clinical training in General and Orthopaedic Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons of England; and, Chartered engineering qualification from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Dr William (Bill) Hunter

Job Titles:
  • Industry Expert Advisor
  • President and CEO of Cardiome Pharma Corp
Dr. Hunter has been the President and CEO of Cardiome Pharma Corp in Vancouver, BC since 2012. Cardiome (NASDAQ: CRME) is an integrated, commercial, specialty pharmaceutical company that markets and sells acute care parenteral drugs in Europe, Canada and over 50 other countries around the world. Previously, Dr. Hunter co-founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (1992-2011). After founding the Angiotech while still in medical school in 1992, he grew the Company to become a profitable, diversified, device company with over 1,400 employees, several thousand commercially available products, and 12 facilities in 5 countries. Dr. Hunter's career has revolved around examining ways to make implantable medical devices "bioactive" and "smarter" through the use of technologies borrowed from other industries such as pharmaceutical coatings, surface modification and sensor technologies. As an inventor with over 200 patents and patent applications to his name, he has been involved in the invention and development of the TAXUS® Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent, the Zilver PTX Peripheral Drug-Eluting Stent, and the Quill barbed wound closure device; combined these products have been used in over 40 million patients and recorded revenues exceeding $25 billion. His latest venture, Canary Medical, utilizes implanted sensor, battery and transmission technology to create "smart" implanted medical devices that can "self-report" on function, activity, wear, complications and patient outcomes for up to 20 years. Selected awards he has received include the 2006 Principal Award from the Manning Foundation (one of Canada's highest awards for innovation); BC Innovation Council's Cecil Green Award for Science and Technology Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneur of the Year from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association; and Canada's 40 Under 40. Current and previous company board seats include Cardiome (NASDAQ/TSE), Adherium (ASX), REX Bionics (AIM), Zalicus Inc (NASDAQ), Aspreva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ/TSE), Anormed Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ/TSE), Active Pass Pharmaceuticals, Neuromed Pharmaceuticals (Chairman) and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ/TSE). Dr. Hunter served as a practicing physician in British Columbia for 5 years. He received his Doctor of Medicine and Masters of Science degrees from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and his Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University in Montreal.

Dr. Amanda Gillon

Job Titles:
  • Senior Partner
Amanda is passionate about being involved in enabling outstanding medical discoveries to be developed into approved products that could have a profound effect on someone's friend and/or family member. Role Amanda joined the team in 2012 and in her current role as a Senior Partner she is focused on identifying and making investments in companies with innovative technologies. She is a Director on five of the Group's portfolio companies. Her responsibilities include playing a key role in sourcing investment opportunities through to deal negotiations and portfolio management. Experience Amanda has significant life science experience, specifically in the healthcare investment space. Prior to BSM, Amanda was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University in New York investigating the molecular processes involved in intracellular trafficking. Qualifications Amanda received her PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and an MBA from Melbourne Business School, Australia. Amanda was a post-doctoral fellow in molecular processes involved in intracellular trafficking at Columbia University in New York, USA from 2009 to 2012.

Dr. Geoff Brooke - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Managing Partner
  • Senior Partner
Geoff has over 30 years of healthcare investment experience, founding and leading venture capital firms in both the US and Australia. Role Senior Partner Experience Geoff's experience includes company formation and acquisitions, as well as public listings on the NYSE, NASDAQ and ASX exchanges. He has been a founder, executive, director and chairman of private and public companies and has an extensive international network. Geoff now works with a number of Australian and US companies, helping them reach their full potential. From 2009 until 2015, he was an independent director of the Victoria Workcover Authority (Worksafe). Qualifications Geoff is licensed in clinical medicine by the Medical Board of Victoria, Australia, and his post-graduate work was in anaesthetics/intensive care. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Masters of Business Administration from IMEDE (now IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dr. Graham Crooke

Job Titles:
  • Venture Partner
Dr. Graham Crooke has over 28 years of experience in the US, focused on biotechnology and medical device companies. He has held senior roles in several leading US venture capital firms. Role Venture Partner Experience Dr. Crooke began his biomedical investment career in 1992 with the venture capital group of Dillon, Read & Co. Inc., a New York investment bank. After Dillon Read was acquired in 1997, he continued with Ticonderoga Capital, a firm formed to manage Dillon Read's venture capital portfolio. In 2000, he moved to Asset Management Company, one of the oldest and most respected Silicon Valley venture capital firms, where he rebuilt a highly successful life sciences investment practice. In 2009, he and two colleagues spun out from AMC to form Helix Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm. Once the Helix fund was fully invested, he moved back to Perth and returned to medical practice in 2013, while continuing to co-manage Helix Ventures. Over his career, Dr. Crooke has helped manage the portfolios of seven venture capital partnerships with total committed capital of over $500 million. He has led over 40 investments in approximately 25 companies, and has been a director of numerous public and private companies. Successful investments include Insmed ("INSM"), BiPar Sciences (acquired by Sanofi-Aventis), Chimerix ("CMRX") and Coherus BioSciences ("CHRS"). Qualifications Dr. Crooke graduated in 1983 with an MB.BS. degree from the University of Western Australia and then worked for three years as a junior doctor at teaching hospitals in Perth. He received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1988.

Dr. Işıl Güney

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Dr. Mike Perry

Job Titles:
  • Venture Partner
Dr. Michael (Mike) Perry is passionate about supporting innovative healthcare companies develop and commercialize products and technologies intended to address unmet medical needs in patients. He is inspired to invest in and recurrently assume leadership roles in companies employing cutting-edge medical technologies including regenerative medicines such as cell, gene and tissue therapies. Role Mike is currently a Venture Partner of Bioscience Managers Pty Ltd and CEO of Avita Medical Ltd. He concurrently serves as Adjunct Professor at the Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus of University of Colorado, Denver and he Chairs the External Advisory Board for Translational Medicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Experience Mike has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry ranging from a variety of executive roles in top tier large pharma companies, to serving as CEO for multiple Biotech/Medtech companies, and operating for as a venture partner in a US-based healthcare VC fund with $1.5B under management. Qualifications He earned a BSc with honors in Physics from the University of Guelph, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery with honors from the Ontario Veterinary College, and a PhD with honors in Biomedical Pharmacology from the University of Guelph. He is also a graduate of the International Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Simon Green

Job Titles:
  • Venture Partner
Simon has deep experience in developing new products through the regulatory pathway to commercialisation. He is an innovator with a strong drive to improve the lives of patients. Role Venture Partner Experience Simon has 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry having worked at Genentech, Novartis, CSL Limited. He was actively involved in CSL's global expansion and held roles as Senior Vice President in Research and Development and Manufacturing Operations. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Immunosis Pty Ltd, a biotech start-up company focused on improved diagnostic outcomes for patients with immune deficiencies. His breadth of skills covers R&D drug development, corporate due diligence, acquisitions and integration, strategic planning, portfolio management, financial management, intellectual property management, risk management, business development, contract management and organizational design. Qualifications Simon graduated as a biochemist with honours from Monash University and completed his PhD in the field of immunology at the University of Melbourne in 1992.

Nicole Vitullo

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
Nicole joined Domain in 1999 and became a partner in 2004. With extensive experience in both public and private investing, Nicole's current board memberships include Achillion Pharmaceuticals; Celtaxsys, Inc.; Esperion Therapeutics, and Marinus Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, she is a board observer at Iterum Therapeutics. Past board memberships include Calixa Therapeutics (sold to Cubist Pharmaceuticals); Celator Pharmaceuticals (sold to Jazz Pharmaceuticals); Cerexa (sold to Forest Laboratories); Durata Therapeutics (sold to Actavis plc); Eunoe; Onyx Pharmaceuticals and VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (sold to Celgene Corporation). In addition to investment responsibilities, Nicole is involved with the liquidation/distribution strategies for the public companies in Domain's venture capital portfolios. For more than a decade, Nicole was responsible for Domain Public Equity Partners L.P., a fund focused on private investments in public companies. Previous to Domain, Nicole was senior vice president at Rothschild Asset Management, Inc. where she had responsibility for the U.S. public market investments of International Biotechnology Trust plc and Biotechnology Investments Limited. Previous to Rothschild, Nicole served as the director of corporate communications and investor relations at Cephalon, a publicly traded biotechnology company. Prior to Cephalon, Nicole spent 12 years at Eastman Kodak, where she held a number of positions including corporate development, where she was involved in the development and management of Kodak's venture capital activities. Qualifications Nicole received her B.A. in mathematics and her MBA in finance from University of Rochester.

Philip Beales

Job Titles:
  • Co - Founder & CEO of Axovia Therapeutics Inc
  • Professor at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust & University College London
  • Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics
Co-founder & CEO of Axovia Therapeutics Inc as well as Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics, Philip Beales researches in to the cause and treatment of rare diseases having discovered over 45 disease-related genes in the last decade. His main research focus is on the ciliopathies, which he has helped to characterise clinically and molecularly.

Sir Mark Richmond

Mark Richmond is a molecular biologist whose research has centred on the genetics of bacterial infection. Mark identified the role of small units of DNA known as plasmids, which can replicate independently of chromosomes, in developing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Mark was responsible for the discovery of plasmids in Staphylococcus aureus that produce an enzyme conferring resistance to penicillin. Subsequently, he applied a unique combined molecular and epidemiological approach to the study of plasmids responsible for antibiotic resistance in gut bacteria such as E. coli. He then produced the first evidence that these resistance-producing plasmids could transfer between bacterial species, describing probable mechanisms of spread in the gut of humans and animals. Mark was awarded the Robert Koch Prize in 1976 for his contributions to microbiology. In 1981, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, a post followed by a string of public appointments, including Chair of the Science and Engineering Research Council. From there, he moved into industry, becoming Global Head of Research at Glaxo.

Victoria Durrans

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Victoria is passionate about bringing together high calibre people to build significant value into the healthcare industry around the world. Role Since joining the firm, Victoria has been focussed on leading investments in new companies, managing the portfolio and fund raising. She also develops BioScience Managers international activities and relationships. Experience Victoria joined BioScience Managers in 2017 after moving to Melbourne from the UK. She received her BA (Hons) from Nottingham Trent University in 2010 and shortly after, started her career founding her own commercial relocation company. In 2012, she joined CRSI Ltd, a start-up boutique consulting firm advising early-stage, investor backed technology companies on issues relating to rapid growth and global commercialisation. At CRSI, Victoria successfully managed a number of consulting teams and was responsible for helping more than 40 UK-based technology companies develop operating strategies, solve organisational problems and obtain access to financing. In particular, Victoria specialised in building and repositioning the boards and management teams of these companies. Qualifications Victoria holds a BA (Hons) in Business from Nottingham Trent University, UK.