Michel Lagueux
Executive Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO

Mr. Michel Lagueux was Senior Vice-President, Life Sciences, at the Solidarity Fund QFL from November 2006 until May 2008. Holder of a Bachelor of Business Administration, Mr. Lagueux has helped launch many bio-pharmaceutical start-ups in the past 20 years and as a consultant has also provided strategic planning advice to many Québec, Canadian and European life sciences companies. From 1983 to 1994, Mr. Lagueux helped grow Pharmacia Canada, a subsidiary of global giant Pharmacia Corporation. Then, after spending the next four years working as a strategic planning consultant in Italy, he became President and CEO of Canacure Corporation, a company operating in the nutraceuticals sector. In 2002, he was appointed Vice-President, Health Sciences, at Innovatech du Grand Montréal. Prior to his appointment at the Solidarity Fund QFL, Michel Lagueux was managing partner at Multiple Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in high technology and an affiliate of global giant Coller Capital UK.

François Michaud, CA, CMA
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Michaud joined BioSyntech as Chief Financial Officer in July 2006, bringing over 18 years of experience in accounting, investment banking and in various financial roles with public and private companies, working with KPMG, JP Morgan, Quebecor, DS Smith Plc and Ekco Group. Before joining BioSyntech, Mr. Michaud was CFO at Hemera Technologies.

Richard Lacombe, Ph.D., MBA
Vice-President, Clinical Affairs

Dr. Lacombe joined BioSyntech in July 2006 as Vice-President, Clinical Affairs. Dr. Lacombe has more than 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical /Biotech /Contract Research Organization (CRO) companies. Over the past two years Dr. Lacombe has been a consultant in business and scientific strategies in biotech and start-up companies. Previously Dr. Lacombe was President and CEO for Virocell and General Manager for Covance Canada, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Dr. Lacombe also worked at Phoenix International Life Sciences Inc (now MDS), Hoechst Canada, Roussel Canada, Hoechst-Roussel Canada and Cyanamid of Canada. Dr. Lacombe held different positions: Director of clinical Research, Medical Director, Director of Drug Development Planning and Control, General Manager, President and CEO and consultant which led him to oversee the management of clinical studies in most fields of medicine including antibiotics, psychiatric drugs, anti-arthritics, endocrinology and oncology products. Dr. Lacombe has international experience in contract research organization in the management of clinical  research in Australia, China, Singapore, Argentina and Canada and in negotiating partnership in India, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.

Matthew Shive, Ph.D.
Vice-President, Product Development

Dr. Shive has been responsible for BioSyntech's product development activities since 2000, including regulatory affairs, pre-clinical development of products, as well as early research of new biomaterials. Dr. Shive also directs the BST-CarGel® clinical program.

Dr. Shive received a B.Sc. degree from John Hopkins University, in addition to a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University, all in Biomedical Engineering with a primary focus on materials science. His strong scientific expertise lies in the interactions between implanted biomaterials and biological systems, and he has published over 50 scientific articles and conference proceedings in this area.

Eric DesRosiers, Ph.D., MBA
Vice-President, Operations & New Technologies

Dr. DesRosiers has cumulated 14 years of industry experience in biomaterials and tissue-engineered product development. Dr. DesRosiers received Bachelor degrees in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, then a M.Sc.A and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Montréal / École Polytechnique. He also holds an executive MBA specialized in the management of Bio-Industries.

In 1994, he joined Apotex Research Inc., a Canadian pharmaceutical company, where he led a R&D team at the National Research Council through the development of a cell-based tissue engineered product for wound repair. He has published 13 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 3 patent applications and more than 50 scientific conference proceedings. He joined BioSyntech in 2000 where he leads the operations, prototyping and manufacturing. He is the main inventor of BST-InPodTM BST-DermOnTM and BST-DiscTM.

Flor del Pilar Arana, BSc, MBA
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Affairs

Mrs. Arana has over 16 years of experience in product development, regulatory approval and compliance of biotechnology and medical devices products. Mrs. Arana was most recently the Director of Regulatory Affairs at CryoCath Technologies Inc., where under her leadership the Company received the first ever U.S. FDA PMA approval for a new therapeutic device given to a Canadian company. Previously at Monsanto and American Cyanamid, Mrs. Arana held senior management positions leading to the introduction of new technologies and new products in the European market. She has recently worked as a consultant for a number of medical devices companies and is an active member of industry and management associations. Mrs. Arana has completed an International Executive and Advance Management Course at McGill University, Canada. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bradford University, United Kingdom, specialized in international business. Previously, she completed a Bachelor’s degree in Science with a Major in Physics at Bogotà University, Colombia.

Alberto Restrepo, M.D.
Director, Medical Affairs

Dr. Alberto Restrepo is an Orthopaedic Surgeon. He graduated from the University Clinic,  Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona (Spain) in 1987. Dr. Restrepo's professional career has been devoted to the study of knee and arthroscopic surgery. His expertise comes from private and public practice, as well as from his dedication to academic medicine. During the course of his career, he has held several teaching assignment, given numerous lectures and published a number of medical papers and studies. He has held the position of Vice Dean at the Universidad de la Sabana School of Medicine since July 1999. Dr. Restrepo has also been an International Affiliate Member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) since 1997.

Yvonne Kramer, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Corporate and Business Development

Dr. Kramer joined BioSyntech as Senior Director, Corporate and Business Development in September 2006. Dr. Kramer has eight years of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry combined with three years in Venture Capital. Dr. Kramer worked as a Senior Investment Analyst at MDS Capital, managing scientific and technical due diligence of Biotech investment opportunities and participated in financing portfolio companies. Prior to that Dr. Kramer occupied various positions at Novartis Pharma , ranging from clinical project management to managing and evaluating global research alliances in association with Business Development and Licensing at corporate headquarters in Switzerland. In 2000 she joined Novartis Canada as Head of Basic Research being responsible for collaborative research and licensing opportunities with Canadian biotechs and academic centers. Dr. Kramer holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel, Switzerland.