Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Michael Walker, Ph.D.

Dr. Michael Walker has been a director and CEO of Verona Pharma since September 2006. He is an Emeritus Professor at the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Canada and has founded and managed various biotech companies in Canada and the UK. His research interests are wide including many aspects of general pharmacology (from basic to clinical studies), marine toxins and respiratory and cardiac pharmacology.

Dr. Walker was the founder of Rhythm Search Developments (RSD) Ltd., which company evolved into Nortran Pharmaceuticals Inc. and subsequently Cardiome Pharma Corp. (TSX:COM, NASDAQ: CRME) whose drug, RSD1235, for the acute termination of atrial fibrillation (a disorder of heart beating), is currently the subject of a New Drug Application filed with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Denis Richard, Ph.D.

Dr. Denis Richard earned his Ph.D. in Physiology at Laval University and received further postdoctoral training in nutrition and physiology at the Dunn Nutrition Unit at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.

Dr. Richard is a full professor at the Department of Medicine at Université Laval. Together with serving as director of the Research Centre of the Institut de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, and director of the Groupe Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur l’Obésité de l’Université Laval, he is the recipient of the Merck Frosst / CIHR Research Chair in Obesity, the first Chair devoted to obesity research in Canada. He is active with several societies and associations and is a member of: The Canadian Obesity Network, The American Physiological Society, The Society for Neuroscience, The Endocrine Society, and The Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.

Dr. Richard is a well-established scientist with regard to the study of (i) neurosystems involved in the control and regulation of food intake, thermogenesis, and energy balance, (ii) the mechanisms whereby the gastrointestinal hormones influence energy balance regulation, (iii) the relationship between stress and obesity, (iv) the role of the sympathetic nervous system in controlling uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue, and (v) the role of uncoupling protein 2 in energy metabolism, oxidative stress and neuroprotection. He lists over 200 publications in his career.

M. Jacques Warcoin

M. Jacques Warcoin is the CEO of the French IP law firm Cabinet Regimbeau in Paris.  M. Warcoin, who also graduated as a chemical engineer, from Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Toulouse, has been closely involved in the development of the French biotechnology sector since the late 1970’s and he is highly experienced in litigation related to biology and pharmaceutical field.

M. Warcoin is recognized as a global expert and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars on the subject of the patentability of living organisms. His firm has, for more than 75 years, been assisting companies and private research organizations to protect, enhance and defend their innovations and creations. The firm of ten partners heads a team of 180 people.

Dr. Bruce Verchere, Ph.D.

Dr. Bruce Verchere serves as head of the Diabetes Research Program, at the Child & Family Research Institute. His research on Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes focuses on beta cell biology, islet amyloid, amylin, insulin, prohormone processing, apoptosis, hormone secretion, transgenic mice, islet transplantation, autoantigens, histology. He also serves as Professor, Departments of Surgery and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, UBC.

Dr. Verchere earned his PhD in physiology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards in the field of diabetes research.

Dr. B. Mario Pinto, PhD

Dr. Pinto is Vice President of Research at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC. He leads a world class group of researchers studying the nature and origin of carbohydrate mimicry for the purpose of drug and vaccine design.

Dr. Pinto is a pioneer in the field of chemical biology having developed novel NMR/molecular modeling protocols for protein structure determination and the study of ligand topographies essential for drug and vaccine design. His work also involves the synthesis of antiviral and antibacterial drugs, bacterial vaccines, and new methods of viral control. He has authored 168 refereed scientific papers, 147 other publications which include books and technical reports, and has numerous memberships and awards, including the 1992 Horace S. Isbell Award from the Carbohydrate Division of the American Chemical Society, the 1993 Merck Frosst Award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), the 2002 Bernard Belleau Award of the CSC, and the 2005 British Columbia Innovation Council Frontiers in Research Award. He is also a member of the Royal Society of Canada and is Chair of its Selection Committee for the Rutherford Memorial in Chemistry Medal. He has served as the President of the International Carbohydrate Organization, and serves as the Vice-President of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.