Team Building in the Life Sciences: Fireside Chat with Zucara, Specific Biologics & TIAP

Featuring Michael Midmer, Brent Stead and Prakash Gowd.

Webinar Description: Building a strong team is crucial for any startup, but founders of life science companies must take a few more factors into consideration when making hiring decisions. Join Michael Midmer, CEO of Zucara Therapeutics and Brent Stead, CEO of Specific Biologics for a fireside chat about their experiences building teams, moderated by Prakash Gowd, Vice President of TIAP.

Hear insights, tips and things the panel wish they knew when they first started building and leading life science companies, plus things to keep in mind when planning for future team expansions down the line.

* Please note this webinar series is open to members of the University of Toronto, University of Toronto Entrepreneurship (UTE), IDEA Mississauga, and Ontario Genomics BioCreate communities only.


Meet the Speakers

Michael has 25 years of experience in the life science industry, fund management, corporate finance and therapeutic development. Michael has been CEO of Zucara Therapeutics since 2016 and has advanced the company from preclinical discovery into Phase 2 clinical trials securing over US$50 million in capital. Michael was previously an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at TIAP (Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners) providing management support to its portfolio companies. Michael also managed an industry/academia focused funding program with Genome Canada and spent nearly a decade with Rosetta Capital, an international venture capital firm.

Michael has an MSc in molecular biology from the University of Toronto (Canada) and an MBA from Imperial College Business School (UK).

Brent Stead is co-founder and CEO of Specific Biologics. Prior to Specific, Brent worked for 8 years in the biotechnology industry, more recently in development and manufacturing of biologic drugs. He started his career in the life sciences as a Ph.D. graduate of Western University’s biochemistry program and completed his MBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business.

An accomplished healthcare executive, Prakash brings over 25 years of experience in biopharma, capital markets, and entrepreneurship.  His track record spans private and public companies, startups and large corporations, and different business models, healthcare verticals and emerging sectors.  As a leader and strategist, he has held responsibility for people, P&Ls, financing, licensing, M&A, and go-public leadership.

Prakash is currently Vice President at TIAP, a not-for-profit organization that identifies, funds, and accelerates transformative, member-sourced, early-stage medical innovation into successful Canadian companies.

Before joining TIAP, he was Chief Operating Officer and Head of Corporate Development at a mental health and psychedelic medicine company where he played pivotal roles in building a network of clinics, bringing the company public, optimizing value of the U.S. operations, executing acquisitions, and managing the sale of the business.  Previously, as Co-founder of a genetic testing company in medical cannabis, he worked collaboratively to assemble the team, develop and market the test, and eventually sell the company.

Prakash is also a seasoned capital markets professional, having served in senior biotech equity research and investment banking roles at CIBC World Markets, National Bank Financial, and Canaccord Capital. The foundation of his career was built in commercial operations and new product development in the pharmaceutical industry.

Mr. Gowd serves as a board director of HDAX Therapeutics and Appili Therapeutics, and previously served as director at FendX Technologies and at Isotechnika Pharma, the predecessor company to Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. He holds an MBA from McGill University, a Pharmacy degree from the University of British Columbia, and a Chartered Director designation. 

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