Management Team

Nick Glover, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer

Denis G. Bosc, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls

Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Advisor

Wendy Chapman, Vice President, Clinical Operations

David A. Kennard, Ph.D., M.B.A., Vice President, Strategic Alliances

Mark Kowalski, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

Gregg Smith, Ph.D., M.B.A., Vice President, Drug Development

James Smith, M.Sc.(Eng), Vice President, Corporate Communications

Len Vernon, B.Sc., C.A., Vice President, Finance and Administration

Ernest Wong, Ph.D., M.B.A., C.L.P., Vice President, Business Development


Nick Glover, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Glover is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. He previously served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer from June 2010 to November 2010. Prior to this, he was providing life sciences consultancy services to the industry. From January 2004 until June 2008, Dr. Glover was President and Chief Executive Officer of Viventia Biotech Inc., having previously held the position of Vice President, Corporate Development and Product Operations. Dr. Glover was formerly an investment manager at MDS Capital, a life sciences venture capital fund. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Simon Fraser University, British Columbia.

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Denis G. Bosc, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls
Dr. Bosc joined the Corporation in 2010. Dr. Bosc was formerly Director of Process Development, Manufacturing & Operations for SQI Diagnostics Inc. where he managed the process development and GMP manufacturing activities of protein-based microarray in vitro diagnostics in an ISO environment. Prior to joining SQI, Dr. Bosc was Director of Operations for Viventia Biotech Inc. where he led the efforts of a broad team encompassing process development, GMP manufacturing, facility & engineering, analytical methods development, CMC and contract manufacturing, with a specific focus on biopharmaceutical antibody production. He has expertise in CMC aspects pertaining to the manufacturing and testing of antibody-based therapeutics for preclinical through Phase III trials in Canadian, European and US jurisdictions. Dr. Bosc holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Manitoba and completed post-doctoral studies at the Mayo Clinic and at the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology. In 2000, he was awarded a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the National Cancer Institute of Canada for his research with the regulation of the ETS transcription factor ER81 via the HER2/Neu signaling pathways.

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Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Advisor
Dr. Burns received a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Melbourne in 1989 and undertook postdoctoral research at Penn State University, USA. In 1991, he joined Pfizer Central Research in the UK and after five years returned to Australia to take up a position as Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney. After two years he joined Sydney-based biotech company Ambri Pty Ltd as Chemistry Project Leader. He joined Cytopia (now YM BioSciences Australia) in 2001 to establish and lead the Medicinal Chemistry team and was appointed Director of Research in 2005. Dr. Burns was the lead medicinal chemist in the programs that led to CYT387 and CYT997, and is a named inventor of these compounds. In addition to his role at YM BioSciences, he currently serves as a faculty member at at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia. 

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Wendy Chapman
Vice President, Clinical Operations
Ms. Chapman joined the Company in 2010. Prior to joining, she was the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Clinical Operations at Viventia Biotechnologies, an oncology biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of targeted monoclonal antibodies. At Viventia, Ms. Chapman was responsible for the execution of all corporate operational initiatives, provided strategic input to clinical development plans, and oversaw the planning and implementation of all clinical trials. Ms. Chapman has more than 20 years of experience in clinical drug development at several pharmaceutical and contract research organizations in Canada and the U.S. including Bayer, AstraZeneca and MDS. Prior to joining Viventia, Ms. Chapman was the Canadian Business Unit Head for AAI Pharma.

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David A. Kennard, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Vice President, Strategic Alliances
Dr. Kennard joined the Corporation in 2004 as Director, European Operations and was promoted to Vice President, Strategic Alliances in 2011. Prior to joining YM, he was CEO of NeuroTargets, a biopharmaceutical company focused on novel treatments for nerve injury and pain.  Dr. Kennard spent eight years prior to that as the COO of SR Pharma, a publicly traded UK-based biotechnology company which developed therapeutic vaccines.  He was also with GlaxoSmithKline in clinical research and regulatory affairs and subsequently in strategic planning.  Dr. Kennard holds an MBA and Ph.D. from the London University and is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

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Mark Kowalski, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Dr. Kowalski joined the Company in 2010. Prior to joining YM, Dr. Kowalski was the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical/Regulatory Affairs at Viventia Biotechnologies Inc., a biopharmaceutical company involved in the discovery and development of monoclonal antibody-based technologies for the treatment of cancer. Prior to Viventia, he was the Senior Director of Medical Affairs at AAIPharma Inc. Dr. Kowalski has extensive experience in Phase I through Phase IV drug development and clinical trials in a wide variety of therapeutic areas including oncology, urology, infectious diseases, analgesia, allergy, rheumatology and cardiovascular diseases. His past experience also includes basic scientific research on the molecular biology of HIV as well as clinical practice in Internal Medicine. Dr. Kowalski holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Duke University and Harvard Medical School.

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Gregg Smith, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Vice President, Drug Development
Dr. Smith was appointed Vice President, Drug Development in 2011 following service as Vice President, Australian Operations at YM BioSciences Australia (formerly Cytopia Ltd.). As Director, Drug Development and Operation at Cytopia, Dr. Smith was responsible for the formal preclinical and clinical development activities for CYT387 and CYT997. He has more than ten years’ drug development experience and has managed all aspects of five small molecule development programs from the discovery/development interface to Phase I and II trials. Dr. Smith holds a Ph.D. from the University of Queensland, School of Pharmacy and an MBA from LaTrobe University (Melbourne). He is also a registered Pharmacist in Victoria.

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James Smith, M.Sc.(Eng)
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Mr. Smith joined the Company in 2011. Prior to joining YM, Mr. Smith was Vice President, Healthcare at TMX Equicom, a leading investor relations consulting firm. In his ten years at Equicom, he worked with numerous biotechnology, healthcare services and pharmaceutical companies providing strategic insight and communications counsel. Prior to his role at Equicom, Mr. Smith provided consulting services to a venture capital firm, working closely with its investee biotechnology companies and evaluating new investment opportunities. He also conducted research for eight years primarily focused on animal cell culture. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Biochemical Engineering from Queen’s University.

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Len Vernon, B.Sc., C.A.
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Mr. Vernon has been an officer of the Company since 1997. He has held senior financial positions with a number of organizations both public and private. Prior to joining YM as an officer in July 1997, Mr. Vernon was an independent consultant working with senior management in a variety of industries. Prior to 1992 he was Vice-President, Finance and Administration of Unitel Inc., now Allstream Inc., a major Canadian telecommunications company. Mr. Vernon earned a B.Sc. in 1968 and was awarded his C.A. in 1972 with Clarkson Gordon & Co. (now Ernst & Young LLP).

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Ernest Wong, Ph.D., M.B.A., C.L.P.
Vice President, Business Development
Dr. Wong joined the Company in 2010. He has more than 15 years of experience working for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in business development, drug discovery and clinical development strategy. Prior to joining, he held business development and global development project leadership positions at OSI Pharmaceuticals. He has negotiated and executed a variety of deal transactions, which include the out-licensing of clinical programs, the in-licensing of research technologies and the establishment of multi-year R&D collaborations. His global business experience includes the execution and management of partnerships with academic research institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in Europe, North America and China. In addition to his business development roles, Dr. Wong has been the project leader for two oncology clinical programs, which included a first-in-class kinase inhibitor in Phase III development. Dr. Wong holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado. He has authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers and is a named inventor on multiple patents. Dr. Wong also holds the Certified Licensing Professional (CLP™) designation from the Licensing Executive Society.

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