Class of 2005: Stephen Pankratz

MBiotech Class of 2005: Stephen Pankratz

Following the completion of a Life Sciences degree at Queen's University, Stephen Pankratz attended in the MBiotech Program, Class of 2005.

During the program, Stephen developed an aerosolized sanitizer called Virsani, that can be applied to both hands and surfaces (door and sink handles, keyboards, etc.) - the first of its kind to be awarded Health Canada's Natural Health Product designation. With the help of his business partner, Stephen built the supporting business, coordinated the appropriate regulatory testing, and had the product manufactured and distributed to over 3000 stores in Canada (7-11, Rexall/Pharmaplus, Pharmasave, Macs, etc.). Following the H1N1 outbreak, Virsani was licensed to a small pharmaceutical company. Stephen and his business partner then developed a second product, a novel insecticide, and subsequently sold this product and the Virsani business to a third party company a few years later.

After out-licensing Virsani, Stephen accepted a position at Amgen Canada in Development Operations where he was responsible for maintaining the business relationship with clinical trial sites. In his 2 years at Amgen, Stephen negotiated over $20M in agreements, and developed the business acumen necessary for success in the medical field.

Stephen subsequently accepted a sales position in the surgical department of a company called CHS, and has since introduced several implantable and medical devices to the Canadian market. He has also trained a sales force for the Canadian market, and is now actively seeking new medical and technologies to commercialize.

In addition, Stephen is involved in a start-up company located at the MaRS research centre and is helping shape and commercialize a novel software program that helps oncologists identify tumours and cancerous tissue. This program recently received FDa approval, and is now being sold and used in Canada and the US.

Some of the most valuable lessons that Stephen took away from the MBiotech program and implemented include those that demonstrated how to develop a business plan for the development and commercialization of a new product/technology. Stephen also attributes the experience that he received from the Patheon-MBiotech internship position, and the extensive and diverse science-based training to his advancement in the life-sciences field.