(OTTAWA) Strengthening the Life Sciences Sector in Canada: Role for Venture Capital

Join us for an evening event focused on the role of venture capital in the Canadian life sciences sector. We are pleased to welcome our guest speakers Dr. Elizabeth Douville and Dr. Anish Kaushal, who each bring with them unique backgrounds and perspectives in the field. The evening will begin with a moderated panel, followed by an opportunity to network with our panelists.

Our guest speakers:

Elizabeth Douville, PhD

Founder and Managing Partner, AmorChem

Elizabeth is Managing Partner at AmorChem. As a co-founder of the Fund, she played an important role in elaborating the innovative early-stage investment model of AmorChem, as well as setting up and supervising its operations.  Her strategic input and vision have been critical in the fund’s success. As part of the first AmorChem Fund, she oversaw the investment in nine of the funds’ promising university technologies and in 2016, successfully created AmorChem’s first spin off company, Mperia Therapeutics. She then spearheaded the efforts to create two more spin off companies, Corbin Therapeutics for which she is currently acting CEO, and Fairhaven Pharmaceuticals for which she actively contributed to its sale to Liminal Biosciences in 2020. After closing the AmorChem II Fund, she led the fund’s first investment in a Montreal-based start-up, Inversago Pharma, used her strategic vision to catalyze the creation of ARNA Therapeutics, a leading company in the field of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and recently participated in the financing of Giiant Pharma, AmorChem’s latest portfolio investment. Elizabeth is an active board member and observer to portfolio companies Corbin, SemaThera, Inversago, ARNA and Giiant.

Elizabeth’s reputation as a very committed and active participant in the life sciences ecosystem has led her to sit on the boards of directors of several important organizations. She has been a Board Member of Genome Canada since 2016 and has been serving as Chair of the Board since 2019. She is also a member of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation since 2015. In the past, she worked extensively on the boards of BioQuébec, the provincial industry organisation, and BioCanRx, a Canadian Centre of Excellence for biotherapeutics in cancer. In 2020, she received a Certificate in Leadership and Leadership Abilities from the Leadership Institute and participated in the prestigious GP Academy offered by the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Elizabeth began her venture capital career by joining the GeneChem family of funds in 1997, quickly rising from Manager to Senior Partner. She obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa and a post-doctoral fellowship from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, UK.  She has a certificate in management from CIREM/University of Montreal.

Dr. Anish Kaushal, MD

Amplitude Ventures - Toronto

Anish is a British Canadian doctor who now works as a healthcare venture capitalist as an Analyst at Amplitude Ventures. Prior to joining Amplitude, Anish also worked in venture capital in the Netherlands, where he had the experience of working with M Ventures in Amsterdam.

Anish spent six years at school in Scotland where he graduated from the University of St. Andrews with a Bachelors of Science in Medicine before earning his MD degree at the University of Edinburgh.

Matthew Mistry, MSc

Senior Associate, CCRM Enterprises

Matthew is a Senior Associate at CCRM Enterprises, CCRM’s for-profit venture investment arm in Toronto, Canada. He identifies, screens and leads due diligence (including feasibility of technology, market, competitive landscape, talent and financials) on life science start-ups for investment, assists in deal closings and manages CCRM’s portfolio companies. He builds relationships with key opinion leaders in the regenerative medicine space, including academics, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. He also actively contributes to company creation efforts within CCRM. Prior to this, he supported health science companies gain access to private and public capital, provided them strategic business advice, investor readiness coaching and pitch review at the Ontario Biosciences Innovation Organization (OBIO). He was also an Analyst at PillCheck (formerly GeneYouIn) that developed a product for pharmacogenetic testing, which is now being used by a major Canadian insurance company, Canada Life Assurance Company. Matthew is a scientist by training, receiving an MSc in Medical Science (cancer biology) at The Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Center at the Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto. During his graduate training, he helped secure a patent for a cancer methylation biomarker. He received his undergraduate degree (BSc) in Honours Biology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and completed a senior thesis testing a Phase I/II antisense oligonucleotide therapy in allergic asthmatics.