Brian Underdown

Brian Underdown joined Lumira Capital (formerly, MDS Capital Corp) in 1997. His focus has been on new company formation in both Canada and the United States. Prior to joining MDSCC, Dr. Underdown held a number of senior management positions in the biopharmaceutical industry and in universities. Dr. Underdown obtained his Ph.D. in immunology from McGill University and undertook post-doctoral studies at Washington University School of Medicine. During his academic career, he focused on immune-mediated diseases as well as vaccine development. During his tenure at MDSCC, Dr. Underdown has focused on new investment opportunities and building value as a board member in a number of companies including, ID Biomedical, Trillium Therapeutics and Cytochroma Inc. He has been actively involved in policy development and grant administration with a number of government and non-governmental organizations that support research, especially as it applies to commercial development.

CoImmune

Hubert Birner

CoImmune

Sander van Deventer

Sander has extensive experience in translational research with particular emphasis on drug development, and significant regulatory experience with the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA.) He is both partner with Forbion Capital Partners, and professor of translational gastroenterology at Leiden University Medical Center. Sander was part of the original ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences (AAC LS) team, before it became the independent body Forbion. He joined as venture partner at AAC LS in 2004. Sander has significant experience in the medical and life sciences field. As such, he has been a consultant to all major pharma and to a significant number of large biotech companies. He is co-founder of the gene therapy company Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, and currently holds a part-time position on the company's board as Chief Scientific Officer. Sander also holds a board seats at Argos Therapeutics in Durham, NC, USA. Sander has also held positions on the advisory boards of the FDA and the EMEA. He has advised the Dutch government on several projects, including the national colorectal screening program and the translational gene therapy program. Sander is the author of more than 80 book chapters and 350 peer reviewed scientific papers. He has organized several large international scientific conferences, and under his supervision more than 30 students have completed their PhD thesis. In 1995, Sander became director of the laboratory for Experimental Internal Medicine at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, where he worked on therapeutic signal transduction inhibition, gene therapy, and (genetically engineered) probiotics. His scientific involvement included the organization of the genomics and proteomics initiative at the University of Amsterdam. In addition, Sander was Chairman of the Anton Meelmeijer Center for Genomics and Proteomics. From 2001 until 2004, he was chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. Sander was trained and board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, and received his medical degree and doctor of philosophy from the University of Amsterdam. His thesis was based on the biological activities of bacterial lipopolysaccharides in humans. Following graduation, Sander worked as a scientist in the Laboratory for Medical Biochemistry, Rockefeller University, New York. It was here that TNF was discovered as a proinflammatory cytokine and Sander used this knowledge to first administer an anti-TNF monoclonal antibody (later registered as Remicade®) to patients with Crohn's disease. This was followed by other immunomodulatory interventions, targeting cytokines, cytokine receptors, T cells and signal transduction pathways, using small molecules, antibodies, peptides, proteins and antisense DNA technologies. Here he carried out preclinical development as well as the design and conduct of clinical studies.

CoImmune