Our Team

Dr Paul Tan, CEO

Dr. Tan has had wide experience on all aspects of assessment and selection of products for commercialisation, expansion of intellectual property, product development and managing critical paths, timelines and establishing and managing international partnership.

Dr Tan was previously Chief Executive Officer of CenTec Ltd and
founding Deputy Director and Head of Health Division at Genesis Research & Development Corporation Limited. Dr Tan has been research fellow, associate professor in immunology and a physician rheumatologist and worked in Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. He holds patents relating to the therapeutic uses of microbial products. He is also a member of the Management Committee of the Auckland branch of the biotechnology organisation NZBio, and sits on the Ministry of Health Interim Expert Committee for Xenotransplantation.

Mr Richard Justice, CFO

Mr Justice is a qualified accountant, with post graduate business management qualifications and extensive experience in the financial and operational management of high growth organisations.

Prior to joining LCT, Mr Justice was a Director and CEO (and before this was COO and CFO) of a major South Pacific IT company, which was headquartered in New Zealand, being listed initially on the ASE and later the TSE in Canada, before securing a main board NASDAQ listing (one of the few New Zealand based businesses to have accomplished this).

During the period of rapid growth, Mr Justice led the NASDAQ listing process for the company and assisted in both the capital raising program in Canada and the United States, as well the raising of debt funding in Australasia

Professor Robert Bartlett Elliott, Medical Director

Professor Elliott trained as a Paediatrician at Adelaide University. He moved to New Zealand in 1970 to become the Foundation Professor, Department of Paediatrics at the University of Auckland.

Professor Elliott co-founded LCT. He is an Emeritus Professor of Child Health research, Professor of Paediatrics and a world leader in diabetes research. Professor Elliott is on the board of the New Zealand Child Health Foundation and the Wings Trust (a NZ trust for the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse). He is also patron of the NZ Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In 1999 he was awarded a CNZM (a Companion of the New Zealand order of merit) for services to the community

Dr Julia Hill, Interim General Manager

Julia has a PhD in Cell Biology and worked in the US as a post-doctoral scientist for several years before returning to Australia to complete
an MBA.

Over the past 8 years Julia has gained extensive experience in commercialisation of biotechnology. She has held positions within Research Institutes, start-up companies and Investment groups.

Dr Olga Garkavenko, Divisional Manager
Advanced Cell Materials and Head of Virology
Strategic design of cell biology research using advanced molecular biology tests for cell growth and differentiation. Dr Garkavenko holds a master of science MS (honours) in biochemistry from Kiev State University and has a PhD in from the Ukrainian Academy of Science at the institute of Oncology (Kiev, Ukraine).

Nominated as International Scientist and International Health Professional for the year for 2004 by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, Dr Garkavenko is a member of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand, American Society of Microbiology, International Transplantation Society and International Xenotransplantation Association. In 1987, as Head of the Biomedical Research Department at the International Humanitarian Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of the Chernobyl Disaster, Dr Garkavenko initiated research programmes focused on diagnostic immune deficiencies in children.

Dr Livia Escobar, Divisional Manager Cell Production
Advanced techniques for cell production and encapsulation. Dr Escobar holds a medical degree MD, a bachelor in human biology and a diploma in paediatrics from the University of Chile and has worked in the field of cell transplant technology since 1987.

Dr Stephen Skinner, Divisional Manager, Neurosciences
Dr Skinner joined LCT from AgResearch, New Zealand and before that was in the Department of Paediatrics at Auckland University. He has spent several years in North America, at Harvard, Stanford and Toronto Universities and at Syntex Pharmaceuticals.

Dr A Ferguson, Veterinarian
Responsible for the management and health of special purpose pathogen-free pigs, and production of high quality porcine cells for LCT research and development programmes.

Dr Ferguson is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the New Zealand and British Veterinary Associations.

LCT BioPharma Inc.
Three Managing Partners of The Channel Group, LLC, a New York-based venture development and management firm are members of the board of directors of LCT BioPharma Inc., Living Cell’s U.S. subsidiary. They serve as the U.S. management team for Living Cell and assist in further building relationships with pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, as well as investors.

Robert J. Beckman was a co-founder and immediate past CEO of Intergen Company, which he formed through a management buyout of Armour Pharmaceutical Co.'s biochemical business from Rorer Group Inc. He was VP Marketing Services for Revlon Health Care Group, and served on the board of directors of several public biotechnology companies. Mr. Beckman was instrumental in the formation of both the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the New York Biotechnology Association. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee of E-Z-EM Inc., (NasdaqGS: EZEM), a provider of medical products.

Allan R. Goldberg, Ph.D. was a co-founder Innovir Laboratories, Inc.,
a public biotechnology company where at various times he served as Chief Scientific Officer, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
He was Professor of Virology at The Rockefeller University for 18 years. Dr. Goldberg is a founder and member of the board of directors of
ZyStor Therapeutics, Inc., a private biotechnology company that is developing targeted protein therapeutics. He also is a member of the board of directors and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of SuperGen,Inc. (NasdaqGM: SUPG), a pharmaceutical company focused on cancer therapeutics.

Philip N. Sussman previously served as a member of senior management (Head of Business Development, CFO, CEO) for several public and private biotechnology companies, including Perlegen Sciences, Inc., Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Cadus Pharmaceutical Corp. He has established collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies that provided in aggregate more than US$100 million in research funding and equity investments. He previously was Director of Strategy & Business Development at Ciba-Geigy Corp.'s Pharmaceuticals Division (now Novartis AG). Mr Sussman is a member of the Board of Directors of Thar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and along with Mr Beckman and Dr Goldberg, is a co-founder and a member of the board of directors of Lesanne Life Sciences, LLC, a pivate company that is developing a proprietary protein biomarker for the rapid diagnosis of stroke, traumatic brain injury and related conditions.

Locations

MELBOURNE & SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Corporate Office

LCT’s registered and corporate office is based in Australia and managed by the General Manager and Company Secretary.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Operational Headquarters

Located in Auckland, New Zealand, LCT Auckland is a wholly owned subsidiary of LCT that hosts the worlds most advanced porcine herd for therapeutic transplantation. Focused primarily on the manufacture of product for pre-clinical and clinical studies, LCT’s Auckland office has one of the area’s only GMP clean room production facilities for encapsulated cell products. LCT’s Auckland based virology department has set the standard for porcine cell characterisation around the world. The experienced and dedicated team, some with over 15 years of experience, that supports the specific pathogen-free breeding facilities, clean rooms and research laboratories interfaces seamlessly with the world-wide operations of LCT. Dr. Paul Tan and his team are located in Auckland.

PERUGIA, ITALY

Perugia, Italy is the home of LCT’s encapsulation technology, with
a very close collaboration spanning several years. The encapsulation technology developed in Perugia is used with LCT’s cell based products. The team is run by Professor Riccardo Calafiore who has had over 15 years experience in encapsulation and cell therapies. The alginate and encapsulation technology has been used by this team for the transplantation of human islets into human diabetics.

RHODE ISLAND, USA

LCT characterises and optimises its biocapsule-based delivery platform in Rhode Island. The company’s capabilities at this location range from biomaterial synthesis to device fabrication to various modalities of cell encapsulation at the GMP level, as well as IND preparation and regulatory filing. The company’s activities are conducted by scientists trained in formulation chemistry and tissue engineering, who also have appointments at Brown University.

NEW YORK, U.S.A.

LCT’s U.S. management team is based in New York.