Members
Board Members
Mr Will Delaat (Chairman)
Will Delaat was appointed Independent Chairman of Medicines Australia in 2008, following his retirement as Managing Director of Merck Sharp & Dohme Australia and Merck's Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand. Merck & Co. Is one of the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical companies, based in New Jersey, U.S.A., and a leader n the development of innovative medicines and vaccines.
Will has over 35 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held a variety of roles both in Europe and Australia, and across three different multinational companies including AstraZeneca. He has a background in Sales & Marketing and Business Development, and was Managing Director for Merck Sharp & Dohme Australia for 11 years.
Will has been on the Board of Medicines Australia since 1997, and was previously Chairman from 2003-2005. During this time, he co-chaired the taskforce which implemented the pharmaceutical provisions of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement.
In June 2008, Will was also appointed as a Director of the Board of Pharmaxis, an Australian specialist biotechnology company involved in developing therapeutic products for chronic respiratory and autoimmune diseases.
Will Delaat has chaired the Pharmaceuticals Industry Council since 2006.
Dr Anna Lavelle
In June 2005 Anna Lavelle was appointed inaugural Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of AusBiotech Ltd. Between 1998 and 2005, she was Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. Before that, Anna held senior positions at various organisations including Monash University in Melbourne. She hold a Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics from the University of Melbourne and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ms Kate Lynch
Kate Lynch was appointed CEO of the Generic Medicines Industry Association (GMiA) in December 2008.
Kate has a wealth of experience working in industry to secure access for new and in line medical products in the Australian market. Her broad experience has been built up within organisations including major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, start-up and device companies. She has worked with products spanning pre-clinical through to off-patent status.
In her capacity as CEO of GMiA, Ms Lynch sits on the Pharmaceuticals Industry Working Group, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Pricing Authority, the Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Ms Lynch holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in economics and post graduate qualifications in health economics.
Dr Brendan Shaw
In January 2010 Brendan Shaw was appointed Chief Executive of Medicines Australia. Prior to this, Brendan led the Health Policy and Research team at Medicines Australia, representing the industry on the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Pricing Authority, the Access to Medicines Working Group, and for two years he was the industry member of the Economic Sub-Committee of the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Advisory Committee.
Brendan has been instrumental in guiding the pharmaceutical industry through reforms to the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme, the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Advisory Committee process and the Therapeutic Goods Administration. He has driven Medicines Australia's research program, and has been pivotal in Medicines Australia's contribution to the international debate on health technology assessment.
Prior to taking up his appointment with Medicines Australia in January 2004, Brendan was adviser to then Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Trade, Dr Craig Emerson MP. He has previously worked in academia, consulting and the Australian Government in the areas of economic development, innovation, industry analysis and public policy. He has an honours degree in economics from the University of Queensland and a PhD in management from Monash University.
Ms Sue MacLeman
In March 2010 Sue MacLeman was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Progen Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biotechnology company involved in the discovery and development of small molecule-based cancer therapeutics.
Sue graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Queensland in 1984. In addition to pharmacy qualifications, she has completed a Masters of Marketing degree from Melbourne University (Melbourne Business School), a Masters of Commercial Law degree from Deakin University and Fellowship with the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice. Sue is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
In 1991 Sue joined the pharmaceutical industry with Schering Plough in the biotechnology business unit. She then went on to work with Amgen and BristolMyersSquibb in the areas of oncology and infectious disease marketing, sales management and business development. In 2002 Sue took up the position of Global Vice President for Agenix Ltd where she was responsible for the product development of the molecular clot imaging project. From 2004 to 2006, she was the CEO of publicly listed biotechnology investment and management company EQiTX Ltd and from 2006 to 2010, she was CEO of RNAi therapeutics company Benitec Ltd.
Dr Deborah Rathjen
A seasoned biotech executive of almost 20 years, Deborah Rathjen joined Bionomics, a specialty biotechnology company involved in the research and development of new treatments for cancer and serious disorders of the central nervous system, in June 2000 from Peptech, where she Manager of Business Development and Licensing. Dr Rathjen was a co-inventor of Peptech's TNF technology and leader of the company's successful defence of its key TNF patents against a legal challenge by BASF, providing Peptech with a strong commercial basis for licensing negotiations with BASF, Centocor and other companies with anti-TNF products.
Deborah has significant experience in research, business development licensing. She is Chairperson of the AusBiotech Board, and is a member of the Higher Education Council (SA Government). In 2004, Deborah was awarded the AusBiotech President's Medal for her significant contributions to the Australian biotechnology industry, in 2006 she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Flinders University, in 2009 the BioSingapore Asia Pacific Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2010 Bio Innovation SA Industry Leader Award.
Mr Robert Klupacs
Robert Klupacs joined Circadian Technologies Limited in August 2005 and he was appointed its Managing Director in March 2008. Circadian is an emerging leader in the field of angiogenesis-based treatments for cancer.
Robert is an intellectual property expert and entrepreneur with an extensive history of launching and managing successful ventures in the biotechnology industry. He was the driving force behind the founding of Vegenics Limited, Circadian's major subsidiary. Prior to joining Circadian, Robert was founder and Chief Executive Officer of ES Cell International Pte Ltd (ESI), based in Singapore, a world leader in the development of human embryonic stem cell technology. From 1999 to 2001, he was Chief Operating Officer of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, where he founded six start-up companies. Prior to that Robert was employed by Amrad Pharmaceuticals (since acquired by CSL) from 1988 until 1999, where he Director of Intellectual Property and a member of the executive team.
Robert holds a BSc(Hons) from Monash University in Pharmacology and is a registered Australian patent attorney.
Dr Martin Cross
Martin Cross commenced as the Managing Director of Alphapharm in 2010. Alphapharm is well known in Australia as the largest supplier of pharmaceuticals to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme supplying 1 in 5 prescriptions. In 2007 Alphapharm became part of Mylan which is the 3rd largest supplier of generics worldwide with sales in 140 countries. Mylan has its headquarters in Pittsburgh USA. Martin became the Chairman of the GMiA in May 2010.
After completing his PhD in microbiology, Dr Cross started his career in 1985 with ICI Pharmaceuticals as a Commercial Graduate and held a number of national and international management positions in marketing and sales, including a one-year assignment in Japan. Following the demerger of ICI and formation of Zeneca in 1993 he became a Senior Business Manager responsible for Japan and Portugal and sales efficiency worldwide. In 1999 during the merger to form AstraZeneca he was responsible for leading the integration for the world outside North America.
In 2001 Martin joined Novartis in Switzerland as the Head of Global Marketing and Sales Capabilities. From 2003 and 2008 he was the Managing Director and Country President for Novartis Australia and New Zealand. During this period he was also prominent in wider industry roles, including serving on the Board, and latterly the Executive of Medicines Australia from 2003 until 2008 and Chairman of the Medicines Australia Timely Access Strategic Committee 2003-05. Martin has also served on the Boards of the Swiss Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Voicescape and a non-executive Director of Connector Ltd.
Dr Jeff Davies
Jeff Davies has over twenty-seven years of experience with CSL Limited. From 1983 to 1991 he worked at St. Vincent's School of Medical Research and Monash University on a range of R&D projects for CSL Limited. From 1991 to 1997 he had oversight on several products relating to the development and implementation of new manufacturing processes for plasma proteins which were introduced at CSL Broadmeadows facility in Victoria. In 1997 Jeff was appointed as the Director of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for CSL Plasma Products group. In 2000 he was appointed as the Global Director of Plasma Product R&D based in Bern, Switzerland.
Jeff returned to Australia in 2005 to take up the role of General Manager, Asia Pacific responsible for the operations of CSL's Australian Plasma Product Division at Broadmeadows. Today, Jeff, as Executive Vice President of CSL Biotherapies, has responsibility for general management of CSL's Australian operations based at Parkville and Broadmeadows in Victoria and oversight of CSL's Asia Pacific commercial entity based in Hong Kong.
