Mark Williams is Servatus' Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Director, being appointed to the role in October 2023, following the passing of Servatus' Co-Founder, Dr Wayne Finlayson.

Mark first joined the Servatus board as a Non-Executive Director in February 2018 and became an Executive Director (Chief Financial Officer) in July 2018. Mark has had a long career in investment banking, having spent nearly 20 years with Macquarie Bank in Sydney, London and South America. Mark’s broad banking and commercial career includes significant experience in risk, structured lending, governance, commodities & equities markets, and management.

In 2001, Mark set up Macquarie’s off-shore risk function in London. From 2004 to 2014, Mark was based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, initially in charge of the bank’s structured commodity lending and later as office and local country head. Mark, as an Executive Director, was responsible for Macquarie’s Brazilian commodity platform, including management of a number of the bank’s largest global commodity clients.

Mark holds a BComm/LLB (Hons) from The Australian National University.

Rodney has had a career in Charterd Accounting, Directorships, Management and Advisory roles. He is an experience Chartered Accountant in public practice having consulted and worked closely with medical practices, radiology and allied service areas plus other professional groups and industries such as tourism, primary industries, transport, distribution, manufacturing, property syndication and development, and small to medium business generally. Rodney is currently the Chair of WHA Group International Pty Ltd, which is a rapidly emerging company providing primarily pre-employment medicals to employers in all states and territories and in New Zealand. He has also held other chair and directorship positions.

During his Chartered Accounting career Rodney was a Partner or Principal for 35 years and Managing Partner or CEO for 15 of those years with Garrotts MGI, Investor Group, WHK and Crowe Howarth covering areas such as taxation, business advisory, financial planning and finance broking. Rodney and his network have been and continue to be important supporters of our founder Wayne and Servatus from the early days of the company to the current day. He is well versed in the history, challenges and opportunities of Servatus and brings a broad range of skills to Servatus. Rodney holds a Batchelor of Business from the University of Tasmania and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Hugh is an accomplished biotech executive with over 22 years of experience in drug development for global markets, pharmaceutical commercialization, international business development and partnering, general management and profit accountability experience. Hugh’s current focus is the founding CEO of Kinoxis Therapeutics Pty Ltd, a new company formed at the beginning of 2018 as spin out from the University of Sydney to develop a range of novel therapeutics for the treatment of substance use disorders and other central nervous system disorders.

More recently, Hugh has been CEO of Hatchtech Pty Ltd, an Australian company developing a novel technology for the control of invertebrate pests. The Company’s lead product is Xeglyze™ Lotion, a next generation prescription head lice product in development that aims to overcome the frustrating, costly and inconvenient cycles of retreatment for head lice infestation currently experienced by children and their parents. In 2015, the company signed a multi-country commercialization agreement for Xeglyze™ with integrated pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY). Xeglyze™ has completed clinical development, and a New Drug Application has been filed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Hugh has worked in executive positions for a wide spectrum of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Acrux Limited, Phosphagencis Ltd, Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Mayne Pharma, and Faulding Pharmaceuticals. Whilst at Acrux, Hugh was Director Business Development when in 2010, the company licensed their testosterone product Axiron to Eli Lilly for AUD$335 million in milestones plus royalties.

Hugh has a Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Chemistry from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School.

Eilis has significant General Management and start up experience. She is a senior commercial professional with strong leadership experience in the healthcare industry including diverse global markets and therapeutic areas and a solid track record of building and leading commercial strategy and teams.

Eilis is currently the General Manager of Australia and New Zealand for Jazz Pharmaceuticals, an international pharmaceutical company specializing in oncology and neuroscience. Prior to commencing with Jazz, Eilis’ previous role was Senior Director of the Global Pipeline Division for Vertex Pharmaceuticals based in Boston, where she co-led the global commercial team to determine the long term global business strategy through assessment of global market opportunities. Before this role, Eilis was Managing Director for Vertex Pharmaceuticals for Australia and New Zealand. She led and developed the market entry business plans and executed the reimbursement strategy in order to launch multiple products and indications.

Prior to these roles Eilis also held a variety of senior roles in global biotechnology companies. She managed product launches in Europe, CEE, Middle East and APAC regions.

Eilis has a Master of Arts (MA) Biotechnology, Law and Ethics, from the University of Sheffield, a Master of Science (MSc) Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Biomedical Sciences, from University of Ulster, Ireland.

Dr. Uwe Buecheler has more than 30 years experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. He is Senior Advisor in Biopharmaceuticals to the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim, and Senior Vice President of the Biopharma Business Unit at Boehringer Ingelheim. He has held a variety of senior roles, including across regulatory affairs, CMC/GMP development, biosafety, quality, and as site head. He led an expansion of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Global Operations Network in the US and China, pioneered 1st Biologics MAH approval in Shanghai, and has led/contributed to major expansion projects in aseptic processing, microbial manufacturing and large-scale mammalian cell culture operations. Throughout his career, he has overseen more than 30 biologics launches, including more than five Top-20 global biopharmaceuticals.

Uwe Buecheler joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 1991. For several years he led the quality unit, as well as process science for biopharmaceuticals. In 2006, he was appointed site head for the Boehringer Ingelheim site in Biberach, Germany, and was a member of the board of the German subsidiary responsible for the mammalian cell culture business at the Biberach site. In October 2010, he was responsible for global biopharmaceuticals operations, including sites in Germany, Austria and US. Since May 2014, he has been responsible for the entire biopharma business unit as Senior Vice President.

Uwe Buecheler has a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Heidelberg and the Cancer research Center in Heidelberg. Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim he also worked at Roche (former Boehringer Mannheim site in Penzberg). He was awarded Professor h.c. at the University of Ulm, and is member of Advisory boards of University´s and the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM). He is Chairman of the Biopharma Cluster South Germany and is Member of several (Bio-) Pharmaceutical Industry Associations including the international leadership forum of ISPE.

Hamish is a Chartered Accountant and has extensive experience in providing financial advice, company secretarial and CFO services to life science businesses ranging from ASX listed entities to Not-for-Profit organisations. Hamish is CFO and Company Secretary for a number of ASX listed companies and is CFO and Company Secretary for MTPConnect, Australia’s Growth Centre for the medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals sector. Hamish holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, a Diploma in Financial Planning from Kaplan Professional, a Masters Degree in Professional Accounting from RMIT and a Certificate in Governance Practice from the Governance Institute of Australia.

Wayne was a well-respected and visionary scientist, who will leave a positive, resounding mark on the development of science and new medicines, both in Australia and globally.

Early in his career, Wayne was Executive Director of NASDAQ listed Infergene, with specific responsibility for technology. In 1990, Wayne founded Progen Pharmaceuticals and was Managing Director and CEO. After leaving Progen Pharmaceuticals, he acted as a consultant until 2009, providing technology investment advice to clients. During this period, he also held various contract positions for clients (including large investment firms in the USA), with responsibility for ensuring readiness of investee companies for public listing or other investment.

Wayne held a BSc (Hons) and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from La Trobe University. After completing his doctorate, he was a post-doctoral Research Fellow for three years at the University of California, Berkeley, in the USA.

Together with Dr Wolf Hanisch, Wayne founded Servatus in 2012 and established operations in 2013. Together, Wayne and Wolf built Servatus into a solid business with multiple operational areas, including drug development, manufacturing and consumer products, leveraging their cutting-edge discoveries in the areas of live microbial biotherapeutics and engineered proteins.

Doctor of philosophy - PhD

University College London

Full Scholarship under the Royal Commission of Exhibition of 1851 Presented at Buckingham Palace by Prince Phillip

Full Member of the New York Academy of Science

Life Member of the American institute of Chemical Engineers

Fellow of The Australian Institute of Company Directors

Teresa joined Servatus in 2020, bringing over 20 years of expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing, with a strong focus on quality control, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs. She holds a First-Class Honours degree in Chemistry (BSc) from the University of Nottingham, UK. In 2001, Teresa relocated to Australia to join Mayne Pharma, where she played a pivotal role in developing and validating scientific methodologies for injectable oncology and oncology support drugs, including antibiotics and opioid pain relief pharmaceuticals. Teresa's career advanced as she led a team of senior scientists in R&D method development and validation at Sigma Healthcare. She then expanded her expertise in quality assurance, taking key roles at TSI Pharmaceuticals and Medifarm. Throughout her career, Teresa has become highly skilled in establishing pharmaceutical quality management systems and securing regulatory licensing in new and emerging biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Now, as COO of Servatus, Teresa is leveraging her extensive managerial and technical background to drive operational success and support the company’s growth in innovative therapeutics.

Samantha joined Servatus in 2018 to Head the Clinical Research Department, bringing extensive knowledge of the human microbiome and use of bacteria as therapeutic drugs. With a PhD in Medicine from the University of Queensland, Samantha has a diverse background in the Biotechnology Industry with in-depth knowledge and experience in designing, initiating, conducting, and collaborating on multidisciplinary human clinical trial projects involving autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious diseases. Samantha’s current role within Servatus is to manage the clinical trial pipeline, ensuring Servatus’ human clinical trial projects meet the designated timelines from conception to initiation and completion. Working closely with the Principal Investigators, Samantha ensures meticulous detail in the design of Servatus’ clinical trials; supported by a skilled, dedicated and talented clinical research team.

Kylie joined Servatus in 2018, she is a cell biologist with more than 20 years’ experience across the academic, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical sectors. Before joining Servatus, Kylie worked at Terragen Biotech, an agricultural biotechnology company, co-leading Research and Development.

In 2013, Kylie joined Patheon Biologics (formerly DSM biologics and now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific). She worked in downstream bioprocessing and quality control. In 2007, Kylie joined an early-stage biotechnology company, developing biotherapeutics for autoimmune conditions, working on the lead candidate molecule and expanding its intellectual property coverage.

Previously, Kylie worked for 10 years in research at the University of Newcastle on a variety of projects, including cancer research, inflammation and atherosclerosis.

Kylie holds a BSc (Hons) in biological sciences from the University of Newcastle. She is author and co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Nicolas joined Servatus in 2018, as a bioprocess engineer. Nicolas’s background is in bioprocess engineering and Research and Development in the biotechnology industry in both Australia and France.

Previously, Nicolas worked as a Downstream Bioprocess Scientist at Patheon Biologics (part of Thermo Fisher Scientific) in Australia. Nicolas is experienced in both fermentation bioprocessing management. He was instrumental in developing an APVMA accredited bacterial laboratory-based and production platform for the development and manufacture of probiotics and enzymes for the feedstock industry.

Nicolas has strong technical knowledge of both the biotechnology industry and the latest bioprocessing technologies.

Nicolas completed a Bioengineering degree at the Sup'Biotech Paris, France in 2012. More recently, Nicolas submitted a PhD in biotechnology at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology within the University of Queensland.

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Gerald Holtmann is an Academic Gastroenterologist with substantial managerial and leadership experience inside and outside the academic sector.

He is Director of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland and Associate Dean Clinical for the Faculty of Health & Behavioral Sciences and for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. In addition, he also serves as Director on the Boards of the West Moreton Hospital and Health Service and the Gallipoli Foundation. Prior to relocation to Brisbane, he completed a 3-year term as CEO and Medical Director of the University Hospital Essen, Germany and has served several years on the Board of this organisation with an annual budget of over $1b. Before that he was Director of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and General Medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital with a joint appointment as Professor of Medicine at the University of Adelaide.

Prof Holtmann has completed his Clinical Training in Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University Hospital Essen, Germany with a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London), the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. In addition to his training in Medicine and Gastroenterology he completed a Master of Business Administration at the University of South Australia and is certified by the German Board of Physicians in Medical Informatics and Biostatistics.

His research in the field of Gastroenterology with a focus on Neurogastroenterology has been published in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Gut and Gastroenterology and has attracted more than 20,000 citations.

School of Medicine
Griffith University
Director
Rheumatology Research Unit
Sunshine Coast

He Serves on the Scientific Advisory Board and the ASMPOC, Australian Rheumatology Association, Steering Committee of GRAPPA and the editorial board of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and RMD Open.

Published more than 200 per reviewed articles and 5 book chapters.

Dr Peter Nash is Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Queensland, at the school of Medicine, Griffith University, and a Director of the Rheumatology Research Unit on the Sunshine Coast. Dr Nash has Chaired the Professional Affairs Committee and the Therapeutics Committee , and serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Australian Rheumatology Association. He is a former member of the Therapeutics Committee of the Australia and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society.

Dr Nash and his group at the Rheumatology Research Unit have been involved with pivotal registration clinical trials for all modern targeted biologic therapies and osteoporosis therapies. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and 5 book chapters. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board and the ASMPOC, Australian Rheumatology Association, Steering Committee of GRAPPA and the editorial board of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and RMD Open.

His special interests include metabolic bone disease and novel therapeutics.

Dr Michael Freeman is the principal Dermatologist at The Skin Centre, specialising in Cosmetic and Laser Dermatology. Originally graduating from The University of Queensland in 1979, he has more than 30 years’ experience in the medical field. In addition to his position at The Skin Centre, Dr Freeman is the Director of Dermatology at the Gold Coast Hospital and is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Bond University.

While a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, he is also a member of the Skin and Cancer Foundation of Queensland and an international member of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Dr Freeman holds several more credits to his name, including lead investigator in more than a dozen clinical trials, and educator for other Dermatologists in the use of specialised lasers.

Dr. Jessica Allegretti currently serves as the Associate Director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, USA, where she built and leads the Clinical Trials Program. She also founded the hospital’s Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Program and continues to serve as the Program’s Director. She also now serves as the Director of Clinical Research for the Division of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Allegretti is a gastroenterologist and physician-scientist dedicated to discovering and developing innovative microbiome therapeutics and novel treatments for inflammatory bowel disease. She was awarded the IBD Rising Star Award by the New Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation her first year on staff. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for OpenBiome, the largest not-for-profit stool bank, and is the Clinical Development Lead for the Massachusetts-Host Microbiome Center. She has authored over 100 abstracts and peer-reviewed publications in leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and Gastroenterology, and was recently appointed as an Associate Editor for the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Journal as well as the American Journal of Gastroenterology

Dr. Allegretti has led multiple prospective microbiome therapeutic studies, including the first trials in primary sclerosing cholangitis and obesity. She has received funding from the NIH, the American College of Gastroenterology and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Dr. Allegretti has been featured on HBO, BBC, Netflix, the New York Times and numerous other media outlets. In 2020, Dr. Allegretti received the Sherman Emerging Leader Prize for Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis and Healio Gastroenterology’s Clinical Innovation Award for her work on microbial therapeutics.

Dr Cavagnaro is the President of Access BIO where she consults on science-based preclinical development strategies for novel drug, biologics and device combinations. With a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her career spans academia, the CRO and biotechnology industries, and government. During her tenure at CBER/FDA she was appointed to the SBRS and served as FDA’s safety topic lead and rapporteur for “ICH S6.” She was the first to advocate the “case-by-case” rational science-based approach to preclinical safety evaluation. In 2011 she received SOT’s Biotechnology Specialty Section First Career Achievement Award and in 2019 the Society’s Arnold J. Lehman Award recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to risk assessment and/or the regulation of chemical agents, including pharmaceuticals. She is Founder and Past Chair of the leadership committee of BioSafe, an expert preclinical science committee within BIO. She is a Past Chair of the Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Committee and Translational Science & Product Development Committee of the ASGCT. She was a member of the NTP Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods and is an advisor and member of the Grants Working Group of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Dr Cavagnaro also serves on multiple SAB’s, including Odylia Therapeutics a non-profit corporation devoted to moving ultra-rare inherited retinal diseases ‘from science to humans’, and consults and lectures internationally on translation and risk assessment of novel therapies. She is a past chair of CRRI, an independent investigational review board and is currently a member of Advarra IRB. She has co-authored numerous white papers, articles and book chapters related to various aspects of preclinical safety assessment. The book she edited “Preclinical Safety Evaluation of Biopharmaceuticals A Science-Based Approach to Facilitating Clinical Trials” published by John Wiley & Sons, NJ, 2008, is commonly referred to as the “BioBible”. The sequel has just published “Translational Medicine: Optimizing Preclinical Safety Evaluation of Biopharmaceuticals- Joy A. Cavagnaro and Mary Ellen Cosenza, eds., CRC Press, 1st Edition, 2021.

Paul Field is supporting Servatus to engage with potential partners for its SVT-IC469 Helicobacter pylori program. He has over 25 years of business development experience across a range of therapeutic areas, and a deep network in the global biopharmaceutical industry. His current roles include corporate advisory positions at Imunexus, Alsonex, Marinova, and the Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP) headquartered in Geneva. He was previously the life sciences specialist at Austrade, the Australian Government’s investment promotion agency, where he facilitated foreign direct investment into Australian research in infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer and other therapeutic areas. Paul has served on a number of Boards, and he is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).

Patricia Williams, PhD, is a pharmaceutical executive with over 35 years of experience in drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract service industries. Dr. Williams is currently the President & CEO of IND Directions, LLC, a drug development consulting and service company located in Northern Virginia. Dr. Williams was the founder, co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of Summit Drug Development Services, LLC, a drug development service company in Rockville, Maryland for five years. She has established a number of innovative safety assessment and drug development programs in her career and has held various management positions at Bristol-Myers Company, Eli Lilly, American Cyanamid, BioChem Therapeutic, Inc., Glycomed, Inc./Ligand Pharmaceuticals, TherImmune Research/Gene Logic Corp and SRA Life Sciences. Dr. Williams has authored over 50 manuscripts and review articles in toxicology and pharmacology. She received a B.S. in Physiology from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan (1974), an M.S. in Physiology from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona (1977), and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the State University of New York (SUNY)/Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York (1981).