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.