Dr. Fahar Merchant
President & CEO
Medicenna Therapeutics
Toronto, Canada
www.medicenna.com
Dr. Fahar Merchant is a biotech veteran with 30 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur and co-founder, President and CEO of Medicenna Therapeutics Inc. Previously, he was President and CEO of Protox Therapeutics Inc. where he transitioned a pre-clinical start-up to a Phase 3 ready uro-oncology company in six years (2005 to 2011). Fahar was CTO and Director of KS Biomedix until its acquisition by Xenova (NASDAQ and LSE) in 2003. In 2000, by strategic in-licensing, he co-founded Avicenna Medica Inc., a clinical stage oncology company, then sold it a year later to KS Biomedix (LSE) for $90 million. In 1992, he co-founded IntelliGene Expressions Inc., a biologics cGMP compliant CDMO, and built it to one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada, ensuring profitability during his tenure as CEO. He has raised over $150 million from public and private sources to fund the development of targeted therapies for oncology and closed corporate transactions valued at over $250 million.
Dr. Merchant holds a BSc in Biochemistry and Pharmacology from Aston University, MSc in Biotechnology from Birmingham University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from Western University.