WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Corporate Profile
WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“WEX” or the “Company”) is a private biopharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, Canada, developing a new class of non-opioid analgesics. WEX’s proprietary platform and the lead product is Halneuron®. The active pharmaceutical ingredient in Halneuron is Tetrodotoxin (TTX) which is a proven sodium channel blocker known to be effective for pain relief.
Halneuron is in late-stage clinical development for the treatment of moderate-to-severe chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, and cancer pain. WEX has conducted over 15 clinical trials with TTX and has treated more than 700 people to date.
WEX is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CK Life Sciences Int’l., (Holdings) Inc. (“CKLS”), listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 0775). CKLS is engaged in the business of research and development, manufacturing, commercialization, marketing and selling of environmental and human health products. For additional information, please visit www.ck-lifesciences.com.
Management Team Led With Technical Expertise
WEX is led by executives with a strong technical background in pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
Management Team
Walter Korz
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Korz has over 35 years of multi-disciplinary life sciences experience gained in public healthcare and holding senior management positions with several emerging and established life sciences companies. Mr. Korz joined WEX in November 2010 and has a broad drug development background with significant experience in business development, finance, clinical development, regulatory affairs and project outsourcing.
Before WEX, Mr. Korz was Vice President, Drug Development and then President and CEO of Chemokine Therapeutics Corp. Mr. Korz was Clinical Development Manager with Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. overseeing systemic therapy programs for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, including one of Canada’s largest multiple sclerosis clinical trials. Much of his career was involved in cancer research during his service with AltaRex Corp and Biomira Research. where he was responsible for the development of therapeutic products, clinical trials, and regulatory filings.
Mr. Korz is a graduate from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the University of Saskatchewan and has a Masters of Business Administration from Athabasca University.
Abner Yong, CPA, CA, ACG
Chief Financial Officer
Abner joined WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. in March 2018 following over 15 years of accounting, corporate finance, treasury and transactions experience gained in an investment-grade multinational company, and a Big 4 accounting firm. Prior to WEX, Abner held senior corporate finance positions at a Vancouver based NASDAQ/TSX listed multinational chemicals manufacturer and distributor, in corporate treasury and corporate accounting where he was responsible for financial operations, global budgeting, debt and credit financings, global treasury, compliance and financial talent development. Prior to this, Abner was with Ernst & Young in Transactions Advisory Services where he was engaged in debt and credit financings, corporate restructurings and corporate transactions across Canada.
Dr. Meng Zhou
Vice President, Manufacturing
Dr. Meng Zhou joined WEX as Vice President, Manufacturing in July 2018. Dr. Zhou has over 19 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in drug delivery, formulation development, analytical chemistry, natural product research, clinical trial supply manufacturing, process scale-up and commercialization. At WEX, Dr. Zhou is responsible for CMC activities to advance the TTX’s formulation and drug delivery to late-stage clinical studies, and secure a complex global supply chain for clinical and commercial needs. Before WEX, Dr. Zhou worked in various positions with Big Pharma, Specialty Pharma, and CDMOs. From 2016 to 2018, Dr. Zhou served as Sr. Director of R&D in SteriMax Inc. where he specialized in injectable product development. From 2011 to 2016, Meng directed the PDS group in Contract Pharmaceutical Limited (CPL) to support numerous NDA, ANDA and 505(b)2 projects from a global client base. Prior to CPL, Dr. Zhou held research scientist positions at Patheon Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, and ALZA Corporation, a J&J Company. Dr. Zhou earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Georgia in 2001, MS in Technology Management from Steven Institute of Technology in 2007, and BS in Medicinal Chemistry from Beijing Medical University in 1997.
Board of Directors
Alan Yu
Chairman
Alan Yu is currently the Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of CK Life Sciences Int’l, (Holdings) Inc (“CKLS”). Prior to becoming CKLS Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yu was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of CKLS since June 2002, and has been a member of the CKLS Nomination Committee since January 2019. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration and is a fellow member of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors.
Dr. Melvin Toh
Director
Dr. Melvin Toh is currently the Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of CK Life Sciences Int’l., (Holdings) Inc. He holds Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology from the University of London. Dr. Toh has over 25 years of experience in clinical medicine and pharmaceutical research and development, and has held various management and scientific positions in Asia and the United States.
Andrew Buckland
Director
Mr. Buckland is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Polynoma LLC, a subsidiary of CK Life Sciences Int’l., (Holdings) Inc. Mr. Buckland has extensive experience in the development of financial operations in both large multinational and early-to-mid sized corporations. Mr. Buckland has previously held Chief Financial Officer and senior finance positions with U.S. public and pre-IPO life sciences companies including PURE Bioscience Inc., Cardionet Inc., Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
