Anne Wight 

Anne is Director of Highbury Pacific Limited, a technology consultancy company which specializes in biotechnology and working with its clients to maximize the value of their innovations. As well as being a director of Highbury Pacific Limited Anne is an entrepreneur in residence at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. Anne is also a member of the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research consortium’s commercialisation advisory group.

Anne’s experience comes from a varied career in business development, marketing and law. Anne was previously the inaugural Director of the Master of Biosciences Enterprise programme at the University of Auckland, a course designed to produce ‘business savvy’ scientists. Previous appointments were as Business Development Leader at HortResearch of the gene technologies group tasked with commercialising their research, and at the global pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly and Co, where she worked in a variety of sales, marketing and product planning roles. Prior to this, Anne worked as a solicitor. Anne is an active member of NZBIO and served as a member/deputy chair of the NZBIO/Auckland committee from 2005 until August 2009. Anne has an BA/LLB and a MBA from the University of Auckland.

David Darling

David is the Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Edge Ltd a Dunedin based bio-medical company specializing in the development and commercialisation of novel diagnostic and prognostic tools for the early detection and management of cancer. Prior to Pacific Edge, David was Director of Business Development and Biotechnology, for Rubicon Ltd.

David has had considerable experience developing start-up companies and developing early stage technologies. He has been involved in the entrepreneurial development of nutraceuticals, herbal medicines, biotechnology, forestry and horticulture. His roles have included the development and management of an integrated biotechnology and manufacturing operation that employed up to 100 fulltime and seasonal employees. His role in the building of biotech start-up companies has also involved the management of intellectual property platforms and large patent portfolios. David has degrees from Massey University and Canterbury University and during his career as a scientist and science manager David has led the development and management of the tree breeding and biotechnology program for Fletcher Challenge Ltd. David was actively involved in the development and start-up of ArborGen, a USA based biotechnology joint venture business between Rubicon and two North American forestry giants, International Paper and MeadWestVaco.  One of the key roles for David has been as Science Manager for Rubicon on the ArborGen joint venture.

Pacific Edge has raised in excess of NZD 12 million of shareholder capital and now has four late stage diagnostic and prognostic products in development with the first of these expected to be market ready at the end of 2009.

David has sat on the Board of Directors of a number of companies and enterprises including GEENZ, Tasman Biotechnology, Trees and Technology, CAMCORE (USA), and sits on the Board of Directors of Primepine, Ecotek, Ginzeng, Axel and Prognostic Systems. David is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Foundation for Research Science and Technology, (FRST) and a Director of Football South.

Gregory Moss-Smith

Gregory is Chief Executive of Photonz Corporation Limited (New Zealand). He has 15 years senior executive, general management experience in the biopharmaceuticals sector including head of commercial operations of the successful Australian public biotechnology company, GroPep Limited, throughout its maturation from an early stage company through its IPO, continued growth and subsequent acquisition by Novozymes A/S (Denmark). He joined the management team integrating four companies to create Novozymes Biopharma and became Global Sales Director for the newly formed business establishing and managing the worldwide sales organization based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has held other positions including General Manager of Contract Manufacturing at GroPep Limited, Alternate Director of TGR Biosciences Pty Ltd, Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Tissue Growth & Repair, Director & General Manager of Independent Biologics Ltd, Facilitator of the (NZ) National Science Strategy for Fisheries & Aquaculture and was the founding manager of the Technology for Business Growth program at the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (NZ).

Paul Tan

 Dr Paul L J Tan is a consultant in biotechnology with more than 15 years experience in the transformation of research outcomes for commercialization.  In his roles as chief and senior executive he has managed research, intellectual property, manufacture of therapeutic products, clinical trials, regulatory and corporate affairs.

He was Chief Executive Officer of Living Cell Technologies Limited in Australia and New Zealand, Founding Deputy Director and Head of Health Division at Genesis Research & Development Corporation Limited in Auckland and CEO of CenTec Limited in Sydney.

As CEO at LCT, he gained regulatory approval for world first human trials in New Zealand and Russia for porcine cell therapeutics under current international regulatory guidelines and the registration of LCT’s cell therapy product and encapsulation technology in Russia. LCT also established a partnership with Jiangsu Aosaikang Medicinal Group, China and listed on the US OTCQX electronic bourse.  With Genesis R&D and Corixa Corporation, he developed research products for Phase I/II clinical trials in the USA, New Zealand, Philippines and Brazil. 

Prior to entering the biotechnology industry in 1994, Dr Tan was associate professor in immunology at the University of Auckland and a consultant physician rheumatologist at Auckland Hospital. He holds patents to the therapeutic uses of microbial and mammalian cell-based products. 

Candace Kinser

Candace is the Chief Executive Officer of the NZICT Group, the national member association of information technology, communications and hi-tech companies of New Zealand.  Previously, Candace previously held the role of CEO of Biomatters,, a multi-award winning, New Zealand based scientific software development company with subsidiary offices in the USA.  Biomatters’ flagship application, Geneious Pro, is used for DNA sequence analysis and disease research by tens of thousands of researchers in over 65 countries worldwide.  Originally from the USA, Candace has lived in New Zealand since 1998.  During this time, she has had responsibilities in the development of sales, management and business planning for health and life science business units infor SolNet (Sun Microsystems) and Telecom New Zealand.  

Candace graduated with honours degrees in Anthropology and Political Science from the University of Hawaii and has post-graduate and Master’s degrees in International Business and Management from Massey University in New Zealand, and has graduate business qualifications from Rutgers University of New Jersey in Bio-Pharma Enterprise Management.