Success Story #3

WestLink Interns - Their Stories

Internship graduates bring expertise and value to their employers, but perhaps of equal and less realized importance is the effect that the internship program and the highly skilled interns have during their various placements in increasing connections between placement hosts and outside parties.

The Protox Story
Vancouver based Protox Therapeutics Inc. uses genetic engineering to transform naturally occurring proteins into novel targeted therapeutics for the treatment of various cancers and other proliferative diseases. Protox Therapeutics is a start-up company from the University of Victoria and is built on the scientific research of Dr. Tom Buckley, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. Protox is publicly traded on the TSX under the symbol PRX.

In 2002, Julie Wafaei began an eight month internship in the offices of the Innovation and Development Corporation (IDC), the University of Victoria’s technology transfer company.  Julie, working in coordination with other IDC staff, began to work directly with Dr. Buckley to better define the business strategy for his discoveries.  From this work, IDC and Dr. Buckley decided to place the outputs of Dr. Buckley’s work into a start-up company, Protox Therapeutics.

Julie was followed by new WestLink intern Dr. Richard Smith.  Due to Richard’s scientific background and growing business acumen, IDC assigned him almost full-time to further advance the new start-up venture and to identify partners and first stage financing.  At the same time as Richard was working at IDC, fellow intern Charles Abel was completing a placement with Vancouver-based Qwest Emerging Biotech Fund under the mentorship of President Jim Heppell. At a WestLink-hosted event for its interns, Julie, Charles and Richard began to discuss the new IDC start-up company and its need for investment. Upon returning to Qwest, Charles discussed this project with Jim Heppell and then organized a meeting of all the involved parties. This resulted in Qwest making an initial seed investment of $400,000.

Upon graduating from the Internship Program, Charles was hired by Qwest as the Director of Operations and interim CFO for Protox Therapeutics. He went on to assist Protox in the raising of an additional $7 million in private and public financing. Protox issued an IPO in July 2004.
Protox, now a fully established company, raised over $12 million in new investment in 2008. In 2006 the company contacted WestLink to host and mentor a new intern with their management team.

SciMed and Tony Temelli
When Tony Temelli came to Canada 18 years ago he was planning a career as a Chemical Engineer. However, when life and circumstances intervened, Tony embarked on a new path as an entrepreneur and returned to school to obtain a Masters of Engineering and an MBA. With his new degrees in hand, Tony once again decided that a career change was in his future and thus he became a WestLink intern in 2003.

Tony’s final placement as an intern was with the NRC-IRAP office in Edmonton under the mentorship of Dr. Eric Swanson. One of IRAP’s client companies at the time was start-up company SciMed Laboratories Inc., a diagnostic product development company creating analytical products for the nutritional and clinical markets. With the support of IRAP, Tony worked with the company in a hands-on fashion to develop plans for a new product launch.  Upon graduating from the Internship Program, SciMed hired Tony as a Product Manager and Acting Director of Marketing.

After helping SciMed’s early development, Tony joined Alberta Advanced Education and Technology in the role of Manger, Life Sciences Branch and continues to help early stage companies. He is integral to bringing the value of his network and real world experience to this government department.

Diana Shaw
Dr. Diana Shaw is a graduate of the WestLink Internship Program. Upon completion of her internship in 2003, Diana was hired by her last placement host, Edmonton-based Ceapro Inc. as its Manager for Business Development.

“We offered Diana a position to make use of the training that she had received as an intern, as well as the expectation to be able to use her overall training in carrying a project to fruition,” said Mark Redmond, President of Ceapro and BioAlberta Entrepreneur of the Year for 2003.  Ceapro Inc. supplies active ingredients and natural products globally.  Diana’s position responsibilities included managing the development of a new product from inception through to preparation for clinical trials/regulatory compliance then to the development of distribution channels.

“A substantial portion of the credibility of the WestLink Technology Commercialization Internship Program depends upon options secured by the interns after completing the program,” commented Diana.  “Having interns gainfully employed in related fields is of great benefit to the Canadian economy and companies alike. Ceapro, like other biotechnology companies, realizes that there is a requirement for developing and enhancing expertise in biotechnology commercialization and management in the Western provinces.  WestLink interns will ultimately help establish a pool of experienced individuals and develop associated networks. Mentoring companies will reap what they put into developing management expertise.”

Diana is originally from the United Kingdom and came to Canada to complete her educational studies.  “My experience in the WestLink Internship Program completely changed my career path,” Diana said.  “If I had not been part of the WestLink program I would be back in the UK.  Because of it I have stayed in Canada.” Diana recently became a Canadian citizen.

Diana has continued to develop her career by adding experience with the Alberta Research Council.  In early 2007 she joined the in-house business development group of the Craniofacial Osseointegration & Maxillofacial Prosthetic Rehabilitation Unit (COMPRU). Key to her employment with this new business unit is her experience in industry and in the public sector, her awareness of the technology development process and her network of potential collaborators across Western Canada.