Bernie Charlton

For several years, Bernie Charlton spent almost every waking minute working or studying. In Winnipeg while his wife completed her medical residency, Charlton was working at WestLink sponsor Medicure, where he met interns going through the Technology Commercialization Internship Program. After talking to the interns, he became excited about signing on himself.

At the time, Charlton had already earned a Master's in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto and was in the midst of signing up for his MBA, which made him think about the nexus between science and business.

"I ended up working during the day for WestLink and then did my MBA at night," says Charlton, adding that at the time an MBA in Manitoba was reasonably priced, which made his decision to do it that much easier.

Charlton's first placement with WestLink was at the University of Manitoba's Technology Transfer Office. There, he conducted market and intellectual property work-ups on backlogged technology disclosures. He also prepared technical briefings on inventions and learned quickly about the inner workings of a post-secondary institution.

"What was surprising was the political nature of the university," says Charlton. "You always heard it described that way but I had never witnessed it before. I had really good mentoring from Janet Scholz and she taught me a lot."

"I didn't see any licenses issued, but the process is a long one. Ninety per cent of the process is learning how to say no."

Charlton then went to Crocus Investment Fund, a labour-sponsored venture capital fund that went into receivership in 2005. He supported the biotechnology side of the business and was exposed to the practice of valuation as well. The business started to "fall apart" while Charlton was there which was "quite a dramatic experience," he says. "I met some great people and got good mentorship on a variety of topics, but it was also quite educational in terms of how not to do some things."

Charlton finished his internship at Cangene, a biopharmaceutical company based in Winnipeg. During his first eight months, Charlton worked in the Intellectual Property Department, mostly on third-party IP work-ups. Under the tutelage of Ted Kolodka and Nigel Lilley, he learned how to read patents, analyse IP landscapes and better understand the patenting process and the role of IP in business. Having enjoyed working at Cangene so much, Charlton lobbied to turn the position into a job and has been there ever since.

In 2005, he and his wife moved to Toronto, where Cangene also has an office, and Charlton now focuses more on strategic development and investigating business opportunities. The company also sells biodefense products to the United States government, and when a director who usually oversaw such bids left Cangene, Charlton was asked to take responsibility for a large bid. So from February to September 2008, most of his time was devoted to putting together that proposal. "It was a mind-expanding experience," he says. "It was difficult, but I got to work with a variety of great people that I otherwise might never have crossed paths with. When you're working in strategic development, it's largely an intellectual exercise. With this project we mailed eight boxes full of binders to the U.S. government on an incredibly tight timeline—it's a much more tangible experience."

Despite the long hours and hard work he put in to get here, Charlton acknowledges the value of the WestLink program. "I believe in the mission of it and it's important to fill the ranks of technology transfer with talented people," he says. "I've recommended it to close friends and that's the highest compliment you can give."