GlycoSyn. Brilliant minds working for you

Anushka is responsible for working with pharma and biotech companies, particularly in North America, to understand how GlycoSyn’s capabilities can support their research programs.

With a PhD and research background, Anushka knows the ins and outs of scientific research but says working in business development means he has no shortage of exciting challenges to tackle: “I love the interdisciplinary nature of the work, and I think we are really spoiled for talent at GlycoSyn. I get to interact with world-class scientists and  pull from the expertise of the wider Ferrier Research Institute and Callaghan Innovation groups to do everything from GMP development projects, to discovery chemistry, enzymology and synthetic biology, to natural product isolation.”

He is also excited to be working in such a key area for scientific research: “Carbohydrates  are implicated in every major disease process, including cancers, autoimmune disease, rare disease, and bacterial and viral infectivity. We’re looking to address complex problems in complex systems, and so we attract multidisciplinary researchers with diverse backgrounds.”

Before joining Glycosyn, Anushka worked at GlycoNet, a Canada-wide network of researchers and trainees, government laboratories, and industry partners, where he says he gained much of his training and research experience. He  obtained his PhD. from the University of Alberta in 2015 under Professor Todd L. Lowary with a focus on glycobiology and carbohydrate chemistry. He had the opportunity to gain an appreciation for broad, and multidisciplinary research approaches, and the value of networking and collaboration both in – and outside – the lab to see projects through to success.

In his spare time–and especially when traveling–Anushka enjoys discovering unique record shops and hitting the pavement or trails for long runs. Though he is no longer in the lab bench these days, he enjoys applying his chemistry and microbiology lab skills towards brewing beer.

Christian Morales is GlycoSyn’s GSF Team Leader. In his role, Christian is responsible for leading and managing the manufacturing staff to ensure the plant operates smoothly and meets the required outputs for a variety of projects and customers. With over 22 years of experience in manufacturing and quality assurance across various industries including Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, Supplement and Animal Health, Christian brings a wealth of knowledge to the GlycoSyn team. He joined the company nearly two years ago and has since played a vital role in ensuring operational success.

Christian holds an Industrial Engineer degree and a postgraduate diploma in manufacturing management. Prior to joining GlycoSyn, Christian served as Quality Manager for Chitogel, a New Zealand startup company where he helped with the development of their quality management system. He also worked as the Packaging Manager for Vitaco, a well-known supplement manufacturer in New Zealand, and held several positions at Eli Lilly. Additionally, Christian has worked as an auditor for the MPI Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) group.

In his free time, Christian enjoys practicing Iaido, a Japanese sword handling martial art, as well as sculpting and gaming. His diverse range of interests and expertise in manufacturing and quality assurance make him a valuable asset to the GlycoSyn team.

Cliff Hastings is currently the Chief Innovation Expertise Officer for Callaghan Innovation. He is responsible for harnessing the unique innovation expertise at Callaghan Innovation and bringing it together to deliver a unified customer experience.

The customer delivery teams under Cliff’s direction include Biotechnologies, Applied Technologies, Glycosyn, the Measurement Standards Laboratory of New Zealand and our commercialisation group. Cliff also leads the sector-focused solution teams, which include AgriFood, CleanTech, HealthTech and Digital/AI.

Cliff brings more than 20 years of diverse experience working across sectors, including serving as a New Zealand Police Detective, and in senior leadership roles for Fisheries, Health & Safety, Banking and IT.

Cliff joined Callaghan Innovation in 2018 to lead the Electricity, Time & Frequency team within the Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL). Since then, he has taken on various leadership roles across MSL, Health and Safety and Research & Development Solutions.

As one of GlycoSyn’s Principal Process Development Chemists, Dr Derek Watt says every day is different: “We have a wide variety of projects, resulting in many challenges. The result is that the work is continuously engaging.

“Working in process development, you’re taking ideas and turning them into physical manifestations that are of use to our clients, and have the potential to extend the greater good­­—it makes the work not only engaging but worthwhile.”

Dr Watt studied Chemistry at the University of Otago, where he received his PhD in 1995. He says he was drawn to Carbohydrate Chemistry in particular for the way it brings together chemistry and biology.

“Carbohydrates are ubiquitous in biology, and chemistry is a powerful tool for their syntheses and manipulation. In this way, both biology and chemistry can be explored with carbohydrate chemistry.”

Geoff Stinton’s experience in biochemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing environments spans 17 years and includes large and small-scale enzyme, antibody, carbohydrate and pharmaceutical production of ingredients to cGMP standards.

As Senior Facilities Operator at GlycoSyn since 2006, Geoff oversees the company’s modern manufacturing facilities, supervises chemical synthesis of pharmaceuticals to cGMP in contained facilities and directs new high value manufacturing projects.

Geoff has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Microbiology from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and has previously worked for Lonza Biologics and Genzyme Diagnostics in the UK and for other business units of GlycoSyn’s parent company Callaghan Innovation.

Geoff puts his spare time into quality house renovation (‘not your usual DIT type disaster areas’), loves movies with any amount of weirdness in them and enjoys playing poker – for fun rather than fortune.

Helen Quinn is our Quality Assurance Manager responsible for all things Quality. She has over 20 years’ experience in the pharma/biopharma industries and joined GlycoSyn in 2022. Helen is skilled in documentation, change control, deviation management, quality risk management, batch release and audit management.

Helen holds a BSc in Industrial  Biochemistry from the University of Limerick (Ireland) and a Post graduate Diploma in Business from Dublin Business School (Ireland). Before joining GlycoSyn, Helen worked for Multinational Pharma/Biopharma Companies in Irel;and and New Zealand in both Human and Animal Health sectors holding varied roles across Manufacturing, Validation and QA.

After hours, Helen spends a lot of time driving her kids to various sports and drama activities,  catching up with friends & family and spending time with her animals while enjoying the outdoors.

Julia has spent over 25 years working in the Pharma-Biotech space internationally, initially with Corporates such as Eli Lilly (UK) and Genzyme (US). Julia has significant experience evaluating commercial opportunities and executing corporate transactions in the Bio-pharmaceutical sector. She has a proven track record advising and collaborating with senior stakeholders in both major corporates and rapid-growth, early-stage companies. In 2002 she joined Genzyme in the International Business Development group based in Paris. In 2004 she transitioned to the Corporate Development team in Boston, as Senior Director of Commercial Assessment, focusing on the identification and acquisition of external innovation through licensing, partnerships and M&A. Prior to Genzyme, Julia spent six year in various sales and marketing roles with Eli Lilly UK. Julia currently holds a number of Governance and strategic commercial advisory roles with high growth NZ companies in various sectors including biotechnology:

• Chair of the Board of Directors at Humble Bee Ltd – an early stage biomimicry research company working to replace existing, toxic and unsustainable plastics with superior, biologically-inspired materials to improve human health and that of the environment. https://www.humblebee.co.nz/

• Non-executive Director at Kode Biotech Limited – a private New Zealand company established to commercialise and license Kode™ Technology – a multi-functional nanotechnology that offers rapid biosurface modification applicable in virtually every area of the life sciences. https://www.kodebiotech.com/

• Chair of the MedTech Investment Committee for the Return on Science programme and member of the Manwatu Momentum Investment committee – pre-seed investment funds that invest in the commercialisation of technology innovations from publicly funded research.

She also works with a number of business incubators and accelerators in an advisory, investment or mentor-ship capacity. Julia’s professional passions include helping high growth technology companies and innovative businesses to thrive on the global stage and investing in the future of a diversified New Zealand economy – nurturing start-ups and the next generation of world-class entrepreneurs. She is a proponent of calculated strategic risk-taking and tolerance for failure, to drive ambition and support innovation.

Her experience covers early stage/start up venture investing, governance, new technology product development and commercialisation, translational research and development, innovation and high growth strategy, global scale-up and expansion, corporate development; including mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint ventures, coaching and mentoring, talent/team development and strategic planning. Julia also holds an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School (UK) where she was also a longstanding mentor on the Full-time MBA program.

Mike has over 25 years of experience in a range of senior scientific roles in the global pharmaceutical industry, including key positions in Europe, USA and Asia at both CDMOs (Hovione & AMRI) as well as innovator companies (GSK, Anacor, Biosignal).

Mike gained his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Dundee in 1989 and then undertook a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr Richard Haynes at the University of Sydney prior to launching his industrial career in the UK in 1991 at GSK.

Mike’s initial job in industry was with GSK as a process chemist, mainly involved in scale up of developmental APIs from lab scale into the pilot plant and beyond. Mike then moved to Portugal in 1996 to manage Hovione’s pilot plant involved in scale up of R&D chemistry into GMP manufacture. In 1998, Mike joined AMRI in New York, USA as head of small scale GMP manufacturing and subsequently held positions of increasing seniority within the organization. In his role as Vice President of Chemical Development at AMRI, Mike oversaw a team of over 250 chemists and analysts across a number of global sites involved in process development, scale up and GMP manufacture of new chemical entities across the development spectrum from early phase clinical supply to process validation and commercialisation.

Mike also enjoyed stints at small biotech companies from 2008 to 2012, serving as Vice President CMC at Anacor Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for management of external development and manufacturing of its product pipeline, and as CSO at Biosignal, where he managed the internal teams involved in progressing clinical assets.

In 2012, Mike was appointed GM of Hovione’s TTC in New Jersey. During his tenure, the TTC was transformed from a loss-making facility, essentially subsidised by the parent company for five years, into a very profitable site, which it remains to this day. This was achieved by re-positioning the site as a hub for the scale up, development and commercialization of orphan and small volume drugs for US biotech companies and by creating a new organisational culture. Most recently, Mike has served as CSO at New Zealand Pharmaceuticals, with responsibility for advancing their portfolio of novel bile acid compounds.

In 2019, Mike started Strathmore Pharma Consulting to provide process development, scale up, CMC and project management consulting services to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

During his career, Mike has participated in the process development and scale up of in excess of 500 early phase NCEs and is proud to have contributed to the advancement of more than a dozen approved drugs including Viracept, Vyvanse, Vorinostat, Brentuximab, Alogliptin, Belinostat, Enzalutamide, Enfortumab, Tavaborole and Zejula.

Mike also served as a member of the Editorial Board on ACS journal “Organic Process Research and Development” between 2005 and 2017. He also functioned as a Principal Investigator and a Referee for the NIH, reviewing grant proposals from industry and academia between 2012 and 2017.

Dr Paul Benjes is our General Manager and provides leadership through his wealth of scientific and managerial knowledge. He has 20 years of experience as a synthetic organic chemist and originally joined us in 2005 as Process Development Manager. A year later, he became Operations Manager, with responsibility for both chemistry development and GMP manufacturing. In 2008, Paul combined his skill sets into his current leadership role as General Manager, guiding the overall operation of GlycoSyn, our strategic direction, productivity, and profitability.

Paul holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Otago and carried out post-doctoral research at the University of Bristol in England. Before joining GlycoSyn, Paul was a research scientist in the internationally recognised Carbohydrate Chemistry Team at Industrial Research Limited (IRL), helping with contract synthesis and process development for a wide variety of potential drug substances.

“The GlycoSyn business itself is one of my passions. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than positive feedback after we’ve delivered on time, in specification, and on budget.”

After hours, Paul can be found on the golf course, running, or studying the wonders of the night sky.

Dr. Peppi Prasit is the founder and CEO Emeritus of Inception Sciences. Previously, he was the co-founder and chief scientific officer of San Diego-based Amira Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in July 2011.

Dr. Prasit has more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and management serving in various positions with Merck Frosst Canada and more recently at Merck San Diego. During this time, he played a pivotal role in the discovery of multiple marketed drugs. Dr. Prasit received his B.Sc. from UCL, London University, and his Ph.D. from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand under Prof. Robin Ferrier. He served as a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University.

Pete Hodgson has spent most of his life as a practising large and small animal veterinarian in NZ and the UK, as a teacher of senior secondary science and maths, as owner of a small number of small businesses, as an amateur and failed marine biology researcher, and as a member of Parliament for 21 years and Minister for 9 years. His portfolios included science, economic development, tertiary education and health. He began NZVIF [now NZGCP], the pre-seed accelerator process [now kiwinet and return on science], NZ Bio [now part of NZ tech] and a range of other initiatives which contributed to the emerging biotech sector. Since retirement from politics he has spend several years as CE of Otago Innovation, commercialising technology at the University of Otago. He currently serves on the board of two biotech start-ups, and of Otago Innovation. He chairs Callaghan Innovation.

Dr Phillip Rendle holds senior science positions with both GlycoSyn­–as Director, Custom Synthesis–and the Ferrier Research Institute, as Deputy Director.

His history with GlycoSyn started in 2001 when he had a significant role in the large process development/GMP manufacture campaign that saw the organisation increase their capability and equipment—a significant step towards becoming the world-leading organisation they are today.

He is also a founding member of the Ferrier/GlycoSyn joint venture management committee and has served as the committee chair.

In addition to his leadership roles, Phillip is an accomplished scientist with a strong research focus on dendrimers for pharmaceutical use, oligosaccharide synthesis, and diagnostics for mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) diseases. He was drawn to these areas of research for the opportunity to help people live better quality lives.

“Being a chemist, I get to work with great people and do interesting, complex and applied science.

“A highlight of being part of GlycoSyn, with its commercial and contract research focus, is also being able to go on the drug development journey with the client.

“You’re working with some of the world’s best, sorting out their chemistry needs, and on projects with multiple complexities. Being able to successfully deliver projects to the our clients is a very fulfilling part of the work.”

Dr Richard Furneaux is one of New Zealand’s most respected scientists.

His world-renowned team has grown to include 33 research scientists whose achievements include 225 publications, 32 reviews and 13 published patent series. He has been involved with GlycoSyn since its inception, serving as Director Discovery Chemistry.

Richard, who holds a PhD in Chemistry from Victoria University of Wellington, is a fellow of both the Royal Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. In 2006 he was awarded the Hector Medal from the Royal Society for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of carbohydrate chemistry and for achieving world-wide recognition of chemistry and pharmacology in New Zealand.

Nicknamed ‘Disco Inferno’, Richard likes Indie music and can often be found relaxing in a bar where quality live music is playing.

Richard Lauricella has more than 30 years’ experience across a broad spectrum of roles. His research background is in Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Molecular Immunology and Peptide Chemistry, at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL), Parkville, Australia.

He joined Mimotopes, Clayton, Australia headed by Dr. H. Mario Geysen, when it was spun off from CSL. At Mimotopes he held positions of Production manager, Customer Service manager, Sales and Business Development manager.

In 1995, Richard moved to the United States, and lives with his family in Raleigh, North Carolina..

Richard holds Certification in Medical Laboratory Techniques from the Swinburne University of Technology and a Degree in Applied Science (MLS) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is a member of the American Chemical Society.

As a Business Development Manager for GlycoSyn, Richard is committed to helping GlycoSyn expand its brand recognition and financial growth. His role includes increasing awareness of GlycoSyn’ s contract manufacturing capabilities, and establishing new interactions with biotech, pharmaceutical, academic and Government Research Institutes.

Outside of his business activities, Richard enjoys interstate and international travel with his family. He enjoys maintaining the family garden, ever marveling at what can be grown in North Carolina’s heavy red clay “soil”.

Russell heads the analytical quality control laboratory which uses state-of-the-art equipment to analyse all manufacturing stages and monitor product stability for at least two years after manufacture.

Russell holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Keele University in the United Kingdom. He has more than seven years experience working in cGMP/GLP analytical laboratories in the drug substance and drug product fields including a period as a senior scientist for drug development company Aptuit in the UK.

Russell cites Central Otago Pinot Noir wines and mountain tramping as two of the best things about having moved to New Zealand although his football allegiances remain with his home-town team, Crawley Town in the UK.

Sandy Blake is a seasoned logistics professional with over 20 years of experience in the field. She has worked as a Business Support Coordinator and Logistics Team Leader, and has proven herself to be a valuable asset to both our business and culture. “Working in the GlycoSyn team has been like being part of a family.  The science is exciting and I feel we were making a difference in people’s lives.”

Sandy is particularly proud of her work as leader of the logistics team, where she has found a sense of community and fulfillment in the team’s efforts to make a difference in people’s lives through their exciting scientific work. When not at work, Sandy enjoys working on her house and garden, and finding new ways to beautify and improve her living space.

Dr Steven Toms’s research interests are wide-ranging–spanning carbohydrates, dendrimers, peptides, natural products and organometallics–reflecting his interest in exploring new areas of organic chemistry.

It was this interest that has led him to his role at GlycoSyn, where his breadth of expertise is often called upon on for commercial projects ranging from route design and development to the synthesis of an API.

“I enjoy the diversity of the organic chemistry we are involved in at GlycoSyn,” he says. “Although our speciality tends to be projects requiring carbohydrates, a wide range of other targets such as dendrimers, heterocycles, lipids, polymers and nucleotides are commonly requested. What I enjoy most about the work is solving chemistry problems for clients that are passionate about their projects.”

Steven started his research career investigating new methodology for the phosphorylation of alcohols and working toward the total synthesis of macrocycles during his PhD study at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK.

After graduating, he moved to Arizona for a two-year post-doc position with Professor George Pettit (Director, Cancer Research Institute), where he synthesized pro-drugs for prostate cancer. This was followed by another two-year post-doc position, this time with Professor Stephen Davies at the University of Oxford. Steven researched new methodologies for the addition of chiral lithium amides to a variety of acceptors.

After moving to New Zealand, Steven spent several years at the Ferrier Research Institute, a Joint Venture Partner of GlycoSyn, where he carried out commercial and research-based carbohydrate and dendrimer projects. He then joined the GlycoSyn team in 2014.

Dr Tony Davidson is the Business Development Manager for GlycoSyn with responsibilities for our commercial activities and client relationships.

Tony has worked in both non-GMP and cGMP environments to safely produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). His experience also covers the use of kilo-lab equipment, including chromatography, to produce bulk quantities of APIs. In addition, he is familiar with a wide range of analytical techniques.

Tony, who has 15 years experience as a practising researcher, completed his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Otago and is a member of both the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry and the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers.

Gardening takes up some of Tony’s spare time, but he can also be found tinkering with computers and eating lots of tasty carbohydrates.