About Us

OUR STORY

Acasti is a diversified specialty pharma company with unique drug delivery capabilities and technologies to address rare and orphan diseases where there are currently significant unmet medical needs.  The Company’s proprietary formulations and drug delivery technologies are designed to improve clinical outcomes, enhance efficacy, provide faster onset of action, reduce side effects, provide more convenient delivery, and increase patient compliance. 

Acasti is initially targeting three underserved orphan diseases - Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH), Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T), and Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN) – all with sizable patient populations and significant market opportunity. 

Acasti’s lead assets have been granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) status, with potential for 7-year US and 10-year EU market exclusivity.  The Company’s development strategy focuses on reformulating and repurposing already approved and marketed compounds for which the safety and clinical efficacy is already well understood. This strategy allows the Company to pursue the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for its three lead drug candidates, and could eliminate the need to conduct certain preclinical and clinical studies, resulting in the potential for a lower-risk, lower-cost and faster pathway to drug development and commercialization.

 

The Company has a strong and growing IP portfolio with more than 40 granted and pending patents worldwide provide exclusivity beyond 2036.

Management

Jan D'Alvise

Jan D'Alvise
President and CEO

Ms. D'Alvise has extensive experience the life science industry, having held executive positions in companies commercializing pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, and drug discovery research tools. Prior to joining Acasti in mid-2016, Ms. D'Alvise was the President and Chairman of Pediatric Bioscience. Before that, she was the CEO of Gish Biomedical, a cardiopulmonary medical device company. Prior to Gish, Ms. D'Alvise was the CEO of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC), a drug discovery research institute, the Co-Founder/President/CEO/Chairman of NuGEN, Inc., and the Co-Founder and Executive VP/COO of Metrika Inc. Ms. D'Alvise built NuGEN and Metrika from technology concept through to successful regulatory approvals, product introduction and sustainable revenue growth. Prior to her experience as an entrepreneur, Ms. D'Alvise held the positions of VP of Drug Development at Syntex/Roche and Business Unit Director of their Global Pain and Inflammation business, and VP of Commercial Operations at SYVA (Syntex's clinical diagnostics division). She began her career with Diagnostic Products Corporation where she ran global sales, marketing and service. Ms. D'Alvise has a B.S. in Biochemistry from Michigan Technological University. She has completed post-graduate work at the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the Wharton Business Schools. Ms. D'Alvise is currently on the board of Spectral Medical (EDT.TO), a late stage theranostic company advancing therapeutic options for sepsis and septic shock, as well as the commercialization of a new proprietary platform targeting the renal replacement therapy market, and The ObG Project, a private digital media company delivering real-time medical information to physicians. She has previously served on the boards of numerous private companies and non-profits.

Pierre Lemieux, Ph.D.

Pierre Lemieux, Ph.D.
Chief Operating and Scientific Officer, Co-Founder

Dr. Lemieux has been our Chief Operating Officer since April 2010 and was named Chief Scientific Officer in July 2018. Previously, Dr. Lemieux was CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman of BiolActis Inc. which he sold in 2009 to interests affiliated with the Nestlé multinational group. Dr. Lemieux joined Suprateck Pharma in 1999 as Director and Vice-President involved in the development of formulations for gene therapy on behalf of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Genzyme, which today are under the Sanofi banner. Prior to this, Dr. Lemieux was involved in the development of cardiovascular products at Angiotech Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Lemieux has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Université Laval (Québec). He holds 16 patents and has authored over 50 publications. Dr. Lemieux's research was conducted at Université Laval as well as at the anti-cancer center Paul Papin D'Angers (France) and the University of Nottingham (England). His research focused on ovarian cancer and its treatment with monoclonal antibodies used to target cancer drugs. After completing his graduate studies, Dr. Lemieux joined the Oncology division of the Center for Health Research, University of Texas (U.S.). He obtained a postdoctoral fellowship from the Susan G. Komen Foundation (Breast Cancer). Dr. Lemieux has served on the boards of BioQuébec, Montreal in vivo and PharmaBio Development.

Brian D. Ford, CPA-CA

Brian D. Ford, CPA-CA
Chief Financial Officer

Brian D. Ford brings over three decades of financial, project management and M&A experience within the healthcare and financial industries. Mr. Ford is an accomplished CPA-CA having served both publicly traded as well as privately owned organizations. Mr. Ford has been responsible for developing business recovery strategies, negotiating M&A transactions, as well as managing quarterly and yearly accounting reports. Most recently, Mr. Ford served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Business Advisor at a private group of Ontario based medical clinics, including the largest chronic pain management practice in Canada. During his position as CFO and Senior Business Advisor, Mr. Ford significantly improved the Company’s performance and was instrumental in preparing the Company for its Initial Public Offering. Prior to that, Mr. Ford served as Chief Financial Officer at Telesta Therapeutics. At Telesta Therapeutics, Mr. Ford helped develop a new business plan and was heavily involved in all capital transactions. Previously, Mr. Ford started his own consulting firm, Petersford Consulting, where he provided clients with finance and business risk services. Mr. Ford began his career at Ernst & Young, working his way to Principal, Business Risk Services, developing essential business plans that evaluated revenue and cost profiles supporting budget planning and understanding drivers of growth, specifically with healthcare companies. Additionally, at Ernst & Young, Mr. Ford participated in and often led teams in due diligence assignments in relation to mergers and acquisitions or the sale of a business, having extensive experience in developing financial forecasts, product and market valuation, and audits of critical accounting and processes. Mr. Ford holds a B.A. in Economics, History, and English from the University of Guelph and has a Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of McGill. Mr. Ford is a member of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants.

George Kottayil

George Kottayil
Chief Operating Officer US

Mr. George Kottayil has spent over 20 years at prominent life science companies. Most recently, Mr. Kottayil was a co-founder and served as CEO of Grace Therapeutics, prior to its acquisition by Acasti in August 2021.  Previously, Mr. George Kottayil was a co-founder and president of Insys Therapeutics, Inc. and principal inventor of SUBSYS®, a sublingual fentanyl spray for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain, which generated annual revenue of approximately $250 million during the fiscal year ended 2015. He has previously held senior positions at Unimed Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was later acquired by Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which in turn was acquired by AbbVie Inc. He has held key roles in product development and obtaining FDA approval for ANDROGEL®, which generated annual revenue of approximately $1.15 billion during the fiscal year ended 2012, as well as formulating and executing a strategy that resulted in down-scheduling of the controlled prescription drug MARINOL® by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

Prashant Kohli

Prashant Kohli
Chief Commercial Officer

Prashant Kohli has over 20 years of commercialization experience leading strategy, sales, marketing, and product management. Most recently, Mr. Kohli was VP, Commercial Operations of Grace Therapeutics, prior to its acquisition by Acasti in August 2021.  He has expertise crafting go-to-market plans for products with unique value proposition that address critical unmet needs. He has built, deployed, and led sales and marketing from the ground-up with significant experience in organization design, recruiting, performance management, incentive compensation, and P&L accountability. He has successfully implemented evidence-based, consultative-selling model that is rooted in deep understanding of the health ecosystem including patients, providers, health systems, government, and payers. He has also designed strategic marketing plans that generate leads and increase share-of-voice, augmenting the salesforce with digital tactics that increase reach and frequency. He has extensive commercial experience with specialty and small molecule drugs including in rare and orphan diseases. Prashant has worked at Archi-Tech Systems, Cardinal Health, IMS Health, Rosenbluth, and Dun & Bradstreet. He has a BA in Computer Science and Math, and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Yves Lachance, Ph.D.

Yves Lachance, Ph.D.
VP, Quality & Compliance

Dr. Lachance was named Vice-President Quality & Compliance in September 2021, bringing strength in regulatory, quality, and compliance to the management team. Previously, Dr. Lachance was Co-founder and VP Product Development and Regulatory Affairs at diaMentis, a private company developing a simple and reliable solution in personalised medicine for clinical use. He has also served as a consultant and advisor with various pharmaceutical, cosmetic, natural healthcare products and medical devices companies, collaborating on a range of projects from product development to commercialization and including compliance and regulatory strategies. Prior to that, Dr. Lachance held increasingly more responsible positions in quality control, CMC and process development, regulatory affairs and quality assurance at Aeterna Zentaris. Dr. Lachance holds a B.Sc. in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in molecular endocrinology from Laval University and did a postdoctoral fellowship at Sherbrooke University in collaboration with the Canadian Department of Agriculture. His research focused on the isolation, cloning and characterization of complementary DNAs (cDNA) and genes of the main enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of all class of hormonal steroids, namely the Human 3 beta- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4-isomerase type I and Type II, Human 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type I and Type II and Human type II 5 α-reductase.

Monique Champagne, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Monique Champagne, B.Pharm., M.Sc.
VP, Clinical Affairs

Monique Champagne is a professional with over 30 years of experience with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clinical research organizations. She has deep experience and knowledge of the regulatory landscape and regulations for global product development (drugs, biologics, medical devices). A creative and hands-on leader and manager, Monique has extensive practical experience and expertise in all phases of product development, in clinical development and global project management in various therapeutic areas, clinical operations management, regulatory affairs and strategic planning, integration and improvement of operational processes, as well as in managing international projects and professional relations with business partners. She has a proven track record of successfully leading international teams and managing complex and challenging clinical programs within set timelines and budgets.

Prior executive positions held by Ms. Champagne include VP, Project Management at Innovaderm Research Inc., VP, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs at Aifred Health Inc., President & CEO at Ilkos Therapeutic Inc. and VP, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs at Telesta Therapeutics.

Christine Pelletier, CHRP / SHRM-SCP

Christine Pelletier, CHRP / SHRM-SCP
Senior Director, Human Resources

Christine is a certified HR professional with over 20 years of experience in Human Resources. She has good knowledge of both US and Canadian provincial / state and federal laws and has extensive experience in significant business growth as well as due diligence and acquisitions.

She launched and managed HR services in both US and Canada and has practical and hands on experience with all HR aspects. She has a proven track record of leading successful HR teams, and she has a significant interest in improving and implementing HR practices to meet strategic goals while focusing on employees well being and quality of life at work.

Prior executive positions held by Ms. Pelletier include Director of Human Resources at Charles River Laboratories and Senior Director of Human Resources at Citoxlab.

Board of Directors

Jan D'Alvise

President and CEO

Ms. D'Alvise has extensive experience the life science industry, having held executive positions in companies commercializing pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, and drug discovery research tools. Prior to joining Acasti in mid-2016, Ms. D'Alvise was the President and Chairman of Pediatric Bioscience. Before that, she was the CEO of Gish Biomedical, a cardiopulmonary medical device company. Prior to Gish, Ms. D'Alvise was the CEO of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC), a drug discovery research institute, the Co-Founder/President/CEO/Chairman of NuGEN, Inc., and the Co-Founder and Executive VP/COO of Metrika Inc. Ms. D'Alvise built NuGEN and Metrika from technology concept through to successful regulatory approvals, product introduction and sustainable revenue growth. Prior to her experience as an entrepreneur, Ms. D'Alvise held the positions of VP of Drug Development at Syntex/Roche and Business Unit Director of their Global Pain and Inflammation business, and VP of Commercial Operations at SYVA (Syntex's clinical diagnostics division). She began her career with Diagnostic Products Corporation where she ran global sales, marketing and service. Ms. D'Alvise has a B.S. in Biochemistry from Michigan Technological University. She has completed post-graduate work at the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the Wharton Business Schools. Ms. D'Alvise is currently on the board of Spectral Medical (EDT.TO), a late stage theranostic company advancing therapeutic options for sepsis and septic shock, as well as the commercialization of a new proprietary platform targeting the renal replacement therapy market, and The ObG Project, a private digital media company delivering real-time medical information to physicians. She has previously served on the boards of numerous private companies and non-profits.

John Canan

Director

Mr. Canan is an accomplished business executive with over 34 years of strategic, business development and financial leadership experience. Mr. Canan recently retired from Merck & Co., Inc. where his last senior position was as Senior Vice-President, Global Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer for Merck from November 2009 to March 2014. He has managed all interactions with the audit committee of the Merck board of directors, while participating extensively with the main board and the compensation & benefits committee. Mr. Canan serves as a director of REV Group, a public company, where he chairs the audit committee. Mr. Canan also provides consulting services to Willow BioPharma, a Canadian start-up, engaged in the acquisition and development of legacy pharmaceutical assets. He also serves on the board of trustees of Angkor Hospital for Children, where he also chairs the audit & risk committee. Mr. Canan is a graduate of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and is a Canadian Chartered Accountant.

Donald Olds

Director

Mr. Olds is President and Chief Executive Officer of the NEOMED Institute, an R&D organization dedicated to advancing Canadian research discoveries to commercial success. Prior to NEOMED, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Telesta Therapeutics Inc., a TSX-listed biotechnology company. In 2016, he led the successful sale of Telesta to a larger public biotechnology company. Prior to Telesta, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Presagia Corp., and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Aegera Therapeutics. At both Telesta and Aegera, Mr. Olds was responsible for raising more than $100 million in equity financing and leading regional and global licensing transactions with life sciences companies.

Mr. Olds is currently Lead Director of Goodfood Market Corp (TSX:FOOD), Chairman of Oxfam Quebec and Director of Presagia Corp. He has extensive past corporate governance experience serving on the boards of private and public for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. He holds an MBA (Finance & Strategy) and M.Sc. (Renewable Resources) from McGill University.

Vimal Kavuru, RPh

Director

Mr. Kavuru has created and led several pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Kavuru brings, in his vision and management, a broad-based understanding of the global pharmaceutical industry with expertise in strategic planning, product and business development, and operations. In addition to serving as the Chairman of the Grace board of directors, Mr. Kavuru is the founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc., a U.S. generic pharmaceutical company, and Acetris Pharma Holdings, LLC, a generic pharmaceutical company serving U.S. government agencies. Previously, Mr. Kavuru founded Citron Pharma & Lucid Pharma, which were sold to Aceto Corporation in 2016, Casper Pharma LLC, an emerging specialty brand pharmaceutical company, and Gen-Source RX, a national distributor of generic pharmaceuticals that was acquired by Cardinal in 2014. In 2007, Mr. Kavuru also co-founded Celon Labs, a specialty oncology and critical care pharmaceutical company acquired by Zanzibar Pharma, a portfolio company of CDC Group. He is a registered pharmacist in the state of New York, holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from HKE College of Pharmacy, Bulgarga, India, and attended Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York with specialization in industrial pharmacy.

Michael L. Derby

Director

Mr. Derby brings more than two decades of experience and a proven track record within the biopharmaceutical industry, with particular expertise in strategic drug repurposing. Having founded or co-founded seven biopharmaceutical companies, he most recently launched TardiMed Sciences LLC, a company creation and investment firm in the life sciences. TardiMed has formed, capitalized and advanced multiple biopharmaceutical companies through development, including Timber Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: TMBR), PaxMedica, Inc. and Visiox Pharma LLC. Mr. Derby has served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for all of these companies. Prior to TardiMed, Mr. Derby co-founded Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals, which he built into a multi-product, late clinical stage company focused on treating rare and debilitating dermatologic conditions. He also founded Norphan Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of drugs for orphan neurologic disease, which he led through its early stages prior to selling the company to Marathon Pharmaceuticals in 2013. Prior to founding and managing life sciences companies, Mr. Derby was a private equity investor and venture capitalist, and also worked in management roles at Merck & Co. and Forest Laboratories. Mr. Derby holds an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, an M.S. from the University of Rochester, and a B.S. from Johns Hopkins University.

Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

Dariush Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, Dean and Jean Mayer Professor at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and Professor of Medicine at Tufts Medical School. As one of the top nutrition institutions in the world, the Friedman School's mission is to produce trusted science, future leaders, and real-world impact. Dr. Mozaffarian has authored nearly 400 scientific publications on dietary priorities for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, and on evidence-based policy approaches to reduce these burdens in the US and globally. He has served in numerous advisory roles including for the US and Canadian governments, American Heart Association, World Health Organization, and United Nations. His work has been featured in a wide array of media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and Time Magazine. In 2016, Thomson Reuters named him as one of the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds. Dr. Mozaffarian received a BS in biological sciences at Stanford (Phi Beta Kappa), MD at Columbia (Alpha Omega Alpha), residency training in internal medicine at Stanford, and fellowship training in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Washington. He also received an MPH from the University of Washington and a Doctorate in Public Health from Harvard. Before being appointed as Dean at Tufts in 2014, Dr. Mozaffarian was at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health for a decade and clinically active in cardiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is married, has three children, and actively trains as a Taekwondo Black Belt (third degree). The Friedman School pursues cutting-edge research and education across five Divisions, several centers, and multiple academic programs. Areas of focus range from cell to society, including: molecular nutrition, human metabolism and clinical trials, nutrition data science, behavior change, community and organizational interventions, media and communication, agriculture, food systems, and sustainability, hunger and food security, humanitarian crises, and food economics and policy. Friedman School graduates are leaders in academics, US and international government, policy, advocacy, industry, public health, community service, and innovation and entrepreneurship. The School's unique breadth, engagement with the world, and entrepreneurial spirit make it a leading institution for nutrition education, research, and public impact.

Dr. Andrew Ducruet, MD

Barrow Neuroscience

Andrew Ducruet, MD, is an endovascular neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Ducruet’s practice is focused on the use of minimally invasive endovascular techniques to treat patients with vascular disease of the brain and spinal cord. He is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery.

Dr. Ducruet attended Princeton University and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in chemistry. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City and also completed his residency in neurosurgery at Columbia University Medical Center. He then completed a two-year postgraduate fellowship in endovascular neurosurgery at Barrow. Dr. Ducruet practiced for three years as an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to Barrow in 2016, where he has continued his highly-specialized practice of neuroendovascular surgery.  He currently serves as the surgical director of the BNI Intensive Care Unit, and the Associate Program Director for the Neuroendovascular Surgery fellowship at the BNI.

Dr. Ducruet’s research focuses on ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. His laboratory performs basic and translational research using experimental models of cerebral ischemia, with the ultimate goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies for patients with stroke. Dr. Ducruet also performs clinical research and has served as a principal investigator of multiple clinical trials investigating new strategies for stroke treatment.

Dr. R. Loch Macdonald, MD, PhD

Community Health Partners

Dr. Macdonald is Attending Neurosurgeon and Director of Neuroscience Research, Community Neurosciences Institute and Community Health Partners, Fresno, California. He is an authority on subarachnoid hemorrhage, being the most cited person in the world in the field. He was Head, Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto Canada and Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto from 2007 – 2019. Prior to that, he was Professor of Surgery, University of Chicago (1993 – 2006). He cofounded Edge Therapeutics in 2009 and was Chief Scientific Officer until 2017. Edge was a publically-traded biotechnology company that developed drugs for treatment of acute brain injuries.

For the past 33 years, he has conducted clinical and translational research on the pathophysiology and treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage, chronic subdural hematoma and vascular instability in cavernous malformations and brain microbleeding. He has written over 320 peer-reviewed publications, 97 book chapters, 10 books, and about 580 reviews, editorials and other published papers and has or has had grant funding from National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, Canadian Institutes for Health Research and others.

Dr. Alex Choi, MD

Memorial Hermann Hospital

Dr. Alex Choi is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at UTHealth Houston/ McGovern Medical School. He is Director of Neurocritical Care at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The neurocritical care program at Memorial Hermann is one of largest and busiest in the country with 77 dedicated neurocritical care beds across 3 hospitals in the city of Houston.

Dr. Choi attended Cornell University, Ithaca, NY and graduated with a degree in Neurobiology. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City and completed his residency in neurology at Columbia University Medical Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He then completed a three-year neurocritical care fellowship in Columbia University Medical Center where he was on a T32 training grant to study cardiopulmonary consequences of SAH.

Dr. Choi’s primary research focus has been the study of pathophysiological processes after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and the development of interventional treatments to improve patient lives after this devastating disease. To that end, he has conducted several clinical trials to examine the potential for therapeutic interventions after SAH. Most of his research is in the realm of clinical translational research. He focuses on using translational and bioinformatics tools to study the clinical pathophysiologic processes seen at the bedside.