Dr Michael Thurn (Managing Director & CEO)
Dr Michael Thurn brings broad experience in drug discovery, development, regulation and commercialisation, acquired through leadership roles in research organisations and industry, including early stage, fast-growing, private and publicly listed biotechnology companies. His previous responsibilities have included leading a variety of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational New Drug (IND) applications across a range of therapeutic areas and the evaluation of drugs and vaccines for registration in Australia as a part of the Drug Safety Evaluation Branch (DSEB) of the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA).
Dr Thurn has also been responsible for the execution of Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials and business development activities across animal and human health products. He possesses strong entrepreneurial, leadership and management skills that have seen him achieve outstanding results over a 25-year career in the biotechnology industry, including co-founding MARP Therapeutics and roles with Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:BOT), Mimetica, Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, Cytopia, Xenome and Novogen. During this time, Dr Thurn has gained Australian and US capital markets exposure and has successfully accessed funding through private and public channels, partnerships, and non-dilutive means.
Mr John Clark (Chief Operating Officer)
John Clark joined PharmAust with over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in phase I – IV clinical trials across numerous therapeutic areas and multiple geographical regions. Most recently, John served as Senior Project Manager at a Global CRO, leading the Clinical Operations team and providing cross-functional oversight on a national CNS trial. Before that, John held various clinical operations leadership roles responsible for implementing clinical programs. John has a proven project management and stakeholder engagement record, with a thorough knowledge of ICH-GCP and regulatory requirements. John earned his B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of the West of England.
Dr Nicky Wallis (Chief Scientific Officer)
Dr Wallis is a neuroscientist and brings over 12 years of global expertise in clinical development, spanning pre-clinical through to Phase 3 drug and device development. She has a proven track record in managing multi-site, international clinical studies across the US, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with a strong focus on regulatory submissions and compliance, cross-functional collaboration, and vendor management.
Prior to joining PharmAust, Dr Wallis provided clinical development consulting services to both private and public biotechnology companies in Australia, with a focus on central nervous system diseases. Her extensive experience includes roles such as Clinical Trials Program Specialist at the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance, Vice President of Clinical Operations at Lateral Pharma Biotech, and Clinical Project Manager at Orygen Youth Mental Health Research.
Dr Wallis holds a PhD from The University of Melbourne/The Florey, where her research focused on understanding the pathogenesis of MND/ALS and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Dr Herbert Brinkman (Head of Manufacturing)
Dr Herbert Brinkman, based in Denver, Colorado, has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Brinkman has prepared over 25 Chemistry Manufacturing and Control (CMC) sections and updates for multiple Investigational New Drug (IND), New Drug Application (NDA), supplementary NDA (sNDA), Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier (IMPD), and Abbreviated NDA (ANDA) filings for United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European regulatory agencies. Dr Brinkman has filed and commercially launched nine products encompassing oncology, metabolic, dermatology, and endocrinology therapeutic areas and contributed to filing 21 ANDAs for various semi-solid and parenteral products. He is also an inventor on 14 patents. His expertise includes current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) systems applied to API manufacture / Drug Product manufacture and addressing regulatory issues. Dr Brinkman’s previous position was Executive Director of Product Development at NASDAQ-listed company Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQT), where he was responsible for the successful commercial launch of ZORYVE (roflumilast).
Dr Carol Worth (CMC Operations Manager)
Dr Carol Worth brings over 30 years of industry experience and a passion for focusing on quality control and quality assurance. She recently served as Quality Manager at Epichem Pty Ltd as chief Technical Officer at Suda Pharmaceuticals and Solbec Pharmaceuticals. Carol has also led product development programs at Thermalife International Pty Ltd/ Pharmasolv Laboratories Pty Ltd.
Paul Field (Business Development Advisor)
Paul Field is assisting PharmAust with its partnering campaign for monepantel. He brings over 30 years of business development experience across a range of therapeutic areas, including neurodegenerative diseases, and he maintains a deep network in the global biopharmaceutical industry. His experience includes business development roles at Cerecin, Marinova, BioCurate and other companies, and he serves on the Boards of NASDAQ-listed 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals and Wintermute Biomedical. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD). Paul is a member of the investment committee at the Horizon 3 Healthcare Fund in Melbourne. Previously, he was the life sciences specialist at Austrade, the Australian Government’s investment promotion agency, where he facilitated foreign direct investment into Australian research in CNS disorders, infectious diseases, cancer, and other therapeutic areas.