Corporate Overview
Management Team
Andrew J. Rae, MBA – President, CEO and Director
Mr. Rae is currently President and CEO of iCo Therapeutics, Inc., an ocular development company he co-founded in 2005. Andrew has spent a decade in the biotechnology industry, formerly as CFO with Ability Biomedical Corporation (Irvine CA, Vancouver BC), acquired by Medarex, Inc. in 2004. Mr. Rae has also served as Vice President, Finance & Corporate Affairs at Active Pass Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver BC). Mr. Rae has raised approximately $25M in venture financing, engaged in a successful cross-border M&A transaction, and played a significant role in shaping multiple business development deals (Cambridge Antibody, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Medarex). Prior to his operational experiences, Mr. Rae served as Biotechnology Equities Analyst, Goepel Shields & Partners (now Raymond James Canada), covering Canadian biotechnology stocks including Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, QLT Inc. and ID Biomedical.
Mr. Rae currently sits on the Dean’s External Advisory Board for the Faculty of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University and the Board of Directors of Covenant House Vancouver, a charity operating shelters and counsel to homeless youth in Vancouver, BC. He previously served on the Board of Directors (including Audit, Nomination and Governance Committees) for Liponex Inc., a Canadian, TSE-listed biopharmaceutical research company. Mr. Rae’s degrees include a B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Simon Fraser University.
John G. Clement, PhD – Chief Technical & Development Officer and Director
Dr. Clement possesses over twenty years of experience in preclinical and clinical drug development, project management, and product acquisition. Prior to co-founding iCo Therapeutics Dr. Clement served as Director, Business Development at QLT Inc., one of Canada’s largest biotechnology companies and developer of Visudyne®, the first product used to treat age-related macular degeneration. Dr. Clement has also served as Director, Extramural Research / Associate Director, Biochemical Pharmacology & Toxicology at Biochem Pharma Inc., known as the pioneer of the AIDS drug 3TC. He was also research scientist & manager with Department of National Defence (DND) and a Research Scientist with CIBA-Geigy Canada Ltd. During his tenure with DND he held various scientific leadership / management positions and was responsible for the development of a new antidote for nerve agent poisoning (HI-6). He holds a PhD from the University of Western Ontario and has published over 60 scientific articles.
Dr. Peter Hnik, MD, MHSc – Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Hnik received his medical degree from the Medical Faculty of Charles University of Prague in 1981. After practicing for years at the Eye Clinic of the Charles University Hospital where he performed surgery and consultation in glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmology, Dr. Hnik later joined the Eye Clinic of the University of British Columbia as part of the glaucoma research group. He received his Master of Health Sciences degree from the University of British Columbia in 1999. Prior to joining iCo Therapeutics, Dr. Hnik served as Associate Director of Clinical Research with QLT Inc., playing a critical role in designing and directing Visudyne clinical trials in AMD and diabetic retinopathy. He was also heavily involved in the publication, in-licensing and pharmacovigilance activities for Visudyne. He has authored numerous ocular publications and presentations at international forums. Dr. Hnik is a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA), the Drug Information Association (DIA), and the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS).
W. John Meekison, BA, CIM – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Meekison is a veteran investment banker specializing in life sciences at Loewen Ondaatje McCutcheon, Haywood Securities, Dlouhy Merchant and PI Securities. As a financier, Mr. Meekison has raised equity capital for various biotechnology companies such as StressGen Biotechnologies, ID Biomedical, Acorda Therapeutics, Inex Pharmaceuticals, Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Nortran Pharmaceuticals (now Cardiome) and BioMS Medical Corp. As CFO for a TSE listed company developing a novel clinical diagnostic platform, Mr. Meekison supervised all public reporting functions, human resources, accounting and budgeting, raising equity capital, renegotiating the Company’s existing line of credit, reviewing corporate strategy, and led M&A discussions. Mr. Meekison received his BA from the University of British Columbia and is a Certified Investment Manager.
Santa Jeremy Ono, PhD – Chief Scientific Officer
Professor Ono, a leading authority in the fields of immunology and ophthalmology, joined iCo Therapeutics in July 2005 as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Ono also holds a university appointment as Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and Deputy to the Provost at Emory University. He most recently served as the Cumberlege Professor of Biomedical Science and later as the GlaxoSmithKline Professor of Ocular Immunology at the University College London from 2001 to 2006 where he was the Chair of Immunology, UCL-Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital (the world’s first and largest eye research and treatment centre). Past appointments include Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pathology & Biology at Johns Hopkins University, and Associate Professor & Director of the Immunity, Inflammation and Transplantation Group at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School.
Professor Ono has directed multiple research and development programs, many of which have been in partnership with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Professor Ono received degrees from the University of Chicago (BA) and McGill University (PhD) and was a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow at Harvard University. He serves on many editorial boards, is involved with numerous professional societies and associations, and has more than eighty publications to his credit. Among his many honors, he was elected International Fellow of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, and received the Pharmacia International Award in Allergy Research.

