Chairman and CEO - MJ Acharya

Mahen (Mike) J. Acharya is the founder, Chairman and CEO of SteriMax Pharmaceuticals Inc. Mr. Acharya was born in Nairobi, Kenya where he completed his Secondary education at the Duke of Gloucester School and obtained a degree in Bachelors of Pharmacy at the University of Bath, one of UK's leading teaching universities.

Since his graduation in 1973 and subsequent immigration to Canada, Mr. Acharya has been a leading entrepreneur in the Canadian pharmaceutical industry for over three decades-first as the founder and operator of a successful chain of retail pharmacies in Ontario under the banner Super Discount Drugs, which were subsequently divested to Shoppers Drug Mart in the 80's. He then recognized an unsatisfied need in the drug distribution business for a regional wholesaler who could provide drug products and other services to local independent pharmacies inadequately serviced by the large national wholesalers. He started Trent Drug (Wholesale) Ltd. with a philosophy to provide pharmacies, small and large a high-value, low-cost individualized service. Over the next 20 years, the company grew from the basement of a pharmacy to become the 3rd largest National drug wholesaler in Canada, operating 7 distribution centres from coast to coast. As head of Trent Drug (Wholesale) Ltd., Mr. Acharya worked closely with generic and branded companies to facilitate their sales process and product initiatives and pioneered many innovative concepts in distribution logistics including the introduction of prompt payment discounts to good customers. During this period Mr. Acharya actively served on the Board of Directors of Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM) responsible for 80% of all distribution of pharmaceuticals in Canada and became its longest serving Board member.

In 2005, M.J. Acharya divested Trent Drug (Wholesale) Ltd. to AmerisourceBergen, a top Fortune "50" company with revenues of over $50 billion and one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution companies in the world. In the 90's, while Trent was still operating, M.J. Acharya, once again recognized an unmet need for a pharmaceutical company that can specialize in the production, marketing and distribution of niche, small volume parenteral products with a strong focus on customer service. Through a series of strategic alliances, he was able to gain a foothold in the Canadian hospital market, initially distributing an injectable product line as well as a small oral dosage line. In 2004, SteriMax solidified its position in the marketplace by acquiring 5 branded products from Novartis. Under M.J. Acharya's vision and leadership SteriMax is poised for continued growth and success with a robust product pipeline, an in-house management team with expertise in research and development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing, business development and sales and distribution and a mission to become Canada's premier pharmaceutical company for evidence-based medicines to hospital and retail pharmacies.

When not pursuing his passionate vision of SteriMax, Mr. Acharya is an avid golfer and tennis player and belongs to four golf clubs in Canada and the USA. He is also a philanthropist and has been a longstanding supporter of the Kingston General Hospital as well as strong supporter of the Grand Theatre (one of the main cultural venues in the greater Kingston region) and many other charitable foundations during his tenure in Kingston.

President and Chief Operating Officer- Gregory Ellis

With over 20 years in the Canadian Pharmaceutical industry, Greg is an accomplished executive with a broad background in Finance, Commercial Operations and General Management. His career has enabled a solid foundation in finance, manufacturing, strategic planning, sales and marketing. He has held a variety of leadership positions in multi-national organizations, large and small, consistently advancing the success of those organizations and the teams that contributed to those accomplishments.

Prior to joining Sterimax Inc., Greg was the President of Basilea Pharmaceutical Corporation, the Canadian affiliate of a Swiss Biopharmaceutical company that was focused on the launch of a small portfolio of Infectious Disease and Dermatological products. Prior to this endeavor, he enjoyed over 15 years with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, in Canada, where his last position was that of Vice President, Sales & Marketing Operations.

Greg joined the, then, Lederle Pharmaceuticals Division of Wyeth in 1992 as Director of Finance where, except for a stint as Corporate Treasurer, the focus was on leading the Forecasting, Planning and Analysis (FPA) activities. The role also involved advancing the financial systems and embedding a financial discipline within the consistently growing commercial and manufacturing operations. 

In 2000, Greg shifted into the commercial side of Wyeth and started in the role of Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development. After leading strategic projects related to Sales Force Automation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Distribution, he moved into a Senior Sales Management position, leading a large sales force, promoting market leading brands in Central Nervous System (CNS) and Contraception. The array of challenging experiences culminated in Greg's appointment to the position of Vice President, Sales and Marketing Operations, and a position on the Management Committee of Wyeth Canada. In this position, Greg lead a multi-functional team with expertise in the areas of Continuing Health Education, Training & Development, Market Research, Field Force Automation and Business Alignment.

Greg is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto.

Executive Vice President- Samir Acharya

Samir Acharya holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Queen's University in Canada where he graduated in 2001.

After a 14 month stint at Hoffman LaRoche in Switzerland performing cancer research Samir Acharya joined Trent Drugs (Wholesale Ltd). He started the hospital distribution arm of Trent (divested to AmerisourceBergen) where he negotiated distribution agreements with tier 1 manufacturers, group purchasing organizations and hospitals. Samir was promoted to increasingly senior management positions during his tenure at Trent/AmerisourceBergen Canada. Before joining SteriMax his role was as the Vice President, Health Systems where he managed a team of five and grew the hospital business from the ground floor to over $30M/year.

Samir made a decision to leave the drug distribution business in 2006 and joined SteriMax as the Executive Vice President where his responsibilities include business development, management of key stakeholders, operations and sales.