OUR TEAM

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Positioned to be a global leader in psychedelic-based products.

Xpira’s team is comprised of leaders in North America and Europe with proven track-records and deep understanding of the pharmaceutical development pathways in restricted regulatory environments of controlled substances.

Committed to provide solutions for those patients who have not responded to conventional treatments,  Xpira’s scientific team includes experts at the forefront of psychiatry who understand the  complexity of certain psychiatric disorders.

Management Team

Vanesa Fernandez, Ph.D

CEO & DirectorVanesa Fernandez, Ph.D

Vanesa Fernandez, Ph.D., provides over 20 years of experience and profound knowledge in product development, clinical programs, IP protection, and in the regulatory field.  Dr. Fernandez is the former CEO of Echo Pharmaceuticals BV (“Echo”), a pioneer-company in the regulated cannabis industry.

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Nick Wong

President & DirectorNick Wong

Nick Wong is an intellectual property (“IP”) lawyer with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, in the areas of legal, regulatory and scientific R&D.  Mr. Wong’s legal practice combines extensive experience in strategic IP portfolio development and IP litigation

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 Allan Wakefield

CFO Allan Wakefield

Allan Wakefield is a veteran board member, President, strategist and financial officer of multiple international businesses. With a BA from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, Mr. Wakefield has worked in Silicon Valley, Canada and New Zealand and with projects in Russia and Brazil.

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Allan S. Kaplan, MD, MSc, FRCPC

VP of Clinical DevelopmentAllan S. Kaplan, MD, MSc, FRCPC

Dr. Allan Kaplan is currently a Senior Clinician/Scientist at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

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Board of Directors

Jaiveer Singh

ChairmanJaiveer Singh

Jaiveer Singh is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Mint Pharmaceuticals. Under his leadership, Mint has emerged as one of the country’s most reputable and leading generic pharmaceutical companies over the past decade. In 2019 and 2020, Mint was recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies by Deloitte and CIBC.

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Steve Ottaway

DirectorSteve Ottaway

Steve Ottaway is CEO at Hyperion Capital Inc., an independent Canadian Investment Bank specializing in the Healthcare and Technology Sectors.

Previously Steve was Head of Healthcare, Cannabis and Technology at GMP Securities L.P. (“GMP”)

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Par Nijhawan, MD, FRCPC, AGAF

DirectorPar Nijhawan, MD, FRCPC, AGAF

Dr. Nijhawan is the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of Edesa Biotech, Inc., positions he has held since forming the company in 2015. Dr. Nijhawan is a seasoned pharmaceutical entrepreneur with 21 years of experience in cross-functional roles including finance, marketing and business development.

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Gregory D. Gubitz, B.A., LL.B

DirectorGregory D. Gubitz, B.A., LL.B

Gregory Gubitz is a seasoned life science CEO, with significant operating, transaction and investment experience.
Mr. Gubitz is a co-founder and was the founding Chief Executive Officer of HLS Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:HLS),

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Advisors

Allegra I. Broft, MD

Scientific AdvisorAllegra I. Broft, MD

Allegra Broft, MD is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, research psychiatrist at the Eating Disorders Research Unit of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City.

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Jason Grenfell-Gardner

Scientific AdvisorJason Grenfell-Gardner

Mr. Grenfell-Gardner is the founder of The J. Molner Company, a specialty generic pharmaceutical development and services company focused on solving supply chain issues in legacy pharmaceutical markets in the United States and Canada. He was also most recently

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Kyle Gould

Capital Markets AdvisorKyle Gould

Kyle Gould is President at Hyperion Capital Inc., an independent Canadian Investment Bank specializing in the Healthcare and Technology Sectors.
Prior to Hyperion, Kyle served as a Director within GMP cannabis practice where he aided in raising

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