Gavin Tan

Gavin Tan

Founding Director and Group Chief Executive Officer

Gavin Tan is a founding director and CEO of the CellResearch Corporation Group of Companies. Gavin is a serial entrepreneur having founded a series of Biotech Start-Ups as well as one of Singapore's most successful multi-family offices. In the early 2000s as Singapore shifted its focus away from manufacturing and towards creating a vibrant life sciences ecosystem Gavin co-founded CellResearch Corporation. Under his leadership, CellResearch has become one of Singapore's most promising Biotech platforms. He has been instrumental in charting the strategy and growth of CellResearch Corporation and its subsidiaries, making the early decision to leverage CellResearch's platform technology across multiple business sectors. Gavin has now stewarded the creation of a strong crop of subsidiary businesses covering drug development, Cosmeceuticals and Cord banking.

Prior to co-founding his biotechnology and family office businesses, Gavin worked for over 22 years in Asian financial markets. For seven years prior to assuming his current role at CellResearch Corporation, he was Head of Institutional Sales at Nomura Securities Singapore Pte Ltd where he was responsible for directing and developing the firm’s institutional equity business in Singapore and Malaysia. He has extensive experience in developing and marketing equities products as well as growing an international business.

Gavin holds executive directorships and non-executive directorships in several companies including Aglaia Family Office Pte Ltd, an Asian-based diversified asset management company and multi-family office.

 

 
Phan Toan Thang

Phan Toan Thang

Founding Director and Group Chief Scientific Officer

Associate Professor and Principal Investigator of the Wound Healing and Stem Cell Research Group, Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

Professor Phan is a founding director and CSO of CellResearch Corporation Group of Companies. A graduate of the Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam in 1991, Prof. Phan Toan Thang has had a strong interest in wound healing since the earliest days of his medical and scientific career. His interest led him to hands-on experience during his four-year surgical residency in Hanoi at the National Institute of Burns and at the Army Hospital 103. Prof. Phan's commitment and excellence in laboratory research was proven when he spent two years at the prestigious Wound Healing Institute and Department of Dermatology in Oxford, England.

He arrived in Singapore in 1997 to join the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Singapore General Hospital. In 1998, he met Mr Ivor Lim, and together they established the Skin Cell Research Group (currently Wound Healing and Stem Cell Research Group) focusing on skin and keloid scar biology. The Wound Healing and Stem Cell Research Group was the first group in the world to explore the role of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in keloid pathogenesis, and is recognised today as one of the world leading groups in keloid and scar biology research.

Prior to taking up his faculty position at the Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry at the National University of Singapore, Prof. Phan completed two years of post-doctoral research at the Stanford University Children Surgical Research Laboratory.

Prof. Phan is author of more than 80 publications in international peer-reviewed journals, two book chapters, has more than 35 granted patents and serves as a reviewer for prestigious international scientific journals as well as local and international research funding bodies. His recent innovative research work is the discovery of a novel source of stem cells from the umbilical cord lining membrane with translational potential for regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and cell-based therapy.

 

 
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Ivor J Lim

Founding Director and Chief Medical Officer

Mr Lim is a Founding Director of CellResearch Corporation Group of Companies which is focused on the research and commercialisation of Umbilical Cord Lining membrane Stem Cells, a patented technology that he co-developed with Professor Phan.

He received his undergraduate professional training at Cambridge University, and postgraduate training in London.

In addition to directing the Skin Cell Research Group at the National University of Singapore where he has an academic affiliation, he has international collaborations for research, reviews grants both locally and internationally, and is a peer reviewer for local and international scientific and professional journals.

 

 

Senior Management

 
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Edwin Chow

Group Chief Operating Officer

Mr Edwin Chow is the Group COO of CellResearch Corporation Group of Companies. Edwin has been instrumental in the management of CellResearch Corporation Group of Companies since inception. He is overall responsible for directing operations and managing all aspects of the businesses, including marketing and sales, research and development administration and business development. Mr Chow has over 20 years’ experience in operations.

Prior to joining CellResearch, he was actively involved with several start-up companies in the technology space; namely Growell Digital, 3R Digital and eSamsung (an affiliate of Samsung Group of Companies) where he was responsible for the start-up, operations, sales and marketing of those companies. He had also assisted in the fund-raising exercise for those companies. Mr Chow started his career at the National Science and Technology Board, a statutory board then under the purview of the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was responsible for helping both local and overseas companies establish a research and development footprint in Singapore.

A Honours graduate of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, Edwin has always been interested in the field of bio-engineering and materials since his younger days. He takes an active interest in the life science biotech industry and continues to see the potential stem cell therapy brings.

 

 
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Paul Binney

Group Chief Financial Officer and Head of Global Distribution

Mr Paul Francis Gregory Binney is CFO at CellResearch Corp Group of Companies. With extensive experience in distribution, Paul also heads the distribution division at CellResearchCorp. Paul is currently also Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of Lafe Corporation Limited, a Singapore Listed Investment Holding Company.

Paul has extensive experience in sales and marketing, finance and corporate accounting in manufacturing, distribution and operations worldwide. He has significant experience gained in operational reviews worldwide for investment businesses and banking, especially in reviewing acquisition and disposal projects, which has led to a wealth of knowledge and contacts for capital funding. The combination of managing operations as Group Finance Director covering physical product, hedging and financial instruments has led to his developing significant skills in operational based assessments and in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, US GAAP and IFRS application.

Paul holds an MBA from the University of Warwick and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree from the University of Birmingham. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

 

 

Troels Jordansen

Chief Executive Officer, CellResearch Therapeutics

With 30 years of international healthcare experience in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, animal health and screening services Troels has a broad background for managing or advising healthcare companies through to the approval of products or improvements to operations.

Companies range from co-founder of start-ups to CEO of public listed companies and several blue-chip brand leaders. The work has been truly global covering all industrial countries from east to west.

Troels background is commercial, with experience from sales, marketing, investor relations and business development for blue chip healthcare and small biotech start-ups. Over the years around €200 million funding has been raised and more than €500 million in deal value closed.

 

 
Olivia Sutton

Olivia Sutton

Chief Development Officer, CellResearch Therapeutics

Olivia currently serves as Chief Development Officer, CellResearch Therapeutics. She will play a pivotal role in managing clinical development timelines for our lead asset: Corlicyte™, as well as our pipeline indications.

Olivia has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in a range of project management roles. Olivia was previously Head Of PMO at Eirgen Pharma in Ireland supporting the development of a number of high potency value-added generic R&D developments for global markets, in addition to overseeing the technical transfer of products with a range of development partners. Prior to Eirgen, Olivia was Executive Director of Project Management at Mundipharma where she managed teams in the U.K., Singapore, China and Japan. Olivia is an experienced project leader and has a broad range of experience leading R&D developments from Phases I through to commercialisation and market access in a range of therapeutic indications including pain, respiratory, immunological disorders, addiction and BPH, for markets across the EU, US, Asia Pacific and LATAM regions. During her time at Mundipharma she successfully led a number of co-developments with partner companies and academia and is highly experienced in leading virtual teams to success.

Previous to her time in project management, Olivia worked in regulatory affairs with roles in industry and at the MHRA in London.

Olivia has a honours degree in Biochemistry from the University of Surrey.

 

 

Department Heads

 
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Nicholas Lang

Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Director, CellResearch Consumer Health

Nick has been with CellResearch Corporation since March 2016 and is Chief Commercial Officer, CALECIM®. He is also jointly an Executive Director for CellResearch Consumer Health.

Nick is a key member and has been instrumental in the development of CALECIM® Professional, CellResearch’s first commercialised range of products. He is also an active member in the CALECIM® Professional Distribution team where he sources and works closely with multiple distributors across the globe. Nick’s expanded portfolio includes developing strategies for CellResearch’s cord lining stem cell pipeline products.

 

 
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Xavier Simpson

Chief of Staff

Xavier joined CellResearch as an associate in 2018. He graduated from Edinburgh University where he majored in Spanish. 

Xavier performs a variety of roles for CellResearch Corporation and CALECIM® including Investor Relations, global regulatory strategy and Business Development.

He has been instrumental in plotting our global regulatory strategy as well as a key member of the business development and strategy team for global expansion of both CellResearch Corporation and her subsidiary CALECIM® Cosmeceuticals. More recently, he has taken up and additional role in Investor Relations.

Prior to working at CellResearch, Xavier completed an internship at the United Nations where he explored healthcare focused topics from malnutrition to obesity prevention policy.

 

 
Fraser Anderson

Fraser Anderson

Associate Director, Corporate Finance

Fraser Anderson, Associate Director Corporate Finance, joined CellResearch in 2016. Within the company, he is responsible for corporate finance activities such as financial modelling and market research. He is also involved with strategic planning and business development. Fraser also serves as Head of Private Market Investments at Aglaia Family Office, where he is responsible for overseeing investment research relating to private market investments. Fraser has deep knowledge within deal structuring and has conducted detailed due diligence across a number of life science investments. Prior to joining CellResearch, Fraser worked as a Process Engineer for BP, before completing an internship with Aberdeen Asset Management within the Pan-European Equities team.

Fraser holds a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Experience from the University of Manchester. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

 

 

Legal and Compliance

 
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Wolfram Schiweck

Intellectual Property Counsel

Dr Schiweck is the Intellectual Property Counsel at CellResearch Corporation Group of Companies. Dr Schiweck has worked with CellResearch’s IP portfolios since 2004 and has been key to building up CellResearch’s core IPR.

Dr Wolfram Schiweck has been practicing IP law since 1997 and is a founding partner of Schiweck Weinzierl Koch, a European patent attorney firm specializing in chemistry, biotechnology and life sciences. Before starting Schiweck Weinzierl Koch, he was the head of the chemistry and life science practice group of Viering, Jentschura & Partner and resident partner of the Singapore office. A main focus of work is the drafting and word-wide prosecution of patent applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical field including opposition and invalidation proceedings and the examination of intellectual property rights' portfolios of companies (due diligence).

Due to his long stay in Asia, Wolfram is also very familiar with patent prosecution in the Asia-Pacific region. Wolfram is a registered European patent attorney, German patent attorney and Singapore patent agent. He holds a Master Degree in Chemistry and received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry for his work on antibody design at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt, Germany.

 

 

Science and Research

 
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Ong Chee Tian

Technical Director

Mr Ong Chee Tian joined the company as a Quality Manager in 2011 and was assigned to project management a few years later. He was promoted to the position of Deputy Technical Director in 2019 to oversee the technical operations of our group of companies. He also takes an active role in the development of the company’s proprietary Umbilical Cord Lining Stem Cells platform technology into therapeutic applications with focus on diseases with unmet medical needs. These projects are conducted through collaborations with research institutions in Singapore as well as institutions overseas. One major milestone was the successful development of a US-FDA clinical grade Cord Lining-Mesenchymal Stem Cell line which is currently used in a clinical trial for chronic diabetic foot ulcers in the US.

Prior to joining CellResearch, he was a Research Officer screening for mutations in low risk cancer markers in breast cancer patients tested negative for BRAC1 in the Breast and Cancer Molecular Biology Research Group, and investigating the role of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in the pathogenesis of keloid scars in Skin and Stem Cell Research Group at the National University Hospital System (NUHS). Mr Ong started his career as a Technical Officer in Purification Process Development at A-Biopharma Pte Ltd, a bio-pharmaceutical contract manufacturer. He was responsible for optimising the protocol for purifying protein products to achieve the highest recovery yield in the shortest time and at the most economical cost.

Mr Ong was an architectural student at Singapore Polytechnic before realising his interests in bio-science. He dropped out of the architecture course and joined the Biotechnology Diploma course and subsequently graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia. He believes that the future of health care lies in the limitless regenerative potentials of Stem Cells.

 

 
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Saravanan Sinniah

Quality Manager

Vanan joined CRC as Quality Manager in March 2015. He undertook management of the quality management system for ISO 9001 for cosmetics products’ sales/distribution; biomarker testing & Cosmetic GMP 22716 certification for red-deer umbilical extract production in the pilot year, with primary responsibilities including: Establishment of quality documentation; Equipment preventive maintenance and/or calibration planning; Establishment of processes for deviation, non-conformity & complaint management; Staff competency and training management & Preparation for external audits

At the onset of 2018, for portfolio diversification, Vanan took complete ownership of the cosmetic regulatory affairs portfolio and has been managing product registration into several countries, till present, along with the existing quality management duties.

In early 2019, Vanan undertook further responsibilities encompassing a) new cosmetic product development (project management) & b) co-management of supply chain matters. In addition, from Q2 2019, he facilitated the registration of cosmetic products through A.Menarini Pte Ltd, a global pharma distribution chain, into territories namely, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong & Indonesia.

Prior to joining CRC, Vanan has had stints in the biomedical science fraternity, working in institutes such as IMCB & GIS where he worked largely on in-vitro diagnostic kit development. In addition, he gained experience in ISO 13485 aspects through his employment at Dx assays Pte Ltd (now defunct) which also had in-vitro diagnostic kit development and validation as its mainstay.

 

 

Marketing and Business Development

 
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Ieva Tubyte

Assistant Manager, Global Branding & Communications

Ieva Tubyte, Assistant Manager, Global Branding & Communications, joined CellResearch Corporation in 2017. Within the company she is responsible for managing global marketing activities of cosmeceutical skincare line CALECIM® Professional. She is also involved in digital marketing activities of subsidiary GlobalCord Registry that is focused on the registry of banked umbilical cord lining tissues.

Prior to joining CellResearch, Ieva worked as a Marketing Executive for LogisFleet, a supply chain software provider in Singapore. She has also completed an internship with Luminor Bank, the largest financial services provider in the Baltics, as Individual Customer Banking intern. Ieva has also completed an internship with Danske Bank in Lithuania where she was supporting activities of Communications and Marketing team.

Ieva has graduated from Lancaster University and holds a Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics with Honours.

 

 
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Laura Thompson

Associate, Sales and Client Relations

Laura Thompson, Associate, Sales and Client Relations, joined CellResearch Corporation in 2019. Laura is responsible for the direct sales channel between Singapore and other markets, including the USA, UK and European Union for CellResearch’s subsidiary, CALECIM® Cosmeceuticals. She is also involved in streamlining the company’s outreach strategy to new clients through the use of E-Commerce, as well as research and product development for future products in the cosmeceutical range.

Prior to joining CellResearch, Laura interned at CLSA Singapore and Allen & Overy LLP in their Human Resources Departments.

Laura graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in Psychology.

 

 
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Ross Johnstone

Global Trainer

Ross joined CellResearch as our Global Trainer in 2020. He graduated from Newcastle University where he majored in Politics.

Ross trains our distribution teams, customers, sales representatives & clients on all things to do with CellResearch Corporation and CALECIM® Cosmeceuticals. Furthermore, he trains new hires and our the internal team to help develop personal growth as the organisation grows.

Since joining, he has refined our existing training as well as developing an online training programme to ensure all our clients, customers and partners are being provided with the necessary support despite the difficulties of COVID-19. Whilst performing these duties Ross also assists with partnerships, sales & overall business development.

Prior to working at CellResearch, Ross spent 5 years working for a Global education company training organisations, educators & schools in how to maximise their learning and teaching skills.

 

 

Operations and Technical

 
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Audrey Khoo

Laboratory Manager

Audrey Khoo YT is currently the Laboratory Manager of Cordlabs Asia Pte Ltd. She takes on a managerial role in supervising the day-to-day activities in the laboratory. Taking responsibility for all aspects of the labs, including purchasing, equipment, lab employees, supplies, and documentation, adhering to the company's ISO quality standards. Ensuring the core activity of biomarker testing of cord tissues, including receiving of samples and documentation, to run smoothly and efficiently. As well as assisting CALECIM® Cosmeceuticals in final product inventory, customs clearance and fulfilment of orders.

Prior to this appointment, she was a Research Associate in Experimental Therapeutic Centre (ETC) (Dec 2009 – May 2014). Primary responsibility in setting up the Singapore Screening Centre which houses an all-in-one drug screening platform in ETC. This platform deploys the use of a spectrum of state-of-the-art automation technologies to carry out High Throughput Screening (HTS) campaigns for A*STAR’s ETC collaborative drug discovery projects. As part of the HTS group, she developed workflow procedures for compound handling using robotic equipment, which conform to ISO17025 and GLP standards.

Being part of the molecular diagnostics assay development and validation group in Dx assays Pte Ltd (Aug 2008 – Dec 2009), Audrey was involved in coordinating GLP projects and participated in ISO13485: Assisted in establishing QM (Quality management) framework creating an auditable QM system and played an active role as a document controller assistant in making Dx Assay ISO 13485 certified. She participated in the overseas training (Qiagen Gaithersberg, USA) for 6 weeks (23rd Feb to 3rd April 2009): HPV test development - established logistic and system transfer of the next gen HPV test to Dx assay Pte Ltd.

Audrey graduated from Curtin University of Technology, Australia with a Bachelor of Science specialising in Molecular Genetics.

 

 
Beatrice Tan

Beatrice Tan

Vice President, Global Supply Chain and Production

Before joining CellResearch Corporation, Beatrice was with Shiseido Travel Retail APAC, handling prestige skincare, makeup, and fragrances brands on supply chain management. Her responsibility was primarily on S&OP processes, demand & supply planning, and logistics management. She pioneered Shiseido Travel Retail Operations, implementing demand and supply planning tools to improve forecast deviation and inventory control. She also led S&OP meetings, cost savings and inventory reduction projects, budget management, and a Regional Distribution Centre in SG to centralise the delivery of stocks to retailers.

Beatrice gained her supply chain expertise while she was with L’Oréal SG Active and Consumer Product Division, handling forecasting and working closely with key stakeholders and HQ to obtain supply visibility and update any constraints and risks to the business plan.

 

 
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Jeyakumar Masilamani

Senior Scientific Officer

Jeyakumar Masilamani Ph D., is a Senior Scientific Officer in CordLabs Pte Ltd. He received his Ph.D., in Biotechnology from Bharathidasan University, India. He has over fifteen years of experience in stem cell research. He contributed his experience in various projects with Dr. Phan Thang Toan.

He has vast experience in developing, leading and managing the projects especially on Biomarker testing, CALECIM® production. He involved in Quality enhancement of cells by monitoring and evaluating the cultures. He also mentoring his technical team for various projects.

Jeyakumar is actively involved in publishing collaborative research papers and enhancing his skills in preliminary innovative research as well.