Three Finalists Announced for the 2024 Bloom Burton Award

Recognizing the Year’s Most Significant Contributions to Canada’s Innovative Healthcare Industry

Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – April 19, 2024) – Bloom Burton & Co. is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 Bloom Burton Award. Bestowed annually and nominated by the public at large, the Bloom Burton Award honours an individual who made the greatest contribution to Canada’s innovative healthcare industry in the previous year.

The finalists for 2024, in alphabetical order, are:

• Roberto Bellini, former President and Chief Executive Officer, Bellus Health
• Tom Frohlich, former Chief Operating Officer, Chinook Therapeutics
• François Ravenelle, former President and Chief Executive Officer, Inversago Pharma

The 2024 Bloom Burton Award Finalists (L-R): Roberto Bellini, Tom Frohlich, and François Ravenelle

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“I am pleased to share the 2024 Bloom Burton Award finalists as selected by our esteemed judging panel. This year’s finalists represent the very best of leadership in the Canadian healthcare field and they each delivered blockbuster transactions as a culminating event for their respective organizations,” commented Jolyon Burton, President and Head of Investment Banking of Bloom Burton.

“Widely regarded as one of the biotech industry’s premier public company CEOs, Roberto Bellini of Bellus Health assembled a world class management team and institutional investors as Bellus acquired and advanced Camlipixant, a potential best in class P2X3 antagonist for chronic cough. After advancing the drug into a global phase 3 program, Bellus was acquired last year by GlaxoSmithKline for US$2 billion.

Tom Frohlich was a seminal leader behind the formation and success of Chinook Therapeutics. Tom’s business development leadership resulted in Chinook acquiring atrasentan from Abbvie in 2019 and after repositioning and advancing the asset for IgA nephropathy, Chinook was ultimately bought by Novartis in 2023 for up to US$3.5 billion. This acquisition is among the largest ever of a Canadian biotechnology company.

Finally, François Ravenelle co-founded Inversago Pharma and led the development of INV-202, an oral, peripherally-acting CB1 receptor blocker which plays an important role in metabolism and appetite regulation. INV-202 demonstrated weight loss potential in clinical studies and holds promise in a range of kidney, metabolic and fibrotic disorders. Last year, Novo Nordisk acquired Inversago for up to US$1.075 billion in one of the largest acquisitions ever of a privately held drug developer in Canada.”

We look forward to celebrating this year’s finalists – Roberto Bellini, Tom Frohlich, and François Ravenelle at the 2024 Bloom Burton Award Gala!

The Bloom Burton Award finalists and winner are chosen by an independent panel of judges, all of whom are respected international leaders in healthcare investment, entrepreneurship and journalism.

This year’s panel includes:

• Michael Altman, Managing Director, Perceptive Advisors
• Christopher Arendt, Chief Scientific Officer, Head of Research, Takeda
• Karen Bernstein, Co-Founder and Chairman, BioCentury
• Joan Eliasek, President, McKesson Canada
• Carl Gordon, Managing Partner, OrbiMed Advisors
• Dennis Purcell, Founder and Senior Advisor, Aisling Capital
• Melinda Richter, Global Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS
• Camille Samuels, Partner, Venrock

All finalists will be invited to and celebrated at the Bloom Burton Award Gala on September 26, 2024, at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto. For more information, please visit: www.bloomburton.com/gala.

About Bloom Burton & Co.

Bloom Burton & Co. is a firm dedicated to accelerating returns in the healthcare sector for both investors and companies. Bloom Burton has an experienced team of medical, scientific, industry and capital markets professionals who perform a deep level of diligence, which combined with our creative and entrepreneurial approach, assists our clients in achieving the right monetization events. Bloom Burton and its affiliates provide capital raising, M&A advisory, equity research, strategic advisory, as well as company creation and incubation services. Bloom Burton Securities Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is also a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).

For more information:
Anna Jung
Event Coordinator
ajung@bloomburton.com

Karen Li
Manager, Marketing and Communications
kli@bloomburton.com

For table sponsorship inquiries:
Brian Bloom
Chairman & CEO
bbloom@bloomburton.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/206174