Our Team
Our Company was born out of ground-breaking medical research undertaken in partnership with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Barwon Health and Deakin University. Now, with a strong intellectual property portfolio and investor base, as well as research collaborations with LaTrobe University, University of Sydney & Probiotics Australia, we are uniquely positioned to launch the next generation of probiotic-based biotherapeutics.
Dr Greg Collier, PhD
Dr Collier has more than 25 years experience spanning commercial, operational, clinical and scientific aspects of pharmaceutical research and development. He is a highly regarded and successful biotechnology senior executive with an outstanding international record of achievement in clinical drug development, corporate management, strategic planning and implementation across the global biotechnology industry.
He has held positions of CEO, Executive Chairman, Director and Non-Executive Director at ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals, Invion Limited, Photonz Corp, Avecho Ltd, Tessara Ltd and other start up biotechnology companies. His experience in pre-clinical and clinical drug development is complemented with extensive experience in technology commercialisation, strategic planning, deal negotiation and transaction such as licensing, M&A and trade sales. In 2013 Greg was a co-founder of Evolve Biosystems, a leading US-based infant probiotics company.
Dr Geoff Brooke, MBBS, MBA
Dr Geoff Brooke has over 30 years of healthcare investment experience, founding and leading venture capital firms in both the US and Australia. Geoff’s experience includes company formation and acquisitions, as well as public listings on the NYSE, NASDAQ and ASX exchanges. He has been a founder, executive, director and chairman of private and public companies and has an extensive international network. Geoff now works with a number of Australian and US companies, helping them reach their full potential. From 2009 until 2015, he was an independent director of the Victoria Workcover Authority (Worksafe).
Geoff is licensed in clinical medicine by the Medical Board of Victoria, Australia, and his post-graduate work was in anaesthetics/intensive care. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Masters of Business Administration from IMEDE (now IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ben Fielding
As Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Ben leads the development and execution of the institute strategy to deliver on MCRI’s mission to transform child and adolescent health through innovative research.
A key portfolio for Ben is the Innovation & Commercialisation function of the institute, which works towards accelerating research discoveries to make the greatest impact on the health of children.
Ben’s passion and purpose is to help lead the transformation of healthcare to deliver the greatest value for Australians through deep and trusted relationships with providers, funders, governments, technology companies and not for profit entities.
He brings 25 years of senior Board level experience spanning both the Australian and British health systems. In recent times, whilst a member of the Department of Health Executive Board, he was central to Victoria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, working as Deputy Secretary and member of the State Operational Control team.
Ben has a strong consulting background having previously been a Partner in a number of the big 4 consulting firms leading Healthcare Practices in Victoria and the Private Health Industry Practices nationally. In addition to his roles with Prevatex and MCRI Ben is also Board Chair of Transcendomics (A genomics software platform start up) and attends the Boards of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the Victorian Clinical Genetics Service and Prota Therapeutics.
Dr Fiona Collier, PhD
Dr Fiona Collier is an accomplished research scientist based in Australia with over 45 years of experience in cell biology, immunology, molecular biology, microbiology, and the microbiome. She has been involved in research at the University of Melbourne, Deakin University and Barwon Health, contributing to over 100 publications. Her work has significantly advanced scientific understanding in her fields, particularly in microbiome studies and immunological responses, making her a respected leader in the scientific community.
Dr Tom Gumley PhD, Grad Dip IP Law
Dr Tom Gumley has over 25 years’ experience in working in Life Sciences IP for Australian biotech. He has served companies from pre-seed to venture funding and IPO. Tom takes a keen interest in understanding business strategy, and utilises that understanding to develop and implement commercially focussed patent strategy. He presently assists Australian biotech in a number of in-house roles.
Dr James Campbell, PhD, MBA
Dr James Campbell is an experienced biotechnology executive and entrepreneur who has worked with private and public companies in Australia and the US. James has been an executive at companies whose drugs and probiotics have been approved, and are on market. He is the CEO of Patrys Limited and chairs the Board of Directors of Australia’s peak body for biotechnology, AusBiotech.
Professor Peter Vuillermin, MBBS, PhD
Professor Peter Vuillermin is a clinical paediatrician, the Clinical Director of Research at Barwon Health and Chair in Medicine at Deakin University. His research is focused on identifying and modifying factors in the modern environment and lifestyle associated with early life immune dysregulation and related diseases. Peter co-leads the Barwon Infant Study (BIS), the Pregnancy Research and Translation Ecosystem (PRT-E), and the Children’s Inpatient Research Collaboration of Australia and New Zealand (CIRCAN).
Dr Martin Soust LLB, BSc (Hons), MBA, PhD
Dr Martin Soust has deep experience in building value through technology development. He has been involved in R&D and product development with several companies for over 30 years. This experience includes the development of several commercial technologies and products, as well as the management of the people behind the development effort. His prior experience includes managing science teams, R&D, commercialisation management and product development. His career has included roles at biotech and life sciences companies, as well as software development companies, with a strong focus on scientifically rigorous research and product development. He holds undergraduate degrees in science and law, a MBA, and a PhD.