Cordovilla, Navarra, Spain
August 25, 2016
Iden Biotechnology announces the creation of an Advisory panel that will bring together renowned experts from both private and public sectors with expertise in agronomy, plant science, gene editing tools, regulatory issues, intellectual property, seed development business and crop protection business.
The Advisory Network will collaborate with Iden Biotechnology team members to foster product innovation and commercialization through their high-level market, innovation and science expertise.
The composition of the Advisory Network will include diverse and dynamic experts in the current areas of activity of the company and will help our team to meet its strategic objectives.
The new advisors are leaders in their respective fields of research and each brings exceptional experience and knowledge applicable to different aspects of Iden Biotechnology. Their strategic expertise is summarized below:
JAIME COSTA VILAMAJO
Dr. Jaime Costa has extensive experience in the seed improvement and commercialization sector, working for Monsanto from 1976 to 2015 on technical and regulatory aspects of the business. His experience includes development and agricultural technical direction including the coordination of trials with GM varieties of sugar beet, cotton, and maize.
For 17 years he worked in Monsanto as Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs, most of this period for the Spanish and Portuguese markets and the last three years he broadened his responsibilities to Monsanto Europe as Regulatory Sciences Manager. He was responsible of developing trials protocols, obtaining timely trials authorizations with non-authorized GMO events, trials management, technical communications of Monsanto products, etc.
Additionally, he has collaborated and/or taken part in the activity of many other institutions during his professional life. Dr Jaime Costa has coordinated the working group for agriculture and environment at the Spanish Bioindustry Association (ASEBIO) and he has been vocal of scientific affairs at the ANTAMA Foundation. He has also represented the biotech industry in several consultation committees established by Spanish authorities and involving representatives of NGOs and other interested stakeholders.
Dr Jaime Costa holds degrees in Agricultural Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos in Madrid and Master of Sciences and Ph.D. from the Oregon State University.
DAVID STALKER
With more than 32 years of agricultural biotechnology experience, Dr David Stalker was most recently the Global Technology Lead for Advanta Limited, dedicated to production and commercialization of seed and agrochemical products. His Advanta position involved the assessment and direction of biotechnology research and business development, overseeing an Intellectual Property portfolio and in-licensing of third-party technologies and certain marketing and business relationships
He is also the Founder and a Director of Biomass Conversion Technologies Pty Ltd, an Australian company dedicated to the creation of an efficient and cost effective process for lignocellulosic agricultural residues as feedstock for ethanol production. He was on the faculty at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia from 2005 until 2013.
Previously Dr Stalker was a Senior Vice President at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company directing the biotechnology effort; a Ventria Bioscience Corporate Vice President, a Monsanto Program Director and Calgene Vice President, where he was the Director of Cotton Research and New Technology.
Dr Stalker is considered an expert in evaluating technology, regulatory affairs, technology acquisition/licensing and has strong intellectual property management expertise. He is considered one of the foremost authorities in agricultural biotechnology research, regulatory affairs, and product development.
He has had consulting and management relationships with the following institutions: Arcadia Bioscience, Australian Cotton Research & Development Corporation, Florigene Pty Ltd, Rockefeller Foundation, Paradigm Genetics, The Waite Institute, Monsanto/Pharmacia Co and others.
Mr David Stalker holds a PhD on Cell Biology and Biochemistry and B.S in Biological Science from the University of Cincinnati and was a post-graduate at the University of California San Diego.
JOSEPH CAHILL
Dr. Joseph Cahill is a botanist with over 20 years professional experience in a combination of botanic gardens, conservation non-profits and NGOs, compliance with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the horticulture industry.
From 2007 Dr Joseph Cahill has been President & CEO of Ventura Botanical Gardens, managing research projects for propagation, tissue culture, and field trials, leading international collaboration agreements, compliance with import/export regulations, etc.
For six years he has worked at Ceres, Inc. ‘The Energy Crop Company’. His responsibilities included: technology planning (focus on genomics, transgenics, chemical processing, marker assisted breeding, trait selection assays, and plant tissue culture techniques); strategic development and analyses of the patent portfolio; drafting and prosecution of biotechnology intellectual property applications etc.
Previous experience includes being an adjunct Professor at the University of Redlands, advisor on projects at the Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales (CITRO), Xalapa, Mexico, responsible for legal strategies and applications at Pennie & Edmonds LLP (merged with Jones Day) and teaching and research assistance at the University of California .
Dr Joseph Cahill holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of California Riverside and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan and is an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University.
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