Investors | Corporate Governance

Edesa Board of Directors

Carlo Sistilli, CPA, CMA

Board Chair

Mr. Sistilli has more than 35 years of financial experience and has held a variety of executive positions in accounting and finance during his career. He has been a member of our Board since June 2019, having previously served as a board observer of our principal operating subsidiary, Edesa Biotech Research, since September 2017. Mr. Sistilli has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Arista Homes since March 2003 to present. Prior to Arista, Mr. Sistilli was a founder and served as CFO and a board member of an Internet start-up company in the automotive sector, and played a key role in taking the company public on the Alberta Ventures Exchange. Earlier in his career, Mr. Sistilli was the Controller and a member of the senior management team of a major regional trust company, which Mr. Sistilli helped sell to Manulife Financial. From January 2021 to February 2024, he served on the Board and audit committee of Aleafia Health Inc. In addition to his professional career, Mr. Sistilli is an officer and a member of the Board of Mother of Mercy Centre. Mr. Sistilli holds a Bachelor of Arts from York University, with a major in economics, Certified Management Accountant Designation and a Chartered Profession include his knowledge of Edesa’s business and his background in accounting and finance.

Joan Chypyha

Board Director

Ms. Chypyha has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry including executive and operational positions in business development, sales and marketing, and general management. She is the President of Alto Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on dermatology, women’s health and elder care, which she founded in 2009. Alto is also a major shareholder in Pepper and Pink Inc., a manufacturer of brand and private label personal care products for major retailers in Canada. From July 2015 to June 2017, she was the President of Cipher Pharmaceuticals, Inc., having previously served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Ms. Chypyha’s professional career also includes executive positions at Rhei Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Barrier Therapeutics Canada, Inc., following sixteen years at Hoffman-La Roche, where she held progressively senior positions. Since February 2018, she has served as a director and a member of the audit committee of Ovation Science Inc., a research and development company that develops topical and transdermal consumer products. She is a past advisory board member of Up Cannabis Inc (from August 2017 to January 2019). Ms. Chypyha currently served as the President of the Canadian Dermatology Industry Association, from 2015 to 2023, and is a Co-Chair of DiTiDE (Dermatology Industry Taskforce on Inclusiveness, Diversity & Equity), a group she co-founded in 2020. She has also previously served on boards of other non-profits and business organizations, including the Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association. Ms. Chypyha earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Toronto and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Queen’s University. Ms. Chypyha’s qualifications to serve on our Board include her extensive operational experience in founding, managing and building companies, previous board experience and her extensive experience in the dermatology industry.

David Liu, PhD

Board Director

David Liu joined our Board in February 2025. He has over 10 years of investment experience within the biopharmaceutical industry. From January 2023 to March 2024, and since December 2024, he has served as a Senior Analyst at Velan Capital Investment Management LP, a healthcare dedicated investment firm based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Prior to his current position, he served as a Biotech Analyst at Altium Capital Management, LP, an investment firm focused on healthcare companies from January 2019 to November 2022. He received his BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and his PhD in Molecular Biology from Weil Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Dr. Liu is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors because of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Sean MacDonald

Board Director

Mr. MacDonald has been a member of our Board since June 2019, and served as Chairman of the Board from June 2019 until May 2023. He previously served on the board of our principal operating subsidiary, Edesa Biotech Research, from September 2017 to June 2019. In his career, he has led and closed multiple licensing transactions, financings, acquisitions and divestments, and led corporate strategy for several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Since April 2024, Mr. MacDonald has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Domain Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company and from January to March 2024, Mr. MacDonald served as their Chief Business Officer. From April 2022 to February 2024, he served as an advisor to investors and biotechnology companies, including Raya Therapeutic Inc. From August 2021 to April 2022, he was the Chief Business Officer of iOnctura SA, a Swiss clinical-stage oncology company. From April 2019 to August 2021, he was the Head of Business Development for Cosmo Pharmaceuticals NV, a European gastroenterology focused pharmaceutical company; and from October 2018 to August 2021 he was the chief executive of Corbin Therapeutics, a Montreal-based biotech company focused on treating neuroinflammation. Mr. MacDonald held various operational and executive leadership roles from October 2012 to October 2018 at Pharmascience Inc., one of Canada’s largest pharmaceutical companies, including Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Development. He received his BSc in Molecular Biology and MBA from the University of Ottawa. Mr. MacDonald’s qualifications to serve on our Board include his extensive operational experience and background in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.

Patrick Marshall

Board Director

Mr. Marshall has more than 20 years of experience raising capital, building and launching new products and services, developing strategy and completing mergers and acquisitions to support growth in private and public companies. Since 2010 he has been a managing director at VRG Capital, having previously held various executive roles in several of the firm’s portfolio companies since 2000, including Wheels Group Inc., a North American third-party logistics company acquired by Radiant Logistics, Inc. in 2015, and Thomas International Ltd., a global provider of psychometric and aptitude tests acquired by Palamon Capital Partners in 2018. Mr. Marshall is a cofounder and current board member of Crawford Bowman Ltd, a privately held Canadian company focused on over-the-counter and nutritional supplements markets. He is an advisor to Jouleia Inc, a start-up focused on accelerating the transition to low-carbon homes. He is a current board member and past President (January 2016 -December 2023) of Adrem Brands Inc., a privately held Canadian company focused on the over-the-counter and nutritional supplements markets. Prior to 2000, he held fundraising, business development and strategy roles for various international enterprises and non-governmental organizations. Mr. Marshall is a cofounder, advisor and former board member of Together Project (2016-2023) and a trustee of Lakefield College School (since 2012). He received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Queen’s University and Master of Business Administration from the University of Exeter. Mr. Marshall’s qualifications to serve on our Board include his experience managing and building companies, strategic transactions, raising capital and prior board experience.

Par Nijhawan, MD, FRCPC, AGAF

Board Director, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Nijhawan has served as our Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Secretary and a member of our Board since June 2019, having previously founded and led our principal operating subsidiary, Edesa Biotech Research, since January 2015. Dr. Nijhawan is a seasoned pharmaceutical entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in cross- functional leadership roles in finance, marketing, corporate strategy and business development. In 2002 Dr. Nijhawan founded Medical Futures Inc., and served as its CEO. He sold Medical Futures to Tribute Pharmaceuticals in 2015. In 2014, he founded Exzell Pharma, a specialty Canadian-based pharmaceutical organization that markets and commercializes approved products. He sold Exzell Pharma to BioLab Pharma in 2022. Dr. Nijhawan also founded Digestive Health Clinic in 2000 and led it to become one of Canada’s largest provider of private endoscopy services. He continues to serve on the Board of Digestive Health Clinic. From January 2021 until June 2024, he served on the advisory board of Private Debt Partners, a Canadian alternative asset management firm. Dr. Nijhawan received his MD from the University of Ottawa and completed his internship at Yale University, and his internal medicine residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Nijhawan’s qualifications to serve on our Board include his extensive executive leadership and experience in the life sciences industry and his knowledge of our business as its chief executive.

Frank Oakes

Board Director

Mr. Oakes has more than 40 years of executive leadership experience. He has been a member of our Board since April 2010 and served as the Chairman of the Board until June 2019. From 1999 to 2019, he also served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of our legacy operating subsidiary, which he founded. Prior to founding Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc., he was the Chief Executive Officer of The Abalone Farm, Inc., where he led the company through the research and development, capitalization, and commercialization phases of development to become the largest abalone producer in the United States at the time. Mr. Oakes has consulted and lectured around the world. He received his BS degree from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo and is a graduate of the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance University’s management program. Mr. Oakes qualifications to serve on our Board include his extensive operational experience building companies and management teams and leading a U.S. and Canadian publicly listed life science company.

Charles Olson, DSc

Board Director

Dr. Olson is a CMC consultant with more than 40 years of biotech experience. Since April 2024 he has been the Senior Vice President of CMC at NervGen, responsible for the process development and manufacture of their peptide product in clinical development for nerve regeneration as a result of spinal cord injury. From September 2021 to April 2023 he was Chief Operating Officer at Dendreon Corporation, where he was responsible for the commercial manufacturing of Provenge, a commercial cell-based product for prostate cancer, overseeing multiple sites and several hundred employees. From September 2017 to August 2021, he was a senior Vice President of Operations at Applied Molecular Transport. From April 2010 to August 2017, Dr. Olson held various leadership roles at Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., including Chief Technology Officer. He has also been a Principal Biotechnology Consultant for Compass Biotechnology LLC since 2006. Dr. Olson previously held senior and executive management positions at NGM Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Coherus BioSciences Inc., Nexbio Inc., Cell Genesys, Inc., Biomarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. From December 2016 to June 2019, Dr. Olson served on the Board of Edesa Biotech, Inc. (then operating as Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc.), having previously served on Stellar’s scientific advisory board. After graduate school, Dr. Olson was a Research Scientist at Kaiser Hospitals, followed by Scientist and Senior Scientist positions at Genentech and Bayer, respectively. He holds a B.A. in biology and chemistry from Westmont College, an M.A. in chemistry from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a D.Sc. in biochemistry. Dr. Olson qualifications to serve on our Board include his extensive scientific, manufacturing operations, process development and senior management and board experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.