MARK NAWACKI

Mark is an accomplished executive with wide-ranging experience in the pharmaceutical industry in Canada and internationally. He is a co-founder of Searchlight Pharma, having served as President and CEO from the company’s inception in February 2015 through to its sale to Apotex in June 2024. He continues to lead Searchlight which is now the branded, innovative specialty division of Canadian pharmaceutical champion Apotex.

Mark has spent his career building businesses through acquisition, licensing and business development leadership. Under his guidance, the acquisitions of Miravo Healthcare (TSXV: MRV) (March 2023), Erfa Canada (December 2021), Besins Healthcare Canada (June 2016) as well as over 20 external partnering transactions have grown Searchlight Pharma from an idea with less than $1 million in revenues in its founding year into a fast-growing and profitable Canadian industry leader with over $150 million in revenues annually. While at Paladin Labs, Mark directed over 80 external product transactions and led the company’s international expansion into African and Latin American markets. In addition to shaping the therapeutic focus of Paladin’s Canadian business, Mark was the chief architect of Paladin’s international expansion and emerging markets strategy, leading the investments in Pharmaplan (Pty) Ltd. (2009) and the acquisition of Litha Healthcare Group (JSE: LHG) (2012) in South Africa, as well as the acquisition of Ativa Pharma in Mexico (2012). From his arrival at Paladin in 2003, consolidated revenues grew from about $20 million to in excess of $300 million annually.

Prior to joining Paladin, Mark held progressively senior leadership positions at Pharmacia, a global top 10 pharmaceutical company that is now part of Pfizer. He began his career as a consultant in Arthur Andersen’s Canadian financial advisory services practice in Toronto, and later spent time in the consumer packaged goods industry working with The Pillsbury Company where he worked on the Green Giant brand team in Canada.

Mark holds a BA in International Relations and Russian and East European Studies from the University of Toronto (Trinity), MBA also from the University of Toronto, and is a current member of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario). He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Licensing Executive Society (USA & Canada), is a former President and Board Member of the Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association, and also served on the boards of Kane Biotech (TSXV:KNE) where he was both chairman and chair of the audit committee, and of Intelgenx Technologies Corp (TSX:IGX) where he was chair of the compensation committee. Mark currently serves on the board of directors of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.