Located in Palmerston North, New Zealand, PolyBatics was created in 2009 to commercialize biobead technology developed at nearby Massey University four years earlier. It continues to hold a partnership with Massey University, which created the Centre for Bionanoparticle Research.

Management Team

Tracy Thompson - Chief Executive Officer

Tracy is an expat US citizen who has worked in senior capacities for seven start-ups including LifeScan (sold to Johnson and Johnson), BioTrak (sold to Roche) and Cholestech (NASDAQ: CTEC) recently acquired by Inverness Medical). In addition to his start-up experience, he held senior management positions in the merger and acquisition business of the $1.7 billion life sciences division of Agilent Technologies (formerly party of Hewlett-Packard) and GeneChip manufacturer, Affymetrix.

Bernd Rehm - Chief Science Officer

Bernd is Professor and Chair of Microbiology at Massey University and is the inventor of PolyBatics' platform technology. He has authored and co-authored over 120 scientific publications and is sole Editor of four books. Editor-in-Chief, Editor and member of the Editorial Board for several international scientific journals as well as organizer/co-organizer of the international symposium on biological polymer. In addition to his patent for PolyBatics, he is inventor on more than 10 other patent applications.

Board of Directors

Brad Duft

Before co-founding CoDa Therapeutics, an Auckland-based company focused on improving tissue healing, Brad was a partner in the law firm Duane Morris. His 25 year legal practice has focused on biotechnology company strategy and growth, with an emphasis on intellectual property licensing, strategic patent prosecution, and litigation. Brad has drafted and negotiated numerous biotechnology agreements, including local and worldwide joint research agreements, joint development agreements and corporate partnership agreements, as well as numerous licenses.

James Mervis

Jim was formerly Chairman of the Board of Directors at Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Co-Founder/Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Cardiokine, Inc. He was also a co-founder of Barrier Therapeutics, Inc., the successful spin-out of Johnson & Johnson's dermatology development portfolio. Before Barrier, Jim was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Apple Tree Partners, L.L.C. and Co-Founder & Executive Vice President of MedicinePlanet Inc., a developer of healthcare services for the mobile world.

Richard Garland

Richard is Executive Director at New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Limited, which specializes in extracting biochemicals from by-products of New Zealand's meat packing industry. After completing a PhD in Organic Chemistry, he developed the bile acid purification process which (with many refinements) is still used today. He has held technical, operational and commercial positions in NZP before taking over the general management of the company in 1987 and leading the company through an MBO in 1998.

Scientific Advisory Board

Wiltrud Treffenfeldt

Dr. Treffenfeldt is Director of Bioprocess Development at The Dow Chemical Company, USA. Having joined Dow Germany in 2001 as Leader for Corporate Biotechnology R&D in Europe, she became R&D Director for Biopharma in 2004. Before Dow, she worked at Degussa AG in Germany for 16 years as the chief head of department for biotechnology and environmental technology. An internationally renowned expert in red and white biotechnology, Dr. Treffenfeldt was a member of the Executive Board of the European Federation of Biotechnology from 2001-2002 and has been consultant to the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for five years. She also holds many advisory positions in research institutes.

Robert (Bob) Hancock

Bob Hancock is a Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at UBC and is a Canada Research Chair holder. He was the founding Scientific Director of the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network and currently heads the UBC Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research. His research interests include antibiotic uptake and resistance, systems biology and the development of small cationic peptides as novel antimicrobials and modulators of innate immunity.  He is co-Founder of Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc, Migenix Inc, and the Centre for Drug Research and Development, and has served as a Scientific Advisory Board Member or consultant with 27 Biotech and Pharmaceutical Companies. Bob Hancock is a key participant on two large multinational Grand Challenges in Global Health Research grants aimed at delivering antimicrobial therapies and effective vaccines to developing countries.