Peter Sandner is a pharmacist by training, holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of Regensburg and is an appointed extraordinary professor for pharmacology at Hannover Medical School. Peter is working in Drug Discovery Research of Bayer AG, Pharmaceuticals at the Research Center at Wuppertal, Germany for almost 25 years and was nominated at Chief Scientist in 2016. Within Bayer Peter continued his academic research on cyclic nucleotides and cGMP by nonclinical profiling of cGMP-increasing therapeutic principles, especially phosphodiesterase inhibitors and stimulators and activators of sGC. He is responsible for the nonclinical research with sGC stimulators and sGC activators in various therapeutic areas.

Professor Victoria Cogger, founding Executive Director of the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator (SBA), will bring her experience to the panel, drawing on her leadership of the $780 million partnership between the University of Sydney, Sydney Local Health District and the NSW Government. An internationally recognised researcher in ageing liver and targeted drug delivery, she previously led the ANZAC Research Institute. Professor Cogger also co founded EndoAxiom, advancing nanomedicines, including oral insulin now in clinical trials. With extensive experience spanning research, health systems and commercialisation, she offers valuable insights into translating scientific discovery into real world healthcare impact and inspiring the next generation of medical researchers.

Chris has >25 years experience in pharmacology and psychiatry drug discovery across pharma (SB, GSK), biotech (Heptares Therapeutics), and academia (Monash University), leading multiple CNS programs from inception to clinical development. He is also Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre at Monash University.

Dr Robert Shepherd is a biotechnology executive and drug developer with experience spanning target discovery through to commercial licensing. At Dimerix, he leads development of the company’s renal and respiratory clinical portfolio, including regulatory interactions across seven national agencies and oversight of Phase 1–3 studies. He has recently led licensing deals totalling $1.9 billion AUD, and is now focused on supporting reinvestment in the innovation ecosystem. Robert previously held roles at Medicines Development for Global Health, the Monash Vision Group and Monash University, and holds a PhD in molecular immunology and a Global Executive MBA from Monash University.