A Virtual Pharmaceutical Company – A Unique Business Model Achieving Robust Success Stephen Page, Director at Advanced Veterinary Therapeutics Listen to Stephen Page from Advanced Veterinary Therapeutics share the journey about his transition from vet to CEO and director and the trends he’s seeing across scientific innovation in Australia. Stephen is a vet by background and has experience working for animal health companies in the US in clinical development areas. He recently founded two Australian companies, Neoculi and Luoda Pharma – and Stephen is CEO of both. Stephen is also Director at Advanced Veterinary Therapeutics, which is his consulting company. The projects Stephen and his team are currently working on are very exciting – they’re designing compounds to target antibiotic resistant microorganisms, for animal use but interestingly also for human use. The rapid rise of drug resistant microorganisms is an enormous problem and he is looking at providing solutions – in an innovative way. The unique business model that Stephen and his partners have adopted allows them to have less staff and no laboratory – creating a virtual pharmaceutical company. They work closely with universities, relying on others’ expertise to manage the projects. As a scientist and innovator with a macro view across the industry, Stephen shares his thoughts on why innovation is challenging in Australia but also the opportunities that are available.