William Hunter

Dr. Hunter has been the President and CEO of Cardiome Pharma Corp in Vancouver, BC since 2012. Cardiome (NASDAQ: CRME) is an integrated, commercial, specialty pharmaceutical company that markets and sells acute care parenteral drugs in Europe, Canada and over 50 other countries around the world.

Previously, Dr. Hunter co-founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (1992-2011). After founding the Angiotech while still in medical school in 1992, he grew the Company to become a profitable, diversified, device company with over 1,400 employees, several thousand commercially available products, and 12 facilities in 5 countries.

Dr. Hunter’s career has revolved around examining ways to make implantable medical devices “bioactive” and “smarter” through the use of technologies borrowed from other industries such as pharmaceutical coatings, surface modification and sensor technologies. As an inventor with over 200 patents and patent applications to his name, he has been involved in the invention and development of the TAXUS® Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent, the Zilver PTX Peripheral Drug-Eluting Stent, and the Quill barbed wound closure device; combined these products have been used in over 40 million patients and recorded revenues exceeding $25 billion. His latest venture, Canary Medical, utilizes implanted sensor, battery and transmission technology to create “smart” implanted medical devices that can “self-report” on function, activity, wear, complications and patient outcomes for up to 20 years.

Selected awards he has received include the 2006 Principal Award from the Manning Foundation (one of Canada’s highest awards for innovation); BC Innovation Council’s Cecil Green Award for Science and Technology Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneur of the Year from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association; and Canada’s 40 Under 40. Current and previous company board seats include Cardiome (NASDAQ/TSE), Adherium (ASX), REX Bionics (AIM), Zalicus Inc (NASDAQ), Aspreva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ/TSE), Anormed Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ/TSE), Active Pass Pharmaceuticals, Neuromed Pharmaceuticals (Chairman) and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ/TSE). Dr. Hunter served as a practicing physician in British Columbia for 5 years. He received his Doctor of Medicine and Masters of Science degrees from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and his Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University in Montreal.