Latest news with #RyanMerkley
National Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Conscience Welcomes Peng Fu as New CEO
Article content Mr. Fu brings extensive financial and biotech experience to role as the nonprofit expands its innovative platform to address unmet needs in drug discovery and development through open science. Article content Article content TORONTO — Conscience, a non-profit that uses open science and true collaboration to enable drug discovery and development where market solutions are limited, is pleased to announce the appointment of Peng Fu as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Mr. Fu succeeds inaugural CEO, Ryan Merkley, who as previously announced, departed the organization in early 2025. Article content Mr. Fu stepping in as Conscience's new CEO marks a milestone in the organization's strategic evolution. 'We are thrilled to welcome Peng Fu to the leadership team at Conscience during an integral time in our organization,' said Anke Mueller-Fahrnow, Chair of Conscience's Board of Directors. 'Peng's entrepreneurial mindset, investment expertise, and science and legal background are key to taking Conscience to the next stage. We are confident that he is the right person for this role. We look forward to working with Peng and bringing further awareness to the importance of open science in enabling drug discovery and development, so that we can achieve better health outcomes for all.' Article content Mr. Fu joins Conscience with an impressive range of biotech, financing and executive experience. He is the founder of Novatio Ventures, an investment and advisory firm that accelerates the commercialization of high-potential life science innovations through incubation of early stage technologies and provision of bespoke financing solutions to growth stage companies. Mr. Fu is also a board member and founding investor of 3io Therapeutics and Precision Proteomics, two Canadian companies developing technologies licensed from Canadian institutions. He previously served as Managing Director and Partner at CBC Group and LYFE Capital, respectively, two leading global healthcare private equity firms. Earlier, Mr. Fu was Vice President, Business Development at DRI Capital (now DRI Healthcare), Director, Senior Counsel and member of the Executive Committee at Amgen Canada, and Director, Legal Affairs at Teva Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Fu began his career as a life science attorney in private practice at Torys and Gilbert's LLP in Toronto. He holds an MSc degree in biology from the University of Toronto and a JD degree in law from Queen's University. Article content 'Conscience views science as a team sport and I am excited to be joining this exceptional team as we work together to use AI and open science to advance drug discovery,' said Peng Fu, CEO of Conscience. 'In only a few years, the team has built a solid foundation with an expansive network of partners, and has launched several key initiatives, including the CACHE (Critical Assessment of Computational Hit-Finding Experiments) Challenges and DMOS (Developing Medicines through Open Science) program. I look forward to building on this foundation and expanding our platform in the years ahead.' Article content Conscience is a non-profit focused on enabling drug discovery and development in areas where open sharing and collaboration are key to advancement and where market solutions are limited, such as rare or neglected diseases, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance. It does so by encouraging teamwork, the open sharing of knowledge and tools, the use and improvement of artificial intelligence, and the development of policies that break down barriers of traditional drug development models. Powered by a network that includes academics, industry, technologists, policy experts, and public support, Conscience seeks to drive innovation by turning drug discovery and development into a team sport. Through key initiatives, such as its DMOS (Developing Medicines through Open Science) program and CACHE (Critical Assessment of Computation Hit-finding Experiments) Challenges, Conscience is accelerating the path to treatments for those who need them most so no patient is left behind. For more information, visit Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Sharks First-Rounder Leaves KHL Team For 'Family-Related Situation'
KHL club Avangard Omsk and 24-year-old Canadian defenseman Ryan Merkley have mutually agreed to terminate their contract, the club announced on Saturday. The contract was 'due to the player's family-related situation.' Family is a commonly cited reason for terminating a KHL contract mid-season. Linden Vey also left Omsk in early November, officially 'to manage family issues' and then signed in Switzerland with Fribourg-Gottéron 10 days later. In January, Tony DeAngelo left SKA St. Petersburg for 'family reasons.' Born in Oakville, Ont., Merkley played junior hockey for the OHL's Guelph Storm and had a spectacular 2017-18 season with 67 points in 63 games from the back end, and was chosen to play for Canada that season at both the Ivan Hlinka Memorial and the IIHF U-18 World Championship. He was subsequently chosen in the first round, 21st overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. While he followed that up with two more solid junior seasons, his offensive abilities did not transfer to the pros, as he produced just 53 total points over 129 AHL games between 2019 and 2023. In 39 NHL games with the Sharks in 2021-22, Merkley scored one goal and added five assists, eight penalty minutes, and was a minus-10. Merkley spent the entire 2022-23 in the minors split between the San Jose and Colorado Avalanche organizations. Merkley has played almost two full seasons in the KHL. Over a season and a half with Kunlun Red Star, he produced 37 points and 82 penalty minutes in 83 games. Earlier this season, Merkley was traded from Kunlun to Omsk in exchange for cash. Merkley had 12 points and 12 penalty minutes in 29 games since the trade. Omsk currently sits sixth out of 12 teams in the KHL's Eastern Conference. Former Sharks First-Rounder Changes KHL Teams Canadian defenseman Ryan Merkley, 24, has been traded within the KHL from Kunlun Red Star to Avangard Omsk in exchange for monetary compensation, the latter club announced on Saturday.
