Karimah Es Sabar took on the role of leading BC Biotech in 2005, re-engineered and rebranded the organization to LifeSciences BC, and as President she has led the organization to its greatest levels of success as a strong business development organization for the life science industry and the scientific research community. As one of the primary spokespeople for the life sciences industry in British Columbia, Ms. Es Sabar regularly represents the industry and the community in key public policy discussions, and parlays her global business development expertise into strong international marketing, partnering and investment attraction on behalf of the life sciences industry. As a result of her leadership, in 2007, Ms. Es Sabar was named by Vancouver Magazine as one of the 50 most powerful people in British Columbia.

In January of this year, she accepted the position of Senior Vice President, Business and Strategic Affairs with the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) which guides and supports early-stage drug development from leading academic and health research institutions to increase the successful commercialization of new therapeutics. She is currently assuming both roles, with a full transition to CDRD planned in the coming months. 

Ms. Es Sabar has had a dynamic career in the life sciences industry globally since 1982, having worked on five continents with business associations in over 60 countries. She has held senior management positions with international multinational companies, most notably as Director International Division and Director Marketing & Business Development at Connaught Laboratories Limited [now Sanofi Pasteur] based in Toronto. Amongst her achievements, the company received the Gold Canada Award for Business Excellence in 1992 for the International Division’s marketing success in Europe; and she very successfully project managed the company's first biotherapeutic from development to launch worldwide. 

More recently, Ms. Es Sabar was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for a Vancouver medical devices company, Medsurge Medical Inc. She was also the founder and Managing Director of SAL Healthcare Limited, a leading healthcare organization in Kenya at the time, specializing in pharmaceutical marketing, distribution and healthcare consulting services. The company set new standards in the marketing and distribution of biopharmaceutical products in the region.

Ms. Es Sabar holds BSc. Joint Honours degree in Biochemistry/Chemistry from the University of Salford, England, and a MSc. degree in Neurochemistry from the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, England.

Her affiliations include:

·        Board of Directors, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

·        Prostate Centre Advisory Board, Vancouver General Hospital

·        Board of Directors for the Prostate Centre’s Translational Research Initiative for Accelerated         Discovery and Development (PC-TRIADD)

·        Pacific Advisory Committee, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

·        Industrial Advisory Committee, The Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS), a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) for the Mathematical Sciences

·        Advisory Committee, British Columbia Institute of Technology / University of British Columbia Biotechnology Degree Program

·        National Biotechnology Accord Member

·        Vice-President, Board of Directors, MOSAIC, a multilingual non-profit organization dedicated to addressing issues that affect  immigrants and refugees in the course of their settlement and integration into Canadian society

·        Charter Member, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE)

·        India Market Advisory Committee

·        British Columbia Asia-Pacific Trade Council Former Board Member

·        Aga Khan National Economic Planning Board of Canada; and Aga Khan National Health Boards in Canada, and Kenya Former Chairperson, Aga Khan Women’s Portfolio

·        Member, World Business Academy

·        Member, Canadian Management Association

·        Founding Member, Kenyan Chapter of Women of Spirit