Samira Sakhia

Grupo Biotoscana - CEO of Grupo Biotoscana

Profile

Ms. Sakhia joined Knight as President in August 2016, was named President & Chief Operating Officer in June 2020 and assumed the role of President & Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2021. Additionally, Ms. Sakhia served as CFO from October 2017 to March 2020. Prior to Knight, Ms. Sakhia served as the CFO at Paladin from 2001 to 2015. At Paladin, Ms. Sakhia was responsible for the finance, operations, human resources and investor relations functions. During her employment with Paladin, Ms. Sakhia was instrumental in executing in-licensing and acquisition transactions of Canadian and international pharmaceutical products and businesses. Ms. Sakhia led several M&A and strategic lending transactions as well as equity rounds on the TSX and completed the sale of Paladin to Endo International for $3.2 billion. Ms. Sakhia serves on the board of the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the International Advisory Board of McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management, and is a member at large of the Board of Governors of McGill University and an independent Board member at the McGill University Health Center. Ms. Sakhia holds an MBA, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy from McGill University.

Firm Profile
We are the first Latin-American biopharmaceutical company based on innovation. We develop, manufacture and commercialize advanced medicines, aimed at treating truly unmet medical needs.

Headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay and with presence in 10 countries throughout the region, GBT offers an unparalleled infrastructure among its peers. We are a team of more than 600 scientists, doctors, pharmacists, regulatory professionals, sales and marketing experts, access specialists and dedicated support people spread throughout the region who make their lives’ purpose to enhance lives and restore hopes to patients with severe and debilitating conditions.

We focus on products that make a difference for doctors’ practices and transform lives in profound and meaningful ways. Our main areas of operations are oncology, onco-hematology, severe infectious diseases, genetic and rare conditions as well as immunology and inflammation. Our products are among the most advanced medications available to mankind, launched at the same time as in the most developed markets in the world, like the United States, Europe and Japan.

To be able to do that, GBT is a pioneer in the region in Open Innovation. The most advanced concept in clinical research, Open Innovation recognizes that companies cannot go at it alone anymore. In an interconnected world, the science ecosystem became interdependent and porous. A modern research-based company can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas as it looks to advance its technology. We work hard to keep the boundaries between GBT’s research and its environment permeable, so innovations can easily transfer inward and outward. We routinely establish clinical partnerships with some of the most innovative biopharmaceutical companies in the world, which we complement with technology created in our own state of the art research and development laboratories, as well as partnerships with local and international universities and research centers.

As a result, GBT’s portfolio of medicines is comprised of truly cutting-edge technology that makes a difference for more than 200,000 doctors and more than 800,000 patients every year. Patients that can aspire to receive the benefits of truly modern medicine and, more importantly, to live longer and more meaningful lives.

Group Biotoscana believes that we are all responsible for the company’s reputation. Thus, it is indispensable that our actions are guided by ethics, transparency and good compliance practices, all of which are essential values for protection of the organization’s image and strengthening of a trustful relationship with our stakeholders. With this, we are able to be closer to our clients and partners, seek new opportunities for growth, conduct long-term business and reinforce the efficiency of the company work.