EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NAEJA Pharmaceutical, Inc., a pharmaceutical drug discovery and development company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, announced today that its founder and chief executive officer, Christopher G. Micetich, was presented the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2015 Prairies Business-to-Business Products and Services Award during a ceremony in Calgary on October 15, 2015.
"Receiving this EY Entrepreneur the Year category award for the Prairies region was an unexpected and remarkable experience - and humbling as well, knowing that I could not have accomplished what I have without an excellent team of scientists and business experts," commented Christopher G. Micetich, founder and chief executive officer of NAEJA Pharmaceutical. "My team at NAEJA and I have dedicated careers to building a successful R&D company. Indeed, scientists at NAEJA have discovered and developed many life-saving drugs and drug candidates, among which is a family of beta-lactam antibiotic compounds that were licensed to Fedora Pharmaceuticals and subsequently to Roche for up to $750 million in January 2015. While that was an enormous accomplishment for us, the nature of entrepreneurship is to continually strive for new goals. We have already committed ourselves to making 2016 an even more inspiring year for NAEJA."
The Canadian Entrepreneur Of The Year program is in its 22nd year of recognizing, celebrating and telling the inspiring stories of the country's most impressive entrepreneurs from all areas of business and at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Award finalists are chosen by an independent panel of judges based on their vision, leadership, innovation, financial success, personal integrity, and work in giving back to their communities. Individual awards are presented in eleven categories, including business-to-business products and services, energy services, professional and financial services, and technology and communications. For more information on the award program, please visit www.ey.com/ca/EOY.
Christopher Micetich is currently the chief executive officer of NAEJA, a company he formed in 1999 in part from the assets of SynPhar Laboratories Inc., a joint venture with Taiho Pharmaceuticals Inc. From 1987-1999, as chief operating officer of SynPhar, Mr. Micetich grew the company from four to 65 employees. In 1998, Mr. Micetich founded an independent contract chemistry company called DrisCorp Inc. The following year, he orchestrated an acquisition of all assets of SynPhar from Taiho, which were merged into the newly created NAEJA Pharmaceutical Inc. In October 1999, he merged DrisCorp into NAEJA, which emerged with contract revenue generation, world class staff, strong patent estate and state of the art equipment. In 2011, Mr. Micetich founded Fedora Pharmaceuticals, a private company focused on developing a family beta-lactam antibiotic compounds that had been licensed from NAEJA. He remains president and CEO of Fedora Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Mr. Micetich founded Windjammer Java Roasters Inc., a specialty coffee roasting company, and The Brass Dome Group Inc., which provides business consulting services. Mr. Micetich graduated from the University of Alberta in 1986.
About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 140 cities in 50 countries.
About NAEJA
NAEJA is a privately owned pharmaceutical drug discovery and development company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The company was established in 1987 (earlier known as SynPhar laboratories Inc.) and employs over 50 scientists, of whom 90% hold Ph.D. degrees. NAEJA has an extensive track record of drug discovery and development in many disease areas including infectious diseases, inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular disease and diseases of the central nervous system. NAEJA collaborates with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. For more information on the company, please visit www.NAEJA.com.