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Summary of Expertise, Experience and Affiliations and Interest for the Scientific Advisory Committee on Respiratory and Allergy Therapies (SAC-RAT)

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Contact: Policy Bureau Enquiries

Related Information: Scientific Advisory Committee on Respiratory and Allergy Therapies - Membership List and Biographies

Purpose of Summary

The following summarizes the information about expertise or experience, affiliations and interests relevant to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Respiratory and Allergy Therapies (SAC-RAT) mandate declared by committee members. Health Canada considered these declarations as part of the selection process. The Health Products and Food Branch has made this summary available as part of its commitment to be transparent about the membership of its advisory bodies.

Assessment of affiliations and interests prior to each meeting

Prior to each committee meeting, Health Canada assesses members' affiliations and interests, including direct financial interests, as they may apply to agenda items for discussion. Depending on the nature of the member's affiliations or interests, the Chair of the committee in consultation with the members, may limit the participation of a member in the meeting or ask him/her to make a verbal statement of affiliations and interests at the beginning of the meeting. Members' affiliations and interests are reviewed on an annual basis and updated as required based on changes in the status of their affiliations and interests.

In accordance with the Health Products and Food Branch Review of Regulated Products: Policy on Public Input and Guidance on Advisory Bodies, a person with a direct financial interest in the outcome of a review of a regulated product may be a member of an advisory body whose broader mandate encompasses matters of policy, management, or program development. However, such a member would not be asked to participate in any discussion, formulation of advice, or recommendations to Health Canada relating to that review.

Indicated [Sector/Perspective] and [Expertise/Experience]

Sector/perspective:

Expertise/experience:

  1. Direct financial interests
    1. Current employment, investments in companies, partnerships, equity, royalties, joint ventures, trusts, real property, stocks, shares or bonds, with the regulated industry
  2. Indirect financial interests
    1. Within the past five years, payment from regulated industry for work done or being done, including past employment, contracts or consulting; or financial support including research support, personal education grants, contributions, fellowships, sponsorships, and honorariaFootnote 1
    2. Within the past five years, materials, discounted products, gifts, or other benefits, or attendance at meetings where all or part of the travel and accommodation costs were provided by the regulated industryFootnote 2
    3. Within the last three years, grants or other funding from the regulated industry to any of the organizations where you are currently employed or participate in internal decision makingFootnote 3
  3. Intellectual interests
    1. Within the last five years, any formal advice or opinion to industry, a government organization or a non-government organization on a matter of relevance to the SAC-RAT
    2. Within the last five years, any published or publicly stated point of view on issues of relevance to the SAC-RAT mandate
    3. Current professional or volunteer affiliations such as membership of professional societies, lobbying, public interest or advocacy groups, of relevance to the SAC-RAT
  4. Other
    1. Any other affiliations and interests or potential circumstances that might give a well-informed member of the public reasonable grounds for concern regarding the integrity and objectivity of your participation
Biographies and Affiliations and Interests Summaries

Name and Indicated Sector/Perspective and Expertise Experience

Summary of Responses

Core Members

Irvin Mayers, MD, FRCPC (Chair)

Research/ academia, health professional; Critical care, pulmonary research, respirology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) Yes

2c) Yes

3a) Yes

3b) Yes

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Received unrestricted educational grants from various pharmaceutical companies for asthma education to primary care practitioners. Travel and registration to an International Symposium paid for by pharmaceutical company. The Division of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Alberta, has received funding for a research Chair from a pharmaceutical company. Volunteer Advisor to the Drug Effectiveness Review Project (Canada and United States review of asthma controlled medications). Volunteer Advisor for Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), regarding Common Drug Review for pulmonary arterial hypertension medication. Advisory board member for various pharmaceutical companies. Attended Respiratory Drug Delivery Conference, Therapeutic equivalence of inhaled corticosteroids. Past Chair of Canadian Thoracic Society research committee. Investigator with AllerGen Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), incorporated.

Donald W. Cockcroft, MD, FRCPC

Health professional; Respirology, allergy and immunology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) No

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Received research grants and honoraria for teaching/speaking from various pharmaceutical companies. Travel to an International Symposium paid for by a pharmaceutical company. Previous volunteer advisory board member for pharmaceutical companies. Advisor/consultant to pharmaceutical companies, neither of which are relevant to the SAC-RAT. Member of Canadian Thoracic Society, Saskatchewan Thoracic Society, American Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society, American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Clinical Immunology, America College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Sharon Dell, BEng, MD, FRCPC

Health professional; Paediatric respirologist, epidemiology

1a) No

2a) No

2b) Yes

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

Lecture fees/honoraria paid for by pharmaceutical companies. Advisory board member for various pharmaceutical companies.

Alan Kaplan, MD, CCFP (EM), FCFP

Health professional; Family medicine, respirology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) Yes

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Honoraria provided by various pharmaceutical companies for talks given. Travel and registration to an International Symposium and an International congress paid for by pharmaceutical company. Volunteer for Public Health Agency of Canada/Respiratory Surveillance Committee. Advisory board member for various pharmaceutical companies. Member of Scientific Committee of Asthma Society of Canada, Canadian Thoracic Society, International Primary Care Respiratory Group, Canadian Network for Asthma Care, Canadian COPD Alliance, European Respiratory Society, Metropolitan tuberculosis issues subcommittee of the Canadian Tuberculosis Committee, Ontario Lung Cancer Initiative. Chairperson of the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada.

Darcy D. Marciniuk, MD, FRCPC, FCCP

Research/ academia, Health professional; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) Yes

2c) Yes

3a) Yes

3b) Yes

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Received honoraria from various pharmaceutical companies for speaking and educational materials. Grants received from various pharmaceutical companies for travel. Received research grants from various pharmaceutical companies. Has provided paid and/or volunteer advice/opinion to various pharmaceutical companies, government and non-government organizations. Published commentaries and articles on various respiratory treatments in numerous scientific journals. Member of the Canadian COPD Alliance and Chair of the COPD Committee of the Canadian Thoracic Society.

William J. Racz, BSPharm, MSc, PhD

Research/ academia;

Pharmacology, toxicology, bioavailability and bioequivalence

1a) No

2a) No

2b) No

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Newsletter editor and Member of the Society of Toxicology of Canada. Member of the Pharmacological Society of Canada.

Robert Schellenberg, MD, FRCPC, FAAAAI

Health professional; Allergies, asthma and immunology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) No

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) Yes

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Received honoraria to participate in medical advisory committee meetings with various pharmaceutical companies. Advisory committee member for various pharmaceutical companies. Published article on the treatment of severe allergic asthma in scientific journal. Medical advisory board member of British Columbia Lung Association. Member of steering committee of the National Lung Health Framework.

Don D. Sin, MD, FRCPC

Research/ academia, Health professional; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) Yes

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

Research funding from various pharmaceutical companies for investigator-initiated research projects (participated as principal or co-investigator for these projects). The pharmaceutical companies had no role in the design or execution of these projects. Received honoraria for speaking engagements from pharmaceutical companies. Travel and accommodation to an international annual congress paid for by a pharmaceutical company. Served on Scientific Advisory Boards for pharmaceutical companies.

Matthew Stanbrook, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Research/ academia, Health professional; Epidemiology, respirology

1a) No

2a) No

2b) No

2c) Yes

3a) Yes

3b) Yes

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Member of the Executive Committee of the Ontario Thoracic Society, which organizes an annual conference sponsored by various pharmaceutical companies. Published commentaries and articles on various respiratory treatments in numerous scientific journals. Scientific Deputy Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Harissios Vliagoftis, MD

Research/academia, health professional,

Asthma and immunology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) No

2c) Yes

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

Received educational grants from three pharmaceutical companies. Co-investigator on industry-sponsored studies for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. Received a research grant from a pharmaceutical company to study allergic asthma in an animal model. Co-investigator on researcher-initiated study on fragrances and airway mechanics. Member of The Lung Association – Alberta and NWT, which receives industry funding for the biennial Alberta Respiratory Disease Symposium. Member of the "Alberta Breathes" Executive Council, which has received industry funding for specific projects. Consultant to a pharmaceutical company in 2007.

Myrna Dolovich, P (Eng)

Research/ academia; Aerosols, airway delivery systems

1a) Yes

2a) Yes

2b) No

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Shares in a pharmaceutical company. Principal Investigator Research Grant for pharmaceutical companies. Volunteer and paid opinions provided to pharmaceutical companies. Member of the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine. Chair and Head of Delegation of the Canadian Advisory Committee to the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) Technical Committee 84 - Devices for Administration of Medicinal products and intravascular catheters. Chair of the Canadian Standards Association.

Allan Donner, PhD

Research/ academia; Biostatistics, epidemiology and clinical trials

1a) No

2a) No

2b) No

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

None

Edmund Lui, PhD

Research/ academia; Pharmacology, toxicology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) No

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

Contract research funding provided by a pharmaceutical company. Consultant to the Therapeutic Products Directorate, Health Canada regarding pre-clinical data for inhaled nitric oxide. Prepared consultation report for the Natural Health Products Directorate, Health Canada regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine products.

Larry Lynd, PhD

Research/ academia; Biostatistics, epidemiology

1a) No

2a) No

2b) No

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

None

Parameswaran Nair, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCPC

Research/ academia, Health professional; Respirology, clinical trials and pharmacology

1a) No

2a) Yes

2b) No

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

Investigator-initiated grants received from various pharmaceutical companies.

Rama Chandran Nair, MSc, PhD, FACE

Research/ academia; Epidemiology and biostatistics, clinical trials

1a) No

2a) No

2b) No

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

Provided expert opinion/testimony in a trial on the patent of a medication for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; the advice was limited to the review of clinical trials and other evidence with respect to the efficacy and side effects of the drug.

Maureen E. Patterson, Advanced Registered Technologist (ART)

Patient/ Consumer; Public health, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

1a) No

2a) No

2b) No

2c) No

3a) Yes

3b) No

3c) No

4a) No

Comments:

None

William Swan

Patient /consumer

asthma

1a) Yes

2a) No

2b) No

2c) Yes

3a) No

3b) Yes

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Stock in a pharmaceutical company. Staff with the International Health Economics Association that organizes biennial meetings with limited sponsorship from pharmaceutical companies (typically less than 5% of total budget). Gave presentations on the role of the patient in health and health care planning and the role of patient groups in asthma. Chair of the National Asthma Patient Alliance and member of AllerGen's Policy, Ethics, Law and Society Advisory Committee.

Susan Waserman, MSc, MD, FRCPC

Health Professional; Immunology, allergies, asthma

1a) Yes

2a) Yes

2b) Yes

2c) No

3a) No

3b) No

3c) Yes

4a) No

Comments:

Spousal stocks in a pharmaceutical company. Some research financially supported by various pharmaceutical companies. Travel expenses to several meetings paid for by various pharmaceutical companies. Member and past President of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society of Ontario.

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2025-06-06