FOUNDER’S ZIG-ZAG ROUTE TO THE TOPFrom law to...

FOUNDER’S ZIG-ZAG ROUTE TO THE TOP

From law to dermatology

Cheyanne Enciso

Matt Callahan has worn multiple hats during his career spanning about 30 years, a feat he described as like “drinking from a firehose”.

Most of Mr Callahan’s focus these days is on his role as executive director at the Perth dermatology company he co-founded in 2016, Botanix Pharmaceuticals.

It is a far cry from his early days as a corporate and resources lawyer at firm Minter Ellison and general counsel at tech company QPSX, which ultimately became aerial imaging software company Nearmap.

From there, Mr Callahan and former Nearmap chief executive Rob Newman joined forces to form Perth venture capital firm Stone Ridge Ventures with OncoRes Medical boss Katharine Giles.

And from 2004, Mr Callahan went onto become the founder of several ASX-listed companies including Dimerix, Orthocell and Botanix.

He freely admitted “that when I was a venture capitalist, I probably wasn’t a very good one because I didn’t have a lot of operational experience at the time in companies that we were investing in”.

“I’ve moved between a few different careers and learnt really fast,” Mr Callahan, pictured, said. “And I think the strongest lessons for me is to work with people who are world class and be prepared to learn from them, be prepared to build networks with people that ultimately can create a great company.

“If you’re going to be successful in Western Australia, growing companies and growing new industries, you have to have people who are prepared to spend time educating you.”

Mr Callahan is now gearing up for what is set to become one of his major achievements at Botanix.

“I couldn’t have predicted the zigs and the zags that have taken me from the bottom left-hand corner of Australia to Philadelphia in the US (where Botanix is also headquartered),” he said.

The company in late January confirmed its re-submission to the US Food and Drug Administration for its lead product, Sofdra, had been accepted.

It means the anticipated approval date for the gel, which aims to help treat primary axillary hyperhidrosis, a medical condition which results in excessive sweating, remains on target for June.

“We’re transforming now from the typical R&D-focused ASX-listed biotech into a commercial company that will be generating revenue in the new financial year,” he said.

“The total addressable market for us is about 11 million patients (in the US) a year who have the type of hyperhidrosis that we’re looking at,” Mr Callahan said.