Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein
President & CEO | MaRS Innovation
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Turning academic ideas into commercial realities
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Biography
Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein joined MaRS Innovation as President and CEO in June 2009.
During the 1980s, Dr Hofstein held the roles of scientific director of Biotechnological Applications Ltd., and manager R&D and chief of Immunochemistry at the International Genetic Scientific Partnership, organizations that were pivotal in developing Israel’s world-leading biotechnology sector.
Dr. Hofstein was scientific director of the Israeli office of Ecogen Inc., a subsidiary of Monsanto, for over six years before assuming the role of vice-president, Business Development for Ecogen in Langhorne, Pa.
From 1997 to 1999 Dr. Hofstein was president of Mindsense Biosystems Ltd., an Israeli company that develops neuropsychiatric immune assays. From 1999 to the present, he has held the position of president and CEO of Hadasit Ltd., the technology transfer and commercialization company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem. Later on, Dr. Hofstein joined Medica Ventures, a lead VC in Israel and served for 10 years as the president and CEO of Hadasit.
Dr. Hofstein was the founder and served as chair of Hadasit BioHolding Ltd., a publicly-traded holding company (10 start-ups under management) on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) since 2005. Other directorships held on TASE publicly-traded companies include: Bioline RX (drug development); Exalenz (medical devices); and Evogene (agri-bio).
He has also served as chairman of BIOMED, Israel’s annual biomedical conference, from 2005 to 2007. In addition, Dr. Hofstein is a co-founder and board member of ILSI, the Israeli Life Science Industry Organization, and a co-founder and executive in Israel’s Tech Transfer Network (ITTN).
Industry Expertise (9)
Corporate Leadership
Research
Capital Markets
Pharmaceuticals
Biotechnology
Non-Profit/Charitable
Medical Devices
Government Relations
VC and Private Equity
Areas of Expertise (5)
Corporate & Business Strategy
Early-Stage Investing
Life Sciences and Healthcare
Technology Transfer
Commercialization of Innovation
Education (4)
Neurobiology Department, Harvard Medical School: Post-Doctoral Training, Molecular Biology and Physiology
Weizmann Institute of Science: PhD, Life Science and Chemistry
Weizmann Institute of Science: Master of Science, Life Sciences and Chemistry
Hebrew University of Jerusalem : Bachelor of Science, Chemistry and Physics
Links (2)
Languages (1)
- English
Media Appearances (5)
Good News for Bad Guts
Yonge Street Media print
2014-11-12
MaRS Innovation-University of Toronto start-up Encycle Therapeutics, is the recipient of a generous grant to further research its development of an oral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD--the first of its kind. As Dr. Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO of MaRS Innovation, told Drug Discovery and Development: "Encycle Therapeutics has spent the last 18 months demonstrating the significant potential of its innovative macrocyle chemistry platform to generate small-cell permeable systems . . ."
Ontario's Life Sciences Community Looks to Capitalize on the Asian Opportunity
Biotechnology Focus print
2014-01-24
In a January 24, 2014 Biotechnology Focus cover article, author Shawn Lawrence discusses MaRS Innovation President and CEO Dr. Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein‘s recent visit to learn more of the emerging science and technology markets in Singapore and Japan. The trip allowed Hofstein to discuss current MI projects, specifically start-ups XLV Diagnostics Inc. and DVLR Therapeutics Inc., whose products could benefit from Singapore’s proximity to medical technology markets in India and China.
Cleantech and healthcare: two sectors leading exponential technology growth in Toronto
Yonge Street Media online
2013-10-30
In an October 30 article, Yonge Street Media‘s Andrew Seale spoke with MI’s president and CEO Raphael Hofstein on the booming healthcare innovation coming from Toronto since 2005. Seale’s article is the first of a two-part series on technological innovation. In the article, Hofstein credits the city’s intellectual infrastructure and access to healthcare resources for allowing innovation to flourish.
Biotechnology research: a knowledge economy
The Hill-Times print
2013-09-09
In this op-ed, Dr. Hofstein examines the diseases challenging the healthcare system, what Canada's biotechnology community is doing to address them and what's required to make progress.
Interview: Raphael Hofstein, President & CEO, MaRS Innovation, Canada
Pharma Boardroom print
2013-08-27
An interview with Dr. Raphael Hofstein and discussion of the challenges facing the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
Event Appearances (3)
Cracking the innovation code – Creating Canadian value in the global market
Toronto CFO Executive Summit Hilton Toronto Markham Suites
2014-12-08
Strengthening the interface between industry and technology transfer offices
AACT Canada Conference Toronto, ON, Canada
2013-12-05
Shaping our future in the changing global biopharma R&D economy
CQDM Global BioPharma event Montreal, QC, Canada
2013-06-12
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