Robert Foster, PharmD, PhD, DSc (Hon), CM, AOE

Area of Study / Keywords

Drug Discovery and Development Pharmacometrics

About

Dr. Robert T. Foster was most recently CEO of a New Jersey based biotech company focused on liver disease and fibrosis until his resignation in December 2023. He is currently an Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, and a Board member of Transcriptome Sciences Inc and Cell Technologies Inc. He previously served as a Board member of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (Edmonton, Alberta and Rockville, Maryland), Isotechnika Pharma (Edmonton, Alberta), Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals (Edmonton, Alberta and San Diego, California), the Alberta Economic Development Authority; a Council Member, Alberta Premier’s Advisory Council on Health; an Advisory Board Member, Industry Liaison Office, University of Alberta; Co-Chair and Board Member of BioAlberta; and on the Board of Management, Alberta Science and Research Authority. Dr. Foster first began working on drug discovery and development in 1988 and has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical and biotech experience. He founded Isotechnika Pharma Inc. in 1993 and was its Chairman and CEO for approximately 21 years. During his tenure at Isotechnika, Dr. Foster discovered voclosporin, an immunosuppressive drug to treat autoimmune diseases. In 2002, Dr. Foster structured a USD $215 million licensing deal, Canada’s largest at the time, for voclosporin for kidney transplant immunosuppression with Hoffman-La Roche (Basel, Switzerland). Later, he was founding Chief Executive Officer, and subsequently Chief Scientific Officer, of Aurinia after it was acquired by Isotechnika in 2013. Voclosporin is the first ever FDA-approved oral therapy for lupus nephritis, marketed under the brand name Lupkynis®. Lupkynis® has also been approved by the European Commission which applies to all 27 European Union member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Northern Ireland. The drug has also been approved in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Japan.In addition to pharmaceutical discovery and development, Dr. Foster also developed and obtained regulatory approvals for a commercially available 13C urea breath test, called Helikit®, for the diagnosis of H. pylori. Dr. Foster sold the Helikit® diagnostic test to Paladin Pharma Inc. in 2009.Dr. Foster holds undergraduate degrees including a chemistry major (BSc) and pharmacy (BScPharm) and has a post-graduate PharmD, a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences, and a DSc (Hon). Dr. Foster served as a tenured, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta from 1988 to 1997. From 1990 to 1994, Dr. Foster was Medical Staff, Scientific and Research Associate in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre.Dr. Foster has published approximately 230 papers, abstracts and book chapters focused on drug analysis, development, and pharmacometrics. He received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (2018), received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2022), received the Alberta Order of Excellence (2024), and the Order of Canada (2025). He was named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People in 2002, and on behalf of Isotechnika, received recognition as both Alberta Venture’s 3rd Fastest Growing Company, and Profit Magazine’s top 100 Fastest Growing Canadian Company in 2003. Dr. Foster previously served as Division Chairman of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Alberta and has acted as a consultant to many pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Foster is named as an inventor on more than 200 patents