Pharma, how to navigate an entrepreneurial voyage

To hear Anthony Giovinazzo tell it, a successful entrepreneur needs qualities akin to those of a US Marine: tenacity, courage, perseverance, resilience under extreme pressure and the ability to adapt to circumstances, combined with empathy, humility and hard work.

Giovinazzo, a Canadian who over the past 40 years has worked in tax, finance and pharmaceuticals, speaks with some authority. In 2016, he sold Cynapsus Therapeutics, the drugs company he built over nine long years with a handful of colleagues, to a leading Japanese counterpart for C$841 million (US $684m) – all cash upfront.

Pitched at a 120% premium, the deal marked the end of a struggle to turn belief in a ground-breaking treatment from dream to reality. Among the obstacles were painstaking scientific validation, acquiring manufacturing proficiency and securing regulatory approval, along with regular battles to prevent the company from going under.

“It was a combination of persistence and perseverance, but…