Dr Owen Matthews, BSc(Hons)PhD, MRACI CChem AIMM

macoe was founded by Dr Owen Matthews, BSc(Hons)PhD, AIMM, MRACI CChem.

The business has expertise in the development (business, process, products) of cosmetic, pharmaceutical, animal, health and crop protection products.

After graduating with his doctorate in Organic Chemistry in 1996 Dr Matthews honed his innovation skills at the interface between molecular research and industry. He was an Industrial Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Birmingham where he worked in the laboratory of Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, FRS and the Company Research Laboratory at BNFL. This research was patented (WO96/39402) with the intention of using it as an ion sensor for radioactive waste streams. He gained an expert knowledge of various pure and applied technical aspects of sensor design and product development, including design, specifications, selectivity, existing competitive products and financial feasibility. In this time he also conducted a diverse range of collaborative research which has been published in high impact peer-reviewed journals.

When Sir Fraser became the Saul Winstein Professor of Chemistry at UCLA in 1997 Dr Matthews chose not to pursue an academic career in the US and commenced an Industrial Post Doctoral Fellowship in the Process Technology Department of Syngenta in Yorkshire. In this commercially successful technical environment he carried out process R&D as part of a technical team supporting the manufacture of a flagship herbicide (global sales exceeding AUD$400m p.a.). He was responsible for process development, product protection, process optimisation and manufacturing support which required excellent knowledge of production processes, project planning/management, customer demands, safety and the environment. All of this confidential work was of benefit to the protection and improvement of Syngenta's global business interests.

In 1999 Dr Matthews returned to Brisbane with his family and started work as the Technology Team Leader at Crop Care Australasia which was the crop protection division of Australia largest chemical company Orica. In this management role Dr Matthews worked with a small team of chemists and engineers to develop, protect and exploit intellectual property. He worked closely with research, manufacturing, marketing, regulatory, supply chain and quality departments and regularly reported directly to senior management on key projects. Crop Care was a world leader in soil-based controlled release technology and had a portfolio of approximately 130 products for crop protection including; biological agents, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides. It had a turnover of AUD$140m in 2001/2002 and as a clear demonstration of its innovative "can-do" culture, more than 30% of this turnover was from products developed and launched within the preceding 3 years. Dr Matthews main responsibilities were to drive new products through development and into the marketplace within specified timeframes. Competencies included; economic feasibility studies, project management/planning, budgeting, technology evaluations, technology strategy, exploiting licensing agreements, initiating/managing collaborative research programs (including ARC Linkage), IP strategies, raw material procurement, scale-up and manufacture, active ingredient synthesis, staff recruitment, management, development, market research, customer liaison, regulatory requirements and activity reporting.

In 2003 Crop Care was purchased by Nufarm and Dr Matthews was asked to relocate to Melbourne as a Technical Manager. He chose to remain in Brisbane and for the next 6 years Dr Matthews was the General Manager of Dermcare-Vet. Dermcare has gained an international reputation in its niche area of small animal dermatology. It's flagship product, Malaseb, is available in many countries via direct export from Australia or licensing arrangements with overseas partners Teva Animal Health and Dechra Veterinary Products. The founder of Dermcare-Vet is a specialist veterinary dermatologist and adjunct professor at the University of Queensland. He is passionate about improving the health of animals and is the creative force behind the research projects. Dr Matthews was able to implement cultural and operational changes as the company grew from a small innovative enterprise into a medium sized pharmaceutical business generating increased revenue from domestic and export sales. Overseas IP licencing and distribution agreements generated an increasing percentage of revenue and Dr Matthews was involved in initiating and managing many of these relationships, with a particular foucs on Asia e.g. Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Dermcare conducts all aspects of new product development – including pre-clinical (in-vitro and in-vivo), safety & efficacy trials, chemistry (formulation, stability), IP protection & defence, registration, marketing, manufacture (scale-up and technical support) and sales. Dermcare generates revenue from out-licencing IP (royalty etc), as well as pharmaceutical product import/distribution (direct sales), and export/distribution (direct sales).

Dr Matthews works with a wide range of research and development staff and is able to identify, protect and exploit IP. He conducts freedom to operate literature searches and trains researchers in the commercial importance of records, date of invention and confidentiality. He nurtures strong relationships with patent and trademark attorneys and works with them to obtain and maintain international patent grants, as well as managing and developing other forms of IP (trademarks, brands, know-how). Dr Matthews has also had experience defending IP rights (trademark and patent) against infringement activity in Australia and overseas. He has worked with legal advisors on the interpretation, negotiation, execution, modification and management of a wide range of agreements. These include product distribution agreements (import- and export-); IP licensing (in- and out-) with royalty, milestone, performance payments; collaborative research and devlopment agreements (e.g. ARC Linkage grants); confidentiality agreements; HR employment agreements; supply agreements; manufacturing agreements (including toll-manufacturing products for other brands); credit account applications; trading terms.

Dr Matthews has been a member of the Licensing Executive Society for over 7 years. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute for 20 years. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Management and the Society of Chemical Industry. In 2010 Dr Matthews became a Volunteer Business Mentor working with Commercialisation Australia to assist small companies and inventors to develop their ideas and intellecual property .  He regularly attends relevant professional training and development events.

Dr Matthews has been trained in several project management approaches to successfully develop registered cosmetic, pharmaceutical and crop protection products. He has highly developed negotiation and communication skills and thoroughly enjoys the process of reaching and executing an agreement then ensuring that this delivers commercial benefit to both partners.