Amita M. Kent,  B.Sc., LL.B., Vice President, Legal Affairs
Schering-Plough Canada Inc.

Amita has been involved in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years as General Counsel, in addition to other functional roles such as Vice President, Corporate Business Development; Corporate Secretary; Corporate Compliance Officer; Chief Privacy Officer and Vice President of Strategic Planning.

Prior to joining Schering-Plough Canada Inc. in July 2003, Amita held the position of Vice President, General Counsel for Pharmacia Canada Inc.  Pharmacia was subsequently acquired by Pfizer in the largest pharmaceutical acquisition in Canadian history and Amita led the due diligence and Competition Bureau taskforce on behalf of Pharmacia.

Amita was previously the Vice President, Business Development and General Counsel for Novopharm Limited and its fourteen subsidiaries for 11 years.  Amita’s role was strategic in negotiating partnerships with such pharmaceutical companies as Glaxo Smith Kline, Pfizer, Searle, Aventis, Astra Zeneca, Novartis, Wyeth Ayerst and Merck Frosst.

Amita was the recipient of the Governor General’s Award and the Dr. W. Bruce Almon Scholarship from the University of King’s College in 1978.  She obtained a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology and Physics from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia in 1981.  Amita then went on to obtain her Law Degree at the University of Windsor, Ontario in 1984 and was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1986. She was in private practice and with a general practice law firm until she joined Novopharm in 1990.

Amita has served on several boards and committees, including the West Island Palliative Care Residence and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is a member of the Ontario Bar.  She is also associated with several professional organizations including the Canadian Bar Association, the Pharmaceutical Lawyers’ Association, the Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association (executive) and the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association.  Amita is a regular speaker on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Rx&D and industry on corporate issues such as intellectual property, licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions, employment issues and the role of General Counsel.