patek herself has spent over 20 years con-
ducting research for both the academic
and industrial sectors.
Often, it is difficult to move from academia
to industry, but despite coming from a
strictly scientific background, Dr. Salapatek
transitioned into the entrepreneurial as-
pects of Inflamax rather easily. “You can’t
be bound by an occupational description,”
Dr. Salapatek said. She has benefitted im-
mensely from the leadership of Dr. Patel,
a scientist who is well-versed in the busi-
ness world.
“We have built our company organically
and grown it organically and we’ve really
tried to employ managers who have good
leadership skills,” Dr. Salapatek said.
The record amount of growth Inflamax has
experienced in as little as four years is at-
tributable to its exceptional management.
Last year, Inflamax was recognized as one
of Canada’s Best Managed Companies
by Deloitte. The company’s approach is a
simple one: managers are encouraged to
operate their unit of Inflamax in an entre-
preneurial style, whereby innovation is fu-
elled autonomously.
A common trend seen amongst success-
ful companies is a motivated staff and In-
flamax is no exception. “An important part
of our success has been that everybody
who works here is very, very passionate
about what they do,” Dr. Salapatek said.
Recently, Inflamax was selected to go on
a trade mission with the Ontario govern-
ment to Israel. As Israel is a hotbed of re-
search activity, Dr. Salapatek expressed
64 business elite canada
H
MAY 2016
