Dr. Ted Witek
Health Care Advisor and Scholar
University of Toronto & Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Dr. Ted Witek is a health care advisor and scholar based in Toronto and Lisbon. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME) of The University of Toronto (UofT) and Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Faculty of Pharmacy. From 2014-18, he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, and Chief Scientific Officer at Innoviva in San Francisco (formerly Theravance, Inc). At Innoviva, he led the clinical and medical affairs strategic collaboration governance with GSK in their joint portfolio of inhaled products, chairing the Joint Steering Committee in 2015. Prior to joining Theravance, Dr. Witek, served as President and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) in Canada from 2008-14, and in Portugal from 2004-08. Joining BI in 1992, Dr. Witek held a number of positions of increasing responsibility during which time he led the global clinical development and launch of several respiratory products, most notably Spiriva®. He also led the Respiratory and Immunology clinical research groups in the USA. In 2001, he moved to Germany to lead the operating team for Spiriva® where he also served as the BI Chair of the Joint Operating Committee with Pfizer in their global alliance. In his early research career, he was a senior investigator at Richardson-Vicks/P&G where he advanced nasal function methodologies (acoustic reflection/ laser Doppler velocimetry), psychomotor performance testing with antihistamines, and models of acute respiratory tract infection. His current health policy work focuses on public health impact of commercial promotion of pharmaceuticals, cannabis and vaping as well as leadership and accountability during public health crises.
During his tenure in Canada, Dr. Witek served on the Board of Directors of Innovative Medicines Canada (formerly Rx&D), chairing its Heath Technology Assessment and Public Affairs Committees. He also served over 20 years on the Drug/Device Discovery and Development Committee of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), serving as Chairman from 2010-12. Ted was also elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, The American Association of Respiratory Care, and, in 2018, among the maiden recipients named ATS Fellows. He currently serves on the ATS Foundation Strategic Advisory Council. He was appointed by the Ministries of Heath & Innovation to the Ontario Heath Innovation Council, whose work led to a 2015 ACE Award from the Ontario Government. He advises the “Design for Health” program at The Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University, serves on the Commercialization Advisory Board of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, and is a Senior fellow at Columbia University’s HITLAB. He is a regular contributor to MISC Magazine where he provides perspectives to current issues in business and health. He is currently an Advisor to and Director of several firms.
Dr. Witek holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree from Columbia University, an MPH from Yale University, and an MBA from Henley Management College in London. In 2019, Ted earned his ICD.D designation from The Rotman School of Management at UofT and The Institute of Corporate Directors. In 2020, he completed the Digital Health Strategy certificate at Columbia Business School. He completed advanced executive leadership programs at Tuck/Dartmouth and INSEAD/Paris-Shanghai. He has authored over 100 manuscripts and chapters in the field of respiratory public health, airway disease, and drug development, including the textbook Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Respiratory Care.
On a personal note, he is an accomplished photographer who publishes and exhibits widely. He frequently writes about food and wine, earning the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. (9/2020)