Appili Therapeutics Inc., a Halifax-based anti-infective drug development company, today named former STI Technologies CEO Stephen Nicolle to its board of directors.

A seasoned executive, Nicolle has led Canadian and American companies to deliver innovative customer value and returned over $100 million to their investors.  In Halifax, he is known for leading the healthcare IT company STI in its $17 million private equity raise in 2013.

"When it comes to leading venture-backed companies, Mr. Nicolle brings unparalleled business expertise and vision that will be instrumental as we grow and develop our pipeline of anti-infective products,” said Appili CEO Kevin Sullivan in a statement. 

Operating out of a lab in the Innovacorp Enterprise Centre in Halifax, Appili has a two-track strategy. It hopes to get a low-risk drug with limited potential to market quickly and use the revenues from that drug to help develop a second candidate that could battle antibiotic-resistant viruses.

Last year, Appili received a key U.S. regulatory designation for a drug, known as ATI-1501, that treats Clostridium difficile infection in children. The Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug designation to ATI-1501, which removes the bitter taste from Metronidazole, a drug that has been used to treat the condition since the 1970s.

Meanwhile, the company is also working on ATI-1503, an antibiotic that could fight deadly infections such as Klebsiella pneumonia.

"I am attracted by Appili’s strategic approach of acquiring and developing early stage and late stage products which uniquely address the global demand for new antibiotic treatments to combat bacterial resistance,” said Nicolle. 

Nicolle has 20 years of experience leading companies and growing shareholder value.  He is currently president of Cape Bear Advisors, where he consults and holds numerous board positions, including vice chair of the start-up accelerator Propel ICT.

Before STI Technologies, Nicolle spent 10 years leading venture-backed technology companies, including: CEO of Tatara Systems, CEO of Sigma Systems, COO at March Networks, and President of Nortel’s Service Provider eBusiness Solutions Group.

Appili has raised $4.5 million in equity financing in the last two years, including a $2.2 million round announced in December from Innovacorp and a group of angels.

Mr. Sullivan made the Nicolle announcement as he headed to San Francisco to attend the life science industry’s largest investor conference, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference.