James A. Helliwell, MD, FRCPC

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Dr. James Helliwell is the Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EPRX). A board-certified cardiac anesthesiologist, he previously maintained a quaternary clinical practice in cardiac transplantation and perioperative echocardiography and served as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia. He served in multiple leadership roles in academic medicine and business operations, including multiple terms as President of the BC Anesthesiologists’ Society.

Dr. Helliwell founded Eupraxia based on his conviction that precision drug delivery, delivering the right drug on target, on dose and on time, can greatly improve patient outcomes. His scientific work has been published in leading journals such as The Lancet Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, and Osteoarthritis & Cartilage.

A serial innovator, he also founded Accuro Technology—developer of the FDA-approved Arthrotap® device—which was later acquired by Elcam Medical. He is Co-Founder of Thrive Health and serves on the boards of Guidestar Medical Devices and NonInvasix Inc. His work includes 8 granted and 35 pending patents in drug and device delivery.

Dr. Helliwell earned his B.A. (Hons.), MD, and completed residency in Anesthesiology at the University of British Columbia, with undergraduate academic studies at Harvard University. He is certified by the National Board of Echocardiography and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (FRCPC).

Dr. Helliwell brings founder operator leadership grounded in frontline clinical practice, combining scientific depth in precision drug and device delivery with public company execution and governance experience—enabling meaningful contributions to strategy, risk oversight, clinical development, and capital markets.