Dr Maxwell (Max) Shepherd, CNZM, JP is appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to biotechnology and business in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Wanaka resident Max is an award-winning biotechnologist who played a leading role in the emergence and success of the New Zealand biotechnology industry.

A proud West Coaster, Max studied chemistry at Canterbury University and went on to complete his PhD in biochemistry in Canada. He then moved to Dunedin and counts himself fortunate to have been appointed as Foundation Professor Oral Biology at Otago University from 1981 to 1994.

His pioneering research in the biology and molecular genetics of human pathogen Candida albicans - a major problem in AIDS patients in the 1980s - put New Zealand at the forefront of this research internationally, with the laboratory he established remaining an international leader. 

Max told the Wanaka App one of the highlights of his career has been working with “wonderful, talented young students”.

“I think I’ve been very privileged in that I’ve had a happy and successful academic career and I’ve equally enjoyed the last 20 years in the business community,” he said.

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In the late 1980s he saw an opportunity in the practical application and commercial funding of science in New Zealand, and from the mid-1990s he became a pioneer in this area.

“I had good, strong contacts - friends - in the academic and business community, and strong support from Lorraine [his wife],” Max said, adding the University of Otago Vice Chancellor also encouraged him to branch out as an entrepreneur.

So he “took the risk”, and with the help of Dunedin businessman Howard Paterson set up several companies which became successful as biotechnology blossomed in the 1990s.

The start-up enterprises, such as Zentech, PharmaZen, A2 Milk, Biocell Corporation, and Blis Technologies, focused on commercialisation of scientific research. 

Max’s commercialisation model is now widely adopted by start-ups in the industry.

His inventive problem solving has contributed to products and projects benefiting diverse areas of New Zealand resources, including rabbit virus management in Central Otago and natural botrytis solutions for the wine industry. 

Max said it has been rewarding watching companies like PharmaZen and BioCell flourish.

“Biotech is a long haul,” he said, with some companies taking 20 odd years to hit their stride.

“Opportunities arise as you build your reputation - you’ve got to serve your apprenticeship.”

Max retains a strong involvement in BioCell as a director and in management, enjoying product development the most.

He was appointed to the government’s Biotechnology Taskforce in 2003 and was a member of the National Research Advisory Council. 

Max and his wife moved permanently to Wanaka around 2014. They had owned a crib on Rata Street since the late 1990s.

Max was a founding committee member from 2012 of the Wanaka branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand and was chair from 2015 to 2017.

Max does volunteer trapping with the Diamond Lake Conservation Trust, and is a keen mountain biker, plays tennis and skis at Treble Cone in the winter.

“I love mountain biking, it’s my biggest passion,” he said. The 78-year-old moved to an e-bike when he turned 75, and bikes three times a week.

He cites Deans Bank and Bike Glendhu as his favourite tracks, but he also recently biked the new Lake Dunstan Trail, which he described as “world class”.

See the full list of Queen's Birthday Honours here.

PHOTO: Wanaka App