Jacqueline Shan landed in Canada from China 15 years ago penniless but rich in spirit, intellect and determination.

As a child of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Shan saw opportunity where others might have seen hardship and despair.

Today, the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution is but a distant memory to Shan as she lives her dream to make a difference in people’s health.

She is holder of two doctorate degrees in pharmacology and physiology, and is co-discoverer of Cold-fX, an anti-cold, anti-flu natural product. The dynamic 40-year-old scientist was promoted in November to CEO of CV Technologies, which recently moved its head office from Edmonton to Calgary.

File photo by Jack Dagley, Business Edge
Dr. Jacqueline Shan, president of CV Technologies, holds samples of her company’s flagship flu and cold fighter.

Since Shan assumed the reins of CV Technologies early last year as interim CEO, it has been one of the hottest companies on the TSX Venture Exchange with sales of Cold-fX, its lead product, escalating.

Not bad for a one-time student who didn’t have the pocket change for a phone call on her arrival to Canada. 1. What was your childhood dream growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China?

“It was kind of a strange time in China. I grew up right in the middle of the Cultural Revolution. It was a very restricted culture. In school, we were told we could be one of three professions – a worker, a farmer or a soldier. I wanted to be a teacher, which was categorized as a worker. I was interested in teaching so I could give back what I’d learned. During the communist time, a lot of occupations were categorized as capitalism, so if you wanted to be someone famous, that wasn’t allowed.”

2. What was your goal when you left home to attend university in Beijing at age 15?

“That was at the end of the Cultural Revolution. Once I learned I could go to university, I had a much bigger dream. I wanted to be a university professor, because by nature I liked to do creative things. I also wanted to become a scientist so I could create something that would contribute to people’s health. So it was natural for me to choose pharmacology, so I could learn how to make medicine.”

3. What motivated you to come to the University of Alberta on a scholarship to continue your education in 1989?

“My supervisor in university (Yiang Ching) was one of the leading pharmacologists in China and he was educated in the United States. He encouraged me to go to the University of Alberta. The main challenge was the different culture and the language barrier. At first, it was particularly challenging in the classroom listening to the professors. I spent a lot of time watching television and listening to the radio to learn the way people talk and think.”

4. How much money did you have when you arrived?

“(Laughing) When I arrived the first day, it was zero. I didn’t have anything in my pocket. Even though I had a scholarship, you don’t get paid the first day and I borrowed money for my first airplane ticket. I missed my connecting flight from Vancouver to Edmonton so I was in quite a panic, using my broken English to change the time that I would be picked up in Edmonton. I didn’t even have money to make a phone call. Fortunately, the people were very friendly and one of the airport workers let me use his telephone.

"I was so grateful and loved Canada because the people were so friendly. Even though I never had any money in the pocket, I knew I would be OK. In China, we never had money in the pocket either.”

5. Now that you have money in your pocket, are you good at spending it?

“To me, it seems that I don’t need much to be happy. Money is just a necessity to me. Maybe, it’s just the way I grew up. We just had the basic material things to get by. I’ve never been an extravagant person. Even though I sometimes tell myself, ‘I want to be extravagant,’ I don’t even want to think about it because 200 per cent of my time is spent in my work and with my family.”

6. How did the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 impact your life?

“It was a shock. Because of that, students from China automatically received permanent residence status from the Canadian government. So, for the first time, I knew that I would make my life and career in Canada.”

7. What motivated you to start development of the product that would become Cold-fX?

“Herbal medicine was always the major form of medical care in China. Herbal medicine was rooted in our culture. So my goal was to develop a product from natural sources or herbs designed to prevent diseases. We found a very unique compound in North American ginseng and that formulation eventually became Cold-fX. This formulation produced the strongest immune-boosting effect of all the products we investigated.”

8. What will it take for your company to make Cold-fX a household name around the world?

“One of our challenges is to make people aware of the product. We’re quite successful in Alberta in making people aware of Cold-fX. Now, we want to become a very strong brand in Eastern Canada. We certainly plan to get our product into the U.S. market. Our company is still small. We’re happy with our current growth rate. Right now, we are expanding our business teams and strengthening the marketing and sales side of our business.”

9. How will Health Canada’s new labelling regulations for natural products coming into effect this year affect your business?

“This regulation is perfect for our company because it allows us to utilize medical research and clinical studies to substantiate claims. So, for the first time in our company’s history, we can actually apply, based on our scientific evidence, to make proper claims about our product. There are not many (natural products) companies in Canada that can do that.”

10. Do you think herbal products get enough respect in Canada compared to prescription drugs?

“Herbal drugs are getting more and more respect but we still have a lot of work to do to convince people, as we’ve learned in this business the hard way. Although Cold-fX is not a prescription drug, we treat it as a prescription drug and we have done extensive clinical trials and studies to ensure that it’s absolutely safe and it works. These trials and studies proved that it reduces the risk of getting a cold or flu by 89 per cent, and if by chance you get a cold or flu, you will get better faster. To me, it’s no different from other medicine. Even though it’s a herbal drug, you still have to prove its clinical efficacy and safety. Once you have the evidence, you can convince the consumers, patients and doctors. That’s why we’re continuing to do the clinical trials.”

11. What are your main priorities for CV Technologies for this year?

“We want to establish a very strong brand name in Canada and achieve national penetration and increase awareness of the product. From an operational point of view, we’re in an early stage of our growth curve, and because there is such a demand for our product we have to gear production (accordingly) and make sure we can manage that growth.”

12. Do you expect to be profitable in 2004?

“We’re almost there now. That certainly is our goal. In October, we achieved the highest sales in our history (an 85-per-cent increase over the previous October with $413,000 in sales).”

13. What’s your five-year vision for CV Technologies and Cold-fX?

“We want to be in every single corner of the world by then. We believe that’s possible because there is such a demand for the product, particularly with epidemics of cold, flu and infectious diseases. There is not really a product available on the market for prevention. Cold-fX serves two purposes. It is not only for prevention but it can also stop a cold and relieve the symptoms. It’s a huge market. Every single employee in our company is taking the product. When you travel a lot it’s easy to get a cold or flu but, even though I travel a lot, I never get a cold or flu. A lot of our customers have become shareholders.”

14. Cold-fX is already being marketed in Hong Kong. Do you consider China the hottest potential market for Cold-fX?

“China is going to be a huge market but it’s very, very challenging to get into because of the regulations. We want to get in there (mainland China) and one day, we’ll be there.”

15. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in business?

“Really, the lesson I’ve learned is to never give up. We’ve had a lot of struggles early in the company’s history. Several times, we were on the verge of being broke. We were thinking about what furniture to sell off. I’ve learned that I can’t give up on what my personal dream is – and what for the company is an opportunity to do something very good for human kind.”

16. Is what you’re doing much more than a business?

“Yes, that’s true. Personally, this is what I’ve prepared my whole life for. I envision creating more products 10 years from now. We’re just starting.”

17. How would you describe your management style?

“Because I trained as a scientist, I’m a very technical person. Yet, as a founder of the company, I’ve been a key manager of the company since Day 1. Because I’ve managed a very sizable scientific team, including 25 scientists in-house and numerous research labs around the world, I’ve learned management skills. So today, I consider myself a manager who is a visionary with strong technical and management skills.”

18. Have you been able to strike a balance between business and personal life?

“I think so. I do struggle a little bit but I do have a very strong support system that allows me to balance my life. I have a wonderful family to support me and I still find time to spend quality time with my husband and two boys.”

19. What are your favourite pastimes away from work?

“To be honest, I have never taken any serious holidays. I don’t really take time off from work but I do enjoy time with my kids. I like to read books and watch movies, when I get time. I love to be busy. Sometimes, I call myself a workaholic.”

20. What are your goals beyond your career?

“I kind of mix my work with my personal goals. I’m pretty passionate about my work. Life is short so I really want to do something big. I’m pretty proud of the products that we’ve discovered and pretty proud of that. I think it has become like a hobby now, so I find myself saying, ‘okay, what’s going to be the next one?’ ”

THE COMPANY: CC Technologies
* Brass: Jacqueline Shan, President/CEO/chief scientific officer; Andrew Osis, chief financial officer; Norman Oliver, senior vice-president, sales and marketing.
* Profile: CV Technologies develops and markets natural health products for disease prevention and health maintenance.
* Lead Product: Cold-fX is an anti-cold, anti-flu natural health product derived from the extract of certain chemicals found in the North American ginseng plant. The product is currently available in Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. Clinical trials have shown Cold-fX to be 89-per-cent effective in reducing the risk of colds and flu.
* Recent Stock Price (CVQ-TSXV): .71 (52-week range, .07-1.00).
* Websites/e-mail:
www.cvtechnologies.com
www.coldfx.com
info@cvtechnologies.com
* Head Office (recently relocated from Edmonton): Unit 146 South Atria Tower, 6715 8th St. N.E., Calgary,
T2E 7H7
* Phone/fax: 403-274-0144 (toll free 888-843-7239), 295-6259.

IN PROFILE: Jacqueline Shan
* Born/raised/age: Jiujiang, China; 40.
* Title: President/CEO/chief scientific officer, CV Technologies.
* Education: University of Alberta, PhD with distinction; Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, D.Sc. in pharmacology.
* Family: Husband Eugene, two sons.
* Career: Shan co-founded CV Technologies in 1993 and prior to becoming CEO in November has held various positions, including research director, senior vice-president and chief operating officer.
* Achievements: Shan co-discovered Cold-fX, holds or co-holds more than 10 patents, and authored or co-authored 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers. She is also a professor in the Department of Agriculture food and nutrition sciences department at the University of Alberta. She is recognized by universities in three countries and is a member of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
* Passions: Reading, movies.