Robert Bagdorf leads Pfizer’s Search and Evaluation business development group. This function is responsible for company outreach, asset identification, and due diligence activities for the Primary Care, Specialty Care and Oncology Business Units. He has over 10 years experience in the identification and evaluation of licensing and M&A opportunities on both a global and regional basis. Before assuming his current role, Bob was responsible for opportunity assessment and negotiation of transactions for the Specialty Care Business Unit. Dr. Bagdorf is a board-certified neurologist who joined Pfizer in 1998 in CNS Clinical Development. Prior to joining Pfizer, Bob had a large consultative general neurology practice and was the medical director for a community hospital neurodiagnostic center. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in behavioral biology from Johns Hopkins University, an M.D. from New York University School of Medicine, and a Healthcare MBA from George Washington University. He completed his neurology residency and electrophysiology/epilepsy fellowship at the University of Virginia Medical Center.
Jeff Bernd is a Director in Corporate Development where he leads Amgen’s business development efforts in China and focuses on the nephrology therapeutic area. He has held a number of finance roles within Amgen, including forecasting $3.5B of EPOGEN and Aranesp sales in the U.S. Prior to Amgen, Jeff worked in Strategic Planning at The Walt Disney Company where, among other projects, he helped sell the Anaheim Angels and worked on the Shanghai Disney Resort negotiations. He has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and is a Certified Management Accountant.
Mr. Bernard Davitian has about 25 years of management, business and corporate finance experience in the life sciences and biotech industry, marked by many fund raising and M&A closed. His track record includes, among others, the successful IPO of transgene on the NASDAQ and Euronext in 1998 ($100 million raised) and the sale of Fovea Pharmaceuticals to Sanofi in 2009 in a up to €370 million cash transaction. Mr Davitian joined Sanofi in 2010 as VP, Deputy Corporate Licenses, where he has been involved on a number of corporate business development projects with a special focus on creative deal making to finance real innovation. Prior to that, he was EVP & CFO of Fovea Pharmaceuticals (2006-2010), a biotech company specialized in ophthalmology, that was acquired by Sanofi; CEO of Neurotech (2001-2006), a biopharmaceutical company that he refocused on ophthalmology and flipped to the US; and EVP & CFO of Transgene (1995-2000), a gene therapy company that he took public on the NASDAQ and Euronext in 1998. He started his career in the biotech sector by serving in various capacities at Institut Mérieux (1986-1994, now Sanofi Pasteur), a world leader in vaccines, including that of Corporate CFO from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Davitian holds a MSc in Management from the Graduate School of Business of Lyon (EM Lyon, France) and an Executive MBA (AMP) from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Davitian is currently representing Sanofi on the boards of directors of three biotech companies where Sanofi recently invested, respectively Kahr Medical (Israel), Esperance Pharmaceuticals (US) and Warp Drive Bio (US).
Mr. Seaton is responsible for major transactions in Bayer HealthCare, including licensing, product acquisition, divestitures and out-licensing. Mr. Seaton is based in the United States with direct reports in the USA and Germany. Mr. Seaton earned both his Masters of Business Administration and his undergraduate degree from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Seaton has had experience in multiple countries and businesses. Immediately prior to his current role he was responsible for Business Development and Licensing for Bayer Pharmaceuticals (a predecessor of Bayer Schering Pharmaceuticals AG) and prior to that, for Business Planning and Administration for Bayer Pharmaceuticals in North America, a function which covered Finance, Information Systems, Strategic Planning and North American Licensing. He worked for Bayer in Canada from 1982 to 1988 and rejoined the company in 1995 in the United States. He has lived and worked in Canada and the United Kingdom, in addition to the United States. He also has experience in multiple industries and companies, including General Electric and the predecessor company to Astra-Zeneca, the multi-national Pharmaceutical company. Mr. Seaton and his wife live in Madison, Connecticut. They have three grown children. He is an avid motorcyclist, an amateur photographer and astronomer and reads extensively (History, Science and General Fiction)
Alexis Borisy is a successful biotechnology entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience building and operating innovative science-based organizations. Mr. Borisy joined the life sciences venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures in 2009 to focus on the formation, development and strategy of new companies. He co-founded Foundation Medicine and served as the company’s interim CEO through May 2011, co-founded Blueprint Medicines, and launched and is serving as interim CEO of Warp Drive Bio. Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Mr. Borisy founded CombinatoRx in 2000, serving as its Chief Executive Officer and bringing the company public on the NASDAQ. He has raised more than $1b in financing and business development deals, and has authored numerous scientific papers and patents. Trained in chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard where he was a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow, Mr. Borisy was honored as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Technology Review Innovator of the Year. He was also chosen as the New England Entrepreneur of the Year in Life Sciences and was honored as a Presidential Scholar. Mr. Borisy’s undergraduate degree in chemistry is from the University of Chicago, and he did his graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Stuart Schreiber at Harvard University. Mr. Borisy serves on the Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, is an Overseer at the Boston Museum of Science, is the Chairman and co-founder of FORMA Therapeutics, and serves on the board of Blueprint Medicines.
Mike has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical development experience, and has focused interest in clinical-stage product companies, particularly in oncology. He joined Sofinnova Ventures as a General Partner in 1997. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Mike worked on 20 different clinical products, and authored almost 100 papers and books including a 1,000–page treatise on vaccine design. Mike was the initial VC investor in: Actelion (SWX: ATLN), InterMune (Nasdaq: ITMN), Anesiva (Nasdaq: ANSV), Orexigen Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OREX), Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN), Threshold Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: THLD), Trius Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TSRX), and Intellikine (acquired by MLMN), as well as several private companies. Mike is currently Board President of AVAC (AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition), a past Advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, past Strategic Advisor to One World Health, and a Founding Venture Advisory Board member of the IAVI Innovation Fund. He flies too much, but he loves it. Mike was Group Leader of Drug Delivery at Genentech (1990–97) where his focus was developing new therapeutics. In 1987 he helped start Cytel as Director of Product Development, and later culminated in a successful IPO. Before this he was Scientist and Project Team Leader at Syntex Research. Mike has the honor of being the first scientist from the biotechnology industry to be elected a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas, an Editorial Board member of J. Pharm. Sci., and a Scientific Advisor to the Controlled Release Society. He received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Toronto in 1981, and completed his post-doctorate work in Bioorganic Chemistry at the University of California, where he was subsequently a faculty member (1981–84).
Kerry Flynn is Vice President for Intellectual Property at Shire. She has over 20 years of experience in the Intellectual Property and Licensing field, and has recently earned the newly released designation of Certified Licensing Professional from the Licensing Executives Society. Ms. Flynn was previously Vice President of Business Development and Intellectual Property at Transkaryotic Therapies, now known as Shire Human Genetic Therapies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shire. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Flynn was Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Associate General Counsel at Biogen, Inc. She was also an Intellectual Property Associate at the law firm of Testa, Hurwitz and Thibeault and the law firm of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner. She is the Past Chair of the Greater Boston Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society, and the Biotechnology Committee of the Boston Patent Law Association. Ms. Flynn is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Boston University Law School. She has a J.D. from Western New England College School of Law and a B.A. in Biology from Smith College.
Mark Noguchi is the Global Head, Alliance Management for Roche Partnering. In this role, he oversees the Roche staff of Global Alliance Directors, managing partnerships with Pharma companies, biotechnology firms, universities, and other healthcare entities. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Noguchi was Asia Regional Head for Roche Partnering, as well as Japan Representative and General Manager for Roche Pharma Japan. Mr. Noguchi’s responsibilities focused on all partnering across the Asian region. Prior to overseeing operations in Asia, Mr. Noguchi served as Roche Pharmaceuticals’ Vice President, Strategic Portfolio Management where he headed global research portfolio management activities. His recent commercial experience includes a position as Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Business Development, Neurobiology Unit, for Roche Bioscience in Palo Alto, CA. Educated as a zoologist at the University of California, Davis, Mr. Noguchi received his MBA from UCLA’s Graduate School of Management.
Michael Crowley, Director, Genentech Partnering, leads the Immunology and Infectious Disease business development group at Genentech. Michael’s team is responsible for screening scientific opportunities, leading due diligence and negotiating agreements to access new therapies in inflammatory and infectious disease. Michael has a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University, a MBA from The University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University.
Steve has been with Merck & Co., Inc. for the past 10 years. He received his Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Wisconsin and continued his post-doctoral training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Most recently Steve joined Merck's External Scientific Affairs department as a Scientific Liaison supporting the West Coast (Bay Area and Pacific Northwest) activities. In this role, he acts on behalf of Merck to identify new collaboration, licensing, product acquisition/co-development, and strategic alliance opportunities in his geographic area.
Gayle has successfully led the strategic and business development activities of a number of premier pharmaceutical, biotech and diagnostic companies, including Symphogen A/S, Abgenix, Roche Bioscience, and Affymax N/V. She began her career in pharmaceutical sales and marketing at Sandoz.
Gayle currently holds the position of Chief Business Officer of Symphogen A/S a Danish corporation focused on the creation of novel antibody mixture products in 2011. Prior to Symphogen, she held the position of Chief Business Officer at ROXRO Pharma where she was oversaw business operations resulting in the successful FDA approval of ROXRO’s novel analgesic, SPRIX® and the subsequent acquisition of the company by Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo. From 2000-2006 she was SVP of Business Development at Abgenix, Inc. a successful antibody discovery and development company acquired by Amgen.
Gayle’s accomplishments include consummation of a wide range of significant licensing, co-development and corporate acquisition transactions.
John Gustofson is a Director of Strategic Partnering and Business Development at AstraZeneca. In his current position, John is responsible for identifying, evaluating and negotiating early preclinical to late stage clinical opportunities with a focus on Oncology. John has 15+ years professional experience with early stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, John spent approximately 4 years in strategy consulting to the life sciences industry.
Mr. Barrett has 15+ years of experience in business development, corporate strategy, and research in pharmaceutical and biotech companies and research institutions. Since 2002, Mark has been a member of Johnson & Johnson / Janssen’s worldwide Pharmaceutical Business Development group with responsibility for leadership and execution of global transactions across therapeutic and technology areas including commercial and clinical stage product and company acquisitions, in licensing, R&D collaborations, out-licensing, divestments, and spin-outs. Mr. Barrett’s areas of expertise include structuring and negotiating complex transactions, risk sharing and option deals, venture capital and company financings, and strategic and commercial assessments. Mark leads Janssen’s collaboration with venture capital partners and recently led the spin-out of IONSYS® into Incline Therapeutics in conjunction with a $43 Series A financing. Mark’s other deal experience includes acquiring rights to XARELTO® and NORATAK®, divestment of RETAVASE®, and numerous licensing and research collaborations. Prior to joining Janssen, Mark worked in drug discovery and biology research at Harvard University, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, and Digital Gene Technologies. He earned his MBA at University of California, Berkeley and holds a BS in Biology from Duke University
Mr. Andriole joined Eli Lilly and Company in 2001 and has held a number of roles in finance, marketing and business development of increasing scope and responsibility. Today Mr. Andriole leads the business development organization for Lilly's Emerging Market Business Unit with accountability for in-licensing, JV formation and M&A with a specific focus on China, Brazil, India, Turkey and Russia. Previous to this role, Mr. Andriole spent five years in Lilly's Corporate Finance and Investment Banking group leading global M&A projects for the firm. Mr. Andriole graduated cum laude from Xavier University's Williams College of Business (BA, Finance) and holds an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business (Finance).
Anish Patel is an Associate Director of Strategy & Operations at Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI). In this role, he is responsible for the commercial and corporate development activities across the CTI portfolio and network. Prior to this, he was at MedImmune, a Division of AstraZeneca, where he led the commercial efforts of product development teams, developed disease area and portfolio strategies, and provided strategic direction on product and market opportunities. Before MedImmune, Anish held various roles within the Specialty Care Business Unit at Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals (formerly Berlex Laboratories), both in Brand Marketing and Medical Affairs.
Lucy Lu is the Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development of Crescendo Bioscience Inc., a venture–backed molecular Dx start-up. The company focuses on rheumatic diseases test development and has launched its first product, Vectra DA, for tracking disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients since 2010.
Lucy joined Crescendo in the spring of 2008 and her responsibilities encompass portfolio planning, strategic alliances, license negotiation, intellectual property management, and international expansion to support the company’s growth strategy.
Prior to joining Crescendo, she was Vice President, Technology Management and Head of the U.S. Chief Technology Office of Roche Diagnostics, where she built a global team focusing on life sciences, diabetes care and molecular Dx technology scouting and assessment to support corporate strategic planning and M&A.
Lucy has also held various marketing, product development and R&D management positions at Applied Biosystems (now Life Technologies), Genentech and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Linda M. Pullan, Ph.D. offers biotech and pharmaceutical companies consulting in all aspects partnering.
Linda has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and a B.S. in Chemistry.
Linda has over 20 years of drug industry experience, beginning in drug discovery at Monsanto/Searle/now Pfizer and ICI/Zeneca/now AstraZeneca. She contributed to and led teams that put the multi-billion dollar antipsychotic Seroquel and other molecules into development. Her business development experiences began with in-licensing technology and early drug candidates in all therapeutic areas at what is now AstraZeneca, and continued as head of oncology and hematology licensing for Amgen. She then joined Kosan Biosciences as VP of Business Development and experienced all the tasks of out-licensing and business development in a small company. She has also served as President and CEO of Viriome Inc and on the board of directors of Paloma Pharmaceuticals.
For several years, she has been providing companies help in identification, evaluation, valuation, negotiation and strategy for partnering in or out. She has an extensive deal sheet ranging from company acquisitions to Phase III compounds to preclinical candidates to technologies.
She writes a free monthly newsletter Pullan’s Pieces (see back issues on www.PullanConsulting.com ), with tidbits of science and business for thousands of readers.
Carolyne Zimmermann is an Executive Director in the Global Business Development and Licensing Group at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. In her current role as the Head of Search, Evaluation and Negotiations, she is responsible for securing strategic assets to expand the Critical Care Franchise pipeline and portfolio. She works closely with her medical and marketing colleagues to shape and implement the licensing strategy enabling Novartis to continue to deliver novel therapies which improve patient care and outcomes.
She has been with Novartis for the past 10 years where she has held numerous roles in Global and Regional Business Development and Licensing functions including as the Head of Negotiations for the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Franchise, the Head of Alliance Management for Respiratory Franchise, and as Director of U.S. Business Development and Licensing. Her transactional experience includes negotiating licenses, collaborations, acquisitions, divestments and restructurings as well as managing complex alliances with both biotech and big-pharma companies. Prior to Novartis, Carolyne worked in business development functions in the drug delivery and pharmaceutical process technology arena.
Carolyne holds a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Sciences from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Jonathan Mow is Vice President, Business Development for Amylin Pharmaceuticals located in San Diego, CA since he joined the company in March 2007. Prior to joining Amylin, Mr. Mow was Co-founder, Vice President, Commercial and Business Development, and Secretary of Corus Pharma, Inc. until their acquisition by Gilead Sciences in 2006. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Mow led the Business Development efforts for PathoGenesis Corporation, culminating with the company’s acquisition by Chiron Corporation in 2000. Prior to those roles, he held positions in Worldwide Oncology Marketing and Strategic Business Planning at Bristol Myers-Squibb, Marketing at Wyeth/Lederle International and Sales and Marketing Research at Syntex Laboratories. Mr. Mow received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.B.A. from the Tepper School of Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
Kevin Sin is the Head of Oncology Partnering for Genentech. He leads the business development group responsible for strategic partnerships and licenses for access to innovative science and therapeutics for oncology. Previously, he led the business development group responsible for technology platforms, diagnostics and drug delivery systems. Prior to joining Genentech, Kevin was an attorney at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati where he specialized in life sciences transactions, including research and development collaborations, product and technology licenses, asset acquisitions, and joint ventures. He began his career as a scientist in the biochemistry department of Bayer Corporation. Kevin received his bachelor’s degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley and his law degree from the University of San Francisco.
Dr. Claude Nicaise is Senior Vice President of Strategic Product Development and Global Regulatory Affairs, a position he has held since joining the company in 2008. In this role, Dr. Nicaise is responsible for the company's regulatory activities worldwide as Alexion develops new products and prepares for entry into new markets.
Prior to joining Alexion, Dr. Nicaise worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb for 24 years, where he held numerous senior management roles, including Vice President of Global Development; Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Science and Global Regulatory Strategy; Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Science and Strategy for Oncology, Infectious Disease and Neuroscience; Executive Director of Infectious Diseases Clinical Research; and Director of Clinical Cancer Research. During his time with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Nicaise oversaw the approvals of numerous treatments for cancer, schizophrenia and infectious diseases, including Tequin (bacterial infections), Erbitux (cancer), Abilify (schizophrenia) and Reyataz (HIV).
Before joining Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Nicaise also worked as a Medical Advisor in Oncology at Bristol Benelux Laboratories and as an Oncology Consultant at the Braine-l'Alleud Waterloo Hospital in Brussels, Belgium.
Dr. Nicaise is the author of more than 60 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals and is a member of several professional medical associations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Society for Medical Oncology, the American Society for Microbiology and the American Society of Hematology.
Dr. Nicaise holds a medical degree from the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.
Kal Patel, MD, is Executive Director of Strategy & Corporate Development. Prior to joining Amgen, Kal was in a field leadership role at Novartis and was a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group. Kal has worked extensively across the health care value chain in both the U.S. and Europe. He holds an MD and MBA, both from the University of Chicago.
Kevin Skol leads the business development activities at Isis Pharmaceuticals. Kevin is primarily responsible for implementing Isis’ innovative partnering structures. Prior to Isis, Kevin was a marketing director, neuroscience at Valeant Pharmaceuticals leading its migraine franchise. Kevin also spent several years in business development at Valeant where the team completed numerous transactions including company and product acquisitions, co-promotions, in-licenses, out-license and divestitures. Prior to joining Valeant, Kevin was Vice President of Corporate Development at Digital Gene Technologies, a private genomics based company, who oversaw the Corporate Development and Investor Relations teams. Prior to DGT, Kevin served in the business development group at Elan where he specialized in drug development and delivery joint ventures between Elan and a range of biotechnology companies. Prior to Elan, Kevin spent a number of years at Goldman, Sachs & Company as a financial analyst within the Structured Finance and Real Estate Groups. Kevin serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Ingredient Innovations International (3i), a nutraceuticals company based in Ohio. Kevin holds a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
John Fesko is Director of Business Development at Roche Molecular Diagnostics, where he manages partnering efforts in companion diagnostics. Prior to Roche, John worked for Novartis, where he held roles in business development, strategy and product management in their diagnostics and pharmaceutical divisions. Prior to that, John worked for the venture fund MPM Capital where he helped launch the diagnostics company Primera BioSystems. Before that, John was first employee at the personalized medicine company InVivoScribe Technologies. John holds a BS in Biochemistry and Economics from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from MIT Sloan.
James Hattersley has over 24 years of successful leadership experience in biotechnology & pharmaceutical life sciences. From 1986 to 1995 Jim was responsible for drug delivery and NCE research at Alza Corporation and Abbott Laboratories. Since 1995 Jim has led strategic business growth including execution of several transactions of significant value at Eurand, Antares, and Sun Pharma Industries. Career interests include NCE drug development, alliance management, and corporate development involving specialty drug products. In his current position, as Vice President of Business Development at Sun, Jim leads a dedicated team of experts seeking acquisition, licensing, and partnership candidates capable of executing the parties’ financial and therapeutic objectives.
Angus Grant joined Celgene as Vice President Regulatory Affairs in September 2006, first to manage and grow the regulatory staff and function in the Summit NJ Headquarters, and then in the EMEA region. After 3 years as Head of EMEA RA, Angus has returned to the Summit NJ Headquarters as VP, Business Development and Global Alliances. Prior to joining Celgene, Dr. Grant was the Executive Director for Alliance Management for Novartis Oncology. In this position, he was responsible for managing business relationships with co-development and co-commercialization partners. Dr. Grant also supported the Business Development and Licensing (BD&L) function in evaluating new in-licensing opportunities. Prior to joining Novartis, Dr. Grant was Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, Oncology Strategy with Merck KGaA/EMD Pharmaceuticals, and previously help positions in Regulatory Affairs at both Aventis Pharmaceuticals and SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Prior to his industry experience, Dr. Grant served as a Senior Staff Fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Biologics, Office of Therapeutics, where he focused on cellular and gene therapy regulation and continued his research, initiated while a post-doctoral fellow with the National Cancer Institute, on cytokine signal transduction and monoclonal antibodies. During this period, Dr. Grant co-chaired the first FDA-NIH Gene Therapy Forum. In addition to being published in science journals and other industry periodicals, Dr. Grant is actively involved in a number of industry and advocacy associations. Dr. Grant received his Ph.D. in Anatomy/Immunology from the Medical College of Virginia and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD.
Dr. Daria Mochly-Rosen is a Professor in the Chemical and Systems Biology, the Senior Associate Dean for Research and The George D Smith Professor in Translational Medicine. She leads a multi-disciplinary research lab that includes chemists, biochemists, biologists and physician scientists and has used her basic research discoveries to develop a number of drugs for human diseases. Dr. Mochly-Rosen applied her basic research training in protein chemistry to understanding signal transduction in normal and disease states. Recognizing the therapeutic potential of some tools that she has developed, she translated this basic research and spearheaded the development of a novel category of therapeutics for human diseases; these ‘first in class’ compounds were the basis to founding KAI Pharmaceuticals in 2003. Recently, her lab identified new drugs that regulate a key enzyme of cell survival under oxidative stress. These drugs (called Aldas) show great promise in animal models of acute myocardial infarction, diabetic complications, and neurodegenerative diseases. The therapeutic potential of Aldas led to founding ALDEA Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Her experience in translating basic research findings to human studies and drug companies led her to found SPARK, a university-wide program she co-directs focusing on translational research. SPARK helps inventors of biopharmaceuticals and diagnostics bring their invention to patient care. This unique program provides education in drug development and supports the school’s mission in translational research.
Dr. Patel is Director, External Research for Abbott Laboratories with responsibility for identification and evaluation of discovery-stage collaboration and licensing opportunities in the Western US. In addition, Dr. Patel serves as the therapy area liaison for oncology, partnering with senior management to create the overall strategy for the pipeline, conducting pro-active searches for assets and collaborators, and assessing all incoming opportunities worldwide for technical robustness and strategic fit.
Dr. Patel has over seventeen years pharma/biotech industry experience with small molecules and biologics from early stage discovery through IND filing, with a focus on oncology and ophthalmology. Most recently, she led Preclinical and Translational Medicine at Poniard Pharmaceuticals where she established the biology department and jointly created a preclinical product pipeline with the head of chemistry. Prior to Poniard, Dr. Patel served in drug discovery management positions of increasing responsibility at Genentech, SUGEN/Pharmacia, and Roche Bioscience. Dr. Patel was also a key member of several start-up company teams to establish the overall business and scientific strategies and to seek funding, including securing a total of $37M in Series A for Optherion, Inc.
Dr. Patel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Humanities (with Honors), and holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed her post-doctoral training at DNAX/Schering Plough.
Rekha Hemrajani has had an eighteen year career focused on the health care and biotech industries both on the financial/deal-making side as well as the operational side of companies.
She is currently Vice President, Head of Licensing and M&A at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Previously, she was Vice President of Business Development at Exelixis and has been involved in raising over $800 million in capital through business development and other non-dilutive transactions. Prior to Exelixis, she spent several years in investment banking (at Credit Suisse First Boston and at Lehman Brothers) helping large, small and mid-sized companies in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries raise capital in the public and private markets, as well as with mergers and acquisitions. During her almost six year tenure in investment banking, she was involved in raising over $8 billion in debt and equity capital as well as over $2 billion in M&A transactions.
In addition, Rekha has also worked in emerging markets, and has maintained a strong tie to the medical industry in India. Rekha is a member of the Board of Directors of Hemmo Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. (manufacturer of synthetic peptides) in Mumbai, India.
Rekha has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Allan is a founder of Life Science Angels (www.lifescienceangels.com ), the largest angel organization in the U.S. focused solely on early stage medical device and life science start-ups, and comprised solely of high net worth individuals from the medical device or biotech fields. In 2011, LSA launched the Life Science Angel Network, a consortium of angel groups throughout the United States, to focus on increasing the syndication and capitalization of highly vetted healthcare startups. LSA has invested over $30M in 35 startups, with over $600M in follow-on financing.
In 2007, Allan joined renowned inventor, entrepreneur and cardiac surgeon, Dr. Thomas Fogarty, in co-founding Emergent Medical Partners, a venture fund focused on early stage medical device investing. EMP has invested in over 25 startups and has had 6 exits to date.
Allan is Chairman of the Board of the Kauffman Foundation’s Angel Resource Institute, a nonprofit devoted to the promotion and study of angel investing. In 2012, ARI released the Halo Report, the first detailed data tracking early stage investment by angel groups.
Allan is a member of the board of Vascular Cures, a non-profit devoted to the study of peripheral vascular disease. Vascular Cures is creating a biobank of DNA and vascular tissue to support the rapid discovery of new diagnostics, prognostics and treatments, and to test them in patients.
Allan has been founder, Chairman, CEO, or investor in over 50 medtech, biotech, and diagnostic startups. Allan moderated the Entrepreneurship Track at the 2011and 2012 FutureMed Programs at Singularity University, and is a member of the editorial board of Elsevier Windhover’s In Vivo magazine. He speaks frequently at universities, conferences and government programs on trends and developments affecting early stage biotech and medtech investing.
Jeffrey P. Brennan joined Targacept in September, 2003, and serves as Senior Vice President of Business and Commercial Development and Chief Business Officer. Mr. Brennan has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, and has held Executive Management positions at Sanofi-Synthelabo, Inc., from 1996-2003. Throughout his career, Mr. Brennan has demonstrated success in both strategic development and key operations roles. He has developed and expanded the capability and capacity of sales and marketing teams, strategic market research and business analysis divisions, product life cycle management and business development departments. Mr. Brennan received a B.S. in Marketing from Central Connecticut University. He has been a member of the Licensing Executive Society (LES) since 1991 and is a former Board member of the Health Care Committee for the LES. He is currently a member of the American Marketing Association. Mr. Brennan has completed over 35 mid- to late-stage business development deals and has been involved in more than 25 product launches in his career. As a member of Sanofi's Executive Management team, he played an instrumental role in helping the company achieve a nearly 10-fold increase in sales, profits, sales force and headquarter expansion. In his role as Targacept's Senior Vice President of Business and Commercial Development and Chief Business Officer, Mr. Brennan is a member of Targacept's Executive Committee and is playing a key role in turning ""Science into Business"" through key partnerships with AstraZeneca & GlaxoSmithKline.
Jonathan Goldman has 20 years of healthcare industry experience in various commercial and strategic leadership roles. He has successfully led cross-functional and multi-national teams and alliances through challenging environments and complex issues. Jonathan is currently Senior Director of Business Development & New Product Planning at MannKind Corporation, where he leads partnering and portfolio planning activities. From 2000–2007, Jonathan worked at Pfizer Inc. where he was responsible for the Europe and Asia launch activities for Celebrex as Director of Marketing–Pain Products; the global pre-launch assessment of Exubera as Director of Marketing–CV Metabolism; and the Asia launch of Champix as Regional Brand Director–Asia. He worked at Sanofi Inc. from 1997-2000 in both marketing and market research roles across core therapeutic areas, including the successful launches of Plavix and Avapro; and at Serono Inc. from 1996-1997 as head of market research for their endocrinology SBU. Prior to Serono, Jonathan managed a boutique healthcare management consulting company. Jonathan’s education includes an AB from Dartmouth College, where he majored in biology, and an MBA from Cornell University.
Jones W. Bryan, PhD, has served as Vice President of Business Development since 2005. From 2000 to 2005, he served as Vice President of Business Development for Shire Laboratories Inc. Dr. Bryan was Director of Business Development for Pharmaceutics and Clinical Supply Manufacturing for AAI. He began his career with Schering-Plough in Pharmaceutics and Formulation Development. Dr. Bryan earned his BS in zoology from Clemson University, his PhD in pharmaceutics from the Medical University of South Carolina, and Executive Management Certificate from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and serves on Clemson University's Spiro Institute Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.
Dr. Snitman is a Co-Founder of Array and has served as Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Business Development, and a member of the Board of Directors since May 1998. Prior to forming Array, Dr. Snitman held various positions with Amgen Inc. since 1981, including Associate Director, New Products and Technology and Manager of Amgen's Boulder research facility. Dr. Snitman received a B.S. in chemistry from Northeastern University and obtained a Ph.D. in the synthesis of natural products from the University of Colorado. He was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Pamela joined Angiochem in October 2011 as head of strategy and business development. She was previously at Biovex, a clinical stage oncology company, where she was vice president of business development. At Biovex, she was responsible for the successful acquisition of the company by Amgen in 2011. Prior to joining Biovex, she was director of business development and commercialization at Vion Pharmaceuticals with responsibility for all business development activities. Previously, she was one of the first employees at a number of successful early stage companies, including Galenea and Bioduro, where she held a variety of strategic planning, business development and commercial positions with increasing responsibilities. Pamela received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics from Tufts University School of Medicine where her research focused on the physiologic regulation of the blood-brain-barrier and the implications on drug distribution.
Mr. Wiklund has over 15 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience, currently serving as the Head of Corporate Development of Celladon Corporation. Celladon’s products are first-in-class drugs that target the key enzyme deficiency in cardiomyocytes of heart failure patients, SERCA2a. Celladon has raised an excess of $125 million in venture capital. Current investors include Pfizer Venture Investments, Novartis Venture Funds, Lundbeckfond Ventures, H&Q Capital, GBS Venures, MPM Capital, LSP Life Sciences Partners, Enterprise Partners, Venrock Associates, and Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. Prior to Celladon, Fred served as Head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations at Tercica, Inc. At his 5 years at Tercica, Fred assisted in the company’s IPO and also completed strategic transactions exceeding $800M, including the company’s sale to the Ipsen Group in 2008. Previously, Fred was with Lehman Brothers where he served for 3 years in their London office. As a member of the firm's Investment Banking Health Care Group, he assisted both pharmaceutical and emerging biotechnology companies complete capital-raising and strategic transactions. Fred also has over 7 years of commercial experience, primarily with Gilead Sciences where he participated in the company’s first product launch in 1996. Fred received his MBA from the University of Southern California and his B.A from the University of San Diego.
Syed Kazmi has served as Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Planning since July 2007. He has been instrumental in Ligand’s licensing deals and M&A activity including multiple product divestitures, acquisitions of three publically traded pharmaceutical companies (Pharmacopeia, Neurogen and Metabasis), set up and management of multiple strategic alliances with large pharma companies and out-licensing of Ligand R&D programs. Syed Kazmi is also Acting Head of research and development at Ligand. From 1995 to 2007, he held various positions at Ligand, including Senior Director of Business Development, Director of Project Management and leader of multiple drug development teams, and Senior Scientist in Molecular Endocrinology. Prior to joining Ligand, Dr. Kazmi worked as Principal Scientist in discovery research at Johnson & Johnson from 1988-1995 and did his postdoctoral research at McMaster University, Hamilton. Dr. Kazmi received a PhD in biochemistry from J.N. University, New Delhi, and an executive MBA from San Diego State University.
Sanj Singh has been President & CEO of AdeTherapeutics Inc. since its inception in 2006. He has an MBA in biotechnology management and Bachelors Degree in Finance and International Business. Sanj has led several private companies from inception to sale in various sectors. His strengths are in capital and team formation, establishing strategic alliances and relationships to monetize global opportunities.
Jigar Raythatha joined Constellation Pharmaceuticals in March 2009 and leads the Corporate Development function, including Business Development, Strategic Alliances, and Intellectual Property. Prior to joining Constellation, Jigar worked for Red Abbey Venture Partners, first as a Kauffman Fellow and later as a Principal and Venture Partner. He led or co-managed all of the firm’s investments from 2005 to 2009, including Advanced BioHealing (Acquired by Shire), Aegerion (IPO), CoGenesys (Acquired by Teva), Insulet (IPO), Iomai (Acquired by Intercell), Sirtris (Acquired by GSK), and Stromedix (Acquired by Biogen Idec). Previously, Jigar worked in Business Development and New Product Commercialization at Biogen and was a management consultant with A.T. Kearney. Jigar holds a B.A. in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and Economics from Rutgers College and an M.B.A from Columbia Business School.
Neena S. Kadaba, Ph.D. is the Director of Industry Alliances at QB3 (the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences), a state institute that accelerates the commercialization of innovations from UCSF, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Her goal is to initiate collaborations between industry and faculty from these three campuses and to expand QB3’s pre-commercial funding programs. She manages QB3’s alliance with Pfizer and runs an industry speaker series designed to foster academic-industry partnerships. Previously, she co-founded Cypress Innovations and was an Associate and Kauffman Fellow in the venture capital group at Itochu Technology. She completed her PhD in Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology and received a BS in Chemistry and a MS in Bioengineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information about QB3, please visit www.qb3.org.
Mr. Bloom is the Senior Vice President, Business Development, Government and Industry Affairs and has served in this capacity since April 2012. Previously, Mr. Bloom was the Vice President of Business Development since 2008. Mr. Bloom has over 20 years of experience in business development and closely related marketing activities, including in- and out-licensing, patent administration, pricing and reimbursement advocacy, brand management, and competitive analysis, primarily with the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to joining ZIOPHARM, Mr. Bloom was the Global Vice President of business development and marketing at PAREXEL International, a contract research and medical communications company. Additionally, he has served in a variety of roles at smaller companies including Inflexxion Inc. and PHARMetrics, Inc. Mr. Bloom received his B.S., Pharmacy, from Northeastern University and is currently Adjunct Clinical Instructor at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Williams Ettouati received his Doctorât d' État en Pharmacie from Université René Descartes, Paris V and a Master Arts Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara.
He is currently Director, Industry Relations and Development and Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SSPPS) at the University of California San Diego.
Dr. Ettouati’s role at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy is to develop and secure strategic collaborations, ranging from drug discovery to corporate sponsored fellowships for Pharm.D. students with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Before joining the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Ettouati spent twenty years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
Dr. Ettouati has proven and extensive experience encompassing multiple functional disciplines in pharmaceutical executive management, in areas such as business development, licensing, marketing and new product planning strategy in biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Ettouati served as CEO, President & Co-Founder, Director, GeneProt and Ceptyr early-stage drug discovery biotech companies. In addition, he was Chief Business Officer for several biotech firms such as Hawaii Biotech, responsible for all partnering activities; Vice President Business Development for Syrrx, Aurora/Vertex, Vice President Marketing at DepoTech and product management at Syntex (now Roche), ICI (now Astra-Zeneca). Finally, Dr. Ettouati had an established pharmaceutical consulting practice with many private and public clients.
Doug has been the CEO of Ra Pharma™ since its inception and serves on the Company’s Board of Directors. In 1988, he co-founded Transkaryotic Therapies Inc. (TKT, acquired in 2005 by Shire plc),a multi-platform biopharmaceutical company developing protein and gene therapy products. In his position as Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Doug established and directed TKT’s gene activation and protein production efforts, which led to the approval of the biopharmaceutical products Dynepo™, Replagal®, Elaprase®, and Vpriv™. Previously, he was a Visiting Scientist in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Lecturer in Genetics at Harvard Medical School. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and holds over 35 U.S. and European patents in the areas of protein production, gene mapping, and gene therapy. Doug is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Morgenthaler Ventures. Doug received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from SUNY at Stony Brook and performed postdoctoral studies at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Patala is the Corporate Head of one of Orchid’s USA subsidiary and was earlier with Global Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Orchid, India. Dr. Patala is a diversified professional, an astute business strategist and a cohesive operational implementer. At Orchid, He has been involved in Corporate Strategy, General Management, Business development, Alliance Management, Product/Project Management, R & D Management and Business Analytics/Scientific Due Diligence.
Dr. Patala has anchored and spearheaded Orchid’s Innovation growth initiative for revenue generation and value creation by
- Ongoing Licensing (in/out) of IP assets & ventures
- Collaborative Partnerships (namely Merck & others)
- Outsourcing relationships (namely Pfizer & others)
Prior to Orchid, Dr Patala, by education and experience in US and India, has been a Management & IT consultant, Marketer, Technocrat, Technical/Scientific professional & Veterinarian in Global Human Pharmaceutical/Biotech & Animal Health Industry in Regulated (mostly US) and Emerging Markets (Indian sub-continent).
Matthew Meyer is the Chief Business Officer for XDx. Mr. Meyer has over 15 years of business development, marketing and commercial legal experience in the domestic and international life sciences industry. Prior to joining XDx, Mr. Meyer was Vice President, Business Development and General Counsel at Cerimon Pharmaceuticals where he led the in-license and partnering of prescription products to treat pain and inflammation. Prior to that, Mr. Meyer held senior management positions at Draeger Medical Systems, the U.S. subsidiary of the German-based global medical device company, most recently serving as Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to Draeger, Mr. Meyer held positions of increasing responsibility at Novartis Pharma AG in Basel, Switzerland, including serving as Head of Global Marketing Channel Innovations, a role in which he helped foster greater marketing and sales effectiveness through the use of innovative technology-based initiatives. Previously, Mr. Meyer was the Vice President, Global Business Development and Legal Affairs at Allscripts’ Physician’s Interactive division, which was a leader in online marketing programs to physicians, and spent five years as a commercial and transactional attorney at Pfizer Inc, working in New York, Connecticut and the United Kingdom. Mr. Meyer graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Villanova University School of Law.
Eric Malek joined Threshold as Vice President, Corporate Development in 2010 and in early 2012 executed a $550M global co-development and co-commercialization agreement with Merck Serono for Threshold's clinical stage hypoxia activated pro-drug TH-302. He is a member of the joint steering committee and responsible for alliance management. Prior to joining Threshold he led corporate development at BiPar Sciences where he initiated the partnering effort that led to the $500 million acquisition by Sanofi-Aventis. Prior to BiPar, Mr. Malek was Vice President, Corporate Development at Allos Therapeutics, where he led the acquisition and product planning efforts for FOLOTYN, approved by the FDA for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Before Allos, Mr. Malek held business development positions at Gilead Sciences, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals and Ilex Oncology. Eric received a B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Mr. Risser has over 15 years of experience in strategy development and transaction execution across both small biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies. During his career, he has successfully closed numerous transactions, including company acquisitions, product licenses, research collaborations, and equity financings. Prior to joining MacroGenics, he served as Senior Director, Business Development, at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, which he joined in 2003. Before Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Risser started and built a successful consulting practice that provided counsel to emerging life science companies in the United States and Europe. He has also worked as a venture capitalist with BankAmerica Ventures and as an investment banker with Lehman Brothers, where he began his career in their New York and London offices.
Mr. Risser holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Yale University.
Dr. Greenwald is a co-founder of Relay Technology Management, Inc. and currently serves as Managing Director. Dr. Greenwald was an Associate Investigator at the Naval Medical Research Centerin Silver Spring, MD. Dr. Greenwald worked with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 510(k) applications for diagnostic devices for dengue fever. Dr. Greenwald was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) research fellow while earning a B.S. in Cellular Biology and Molecular Genetics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Greenwald was awarded an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) towards his Ph.D. research dissertation on gene therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa. Dr. Greenwald is an active Licensing Executive Society member, and serves on the Board of Directors for Piers Park Sailing Center in Boston, MA. Dr. Greenwald focuses on infectious diseases, cancer and genetics and enjoys sailing in Boston harbor. Dr. Greenwald publishes his perspectives on the entrepreneurism and the innovation economy on his personal blog, www.davegreenwald.com.
Stephen Thau has been recognized as one of the top biotech attorneys in California. His practice focuses on the representation of life science, medical device, and other technology companies in transactional matters, including merger and acquisition, licensing and collaborations, strategic alliances, public offerings and equity and debt financings. He also represents venture capital and investment banking firms in public and private financing transactions. He has represented companies in numerous public offerings, public and private M&A transactions, and collaboration agreements, and companies and investors in over 100 venture capital and debt financing transactions.
Mr. Thau is a member of the Board of BayBio, Northern California’s leading life science association. He is a frequent speaker on venture capital financings and served on the faculty at the 2005 and 2007 Emerging Entrepreneurs workshops at Stanford University. Mr. Thau is recommended as a leading lawyer by PLC Which lawyer? 2011, Best Lawyers in America 2011, Chambers USA 2010, and Legal 500 US 2010. He was also named to the Daily Journal's inaugural list of 25 leading biotech lawyers in California, in 2011.
Mr. Thau re-joined Morrison & Foerster in 2008 after having practiced corporate law for ten years at Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman LLP. Mr. Thau began his legal practice as a patent and securities litigator at Morrison & Foerster and served as a law clerk to the Hon. Vaughn R. Walker in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California. He graduated Order of the Coif from Stanford Law School, where he was managing editor of the Stanford Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in Biology.
Rankings
Stephen Thau is recommended as a leading lawyer by PLC Which lawyer? 2011, Best Lawyers in America 2012, Chambers USA 2011, and Legal 500 US 2011. He is also listed as one of 25 leading biotech lawyers in California 2011 by the Daily Journal.
Luke Düster is a Principal at Capital Royalty, a healthcare focused investment management firm. Capital Royalty works directly with leading healthcare companies, research institutions, and inventors to provide customized financing structures to meet their unique needs. Since joining Capital Royalty in 2009, Mr. Düster has focused on investment sourcing, performing due diligence, and structuring investments. Prior to joining Capital Royalty, Mr. Düster was a Vice President at Harris Williams & Co., where he provided mergers & acquisitions advisory services to corporations across a broad range of industries. Mr. Düster received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeremy’s career in Healthcare spans over 21 years. His current role at Quintiles is leading a global business development team focused on the creation of innovative commercial partnering solutions for biotechnology companies which integrate flexible operational resource, expertise and non-traditional finance. Within his 14 year career at Quintiles, Jeremy has also worked in market development, commercial consulting and financial investment roles. Prior to Quintiles, Jeremy spent time at Merck & Co. in a global marketing effectiveness role and at ZS Associates where Jeremy focused on finding novel solutions to increase sales force effectiveness for global pharmaceutical companies in both emerging and developed markets. Jeremy started his career in sales and marketing management at a UK based medical electronics company specializing in neurophysiology research. Jeremy holds a Masters’ degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cambridge University.
As Director of Product Marketing, Mr. Collins is responsible for driving the growth of IntraLinks’ Corporate Development platform, including the company’s offerings for facilitating both buyside and sellside transactions.
Prior to joining IntraLinks, Mr. Collins served as Director of Corporate Development for Cognizant Technology Solutions, a leading global provider of IT services solutions. While at Cognizant he was responsible for evaluating and executing a variety of strategic initiatives, but was primarily focused on driving growth through acquisitions.
Before Cognizant, Mr. Collins was a Vice President with Innovation Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused on providing advisory services for mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry. He also worked at SG Cowen Securities in both their Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions practices.
Mr. Collins graduated with honors from Harvard University with a B.A. in Government.
Ms. Hemmie Chang, Partner Foley Hoag LLP. Hemmie chairs Foley Hoag’s Licensing & Strategic Alliances Group where she focuses on complex collaboration and licensing transactions. She has over two decades of experience advising both pharmaceutical and emerging biotech companies, recently advising on the Metamark Genetics-Janssen Biotech early stage discovery collaboration deal in cancer (up to $365 million) announced in December 2011, an early stage discovery and equity investment deal with a European partner closed in December 2011, and a development and supply agreement for the U.S. subsidiary of a major Japanese conglomerate signed in November 2011. She is currently advising on research development deals with GSK, Merck and Sanofi, and various in-licenses from UCSF and other academic institutions.