Plenary Session
Opening Plenary: Check Your Options: Raising Public and Private Financing in Today's Marketplace
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
8:05 AM
Grand Ballroom
This panel will discuss the array of financing options and the implications in pursuing these options with regard to running your business and managing shareholder value and dilution.
Moderators
- Howard Furst, MD; Partner, Deerfield Management
Panelists
- John Chambers; President, Acumen BioFin, a Division of Rodman & Renshaw, LLC
- Eric H. Bjerkholt; Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Finance, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc
- Julia P. Gregory; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Annette Grimaldi; Managing Director and Head of Life Sciences Investment Banking, Jefferies & Company, Inc.
- Ben Perkins; Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Pacific Growth Equities, LLC
Who's Who
Howard Furst, MD, is currently a partner at Deerfield Management, a healthcare investment fund based in New York City. He is primarily responsible for overseeing the firm?s private investments, which may include typical venture investments, or structured investments in public companies. Prior to joining Deerfield, Dr. Furst was the portfolio manager for the healthcare group at Magnetar Capital. Prior to that he was a Principal at Maverick Capital where he was responsible for the management of biopharmaceutical investments in the public and private markets. Prior to joining Maverick in 2000, Dr. Furst was a Fellow in the University of Pennsylvania?s Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division. Before being selected for this Fellowship, he was the Senior Chief Medical Resident at New York University. Dr. Furst received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a dual major in Finance and Health Care Administration and an MD from the New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Furst received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Perlegen Sciences. Dr. Furst is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition for the Homeless in New York.
Eric H. Bjerkholt has served as Sunesis Pharmaceuticals? Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2004. From January 2002 to January 2004, Mr. Bjerkholt served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Bjerkholt is a co-founder of LifeSpring Nutrition, Inc., a privately held nutraceutical company, and from May 1999 to March 2002 served at various times as its Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Financial Officer. From 1990 to 1997, Mr. Bjerkholt was as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan & Co. Mr Bjerkholt is a member of the Board of Directors of Stem Cells, Inc., a publicly held biotechnology company, and a privately held company. Mr. Bjerkholt holds a Cand. Oecon degree in Economics from the University of Oslo and an M.BA from Harvard Business School.
Julia P. Gregory has been Lexicon?s executive vice president and chief financial officer since February 2000. From 1998 to February 2000, Ms. Gregory served as the head of investment banking for Punk, Ziegel & Company, a specialty investment banking firm focusing on technology and healthcare and, from 1996 to February 2000, as the head of the firm?s life sciences practice. From 1980 to 1996, Ms. Gregory was an investment banker, primarily with Dillon, Read & Co., Inc., where she represented life sciences companies beginning in 1986. Ms. Gregory is a member of the board of directors and the scientific advisory board of the Estee Lauder Foundation?s Institute for the Study of Aging, Inc. and a member of the International Council for George Washington University?s Elliott School of International Affairs. She received her BA in international affairs from George Washington University and her M.BA from the Wharton School of the University.
Annette Grimaldi has nearly 18 years experience on Wall Street, the majority being focused in healthcare. Prior to Jefferies, she spent nearly 10 years at SG Cowen, where she led that firm's investment banking in the biotech and emerging pharmaceutical sector. Previously, Ms. Grimaldi spent eight years at Goldman Sachs, and has advised companies in connection with raising public and private equity and other strategic transactions. She received a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in International Studies from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Services degree from Georgetown University.
Ben Perkins is a Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Pacific Growth Equities, LLC. Ben has been actively involved in the Life Sciences sector for more than 10 years working on both the buy-side and the sell-side. Since joining Pacific Growth in 1999, Ben has advised clients in raising more than $4 billion dollars through public and private equity transactions. In addition to fundraising, Ben has served as a strategic advisor to clients in the medical device, biotech, specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostics /tools sectors. Prior to Pacific Growth Equities, Ben focused on medical device, healthcare service and healthcare software/internet companies at Advest Group.