Opening Plenary and Luncheon
Capital Access 201
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Grand Ballroom
Creativity is the name of the game in funding the future of biotech drug development. Learn about the menu of new funding options from the architects of these deals and financing vehicles. What option should a company turn to - the Symphony Capital or Deerfield models; royalty monetization; or more traditional PIPE and debt financings? How will these financing approaches impact the investor's standing in the short- and long-term? Are these financing arrangements and players created a new competitive field for bankers?
Panelists
- Andrew Busser, Principal, Syphony Capital
- Luke Evnin, PhD, General Partner, MPM Capital
- Thomas B. King, President and CEO, Alexza Pharmaceuticals
- Oleg Nodelman, Portfolio Manager/Analyst, Biotechnology Value Fund, LP
- Ben Perkins, PhD, Managing Director, Life Sciences Group, Pacific Growth Equities LLC
Who's Who
Andrew L. Busser Mr. Busser co-founded Symphony in 2002 and has spent more than 15 years in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals as a manager, consultant and investor. Prior to Symphony, he co-founded Wilkerson Partners with Mr. Taranto in 2000. From 1997 to 2000, he was in management consulting with Mr. Taranto and others at The Wilkerson Group/IBM Healthcare Consulting, where he worked with major and emerging biotechnology companies. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Busser was in sales and marketing management at The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co., focusing on cardiovascular and neurology markets. Mr. Busser received an AB in History from Colgate University. He is a director and Chairman of Symphony Allegro, Inc., a Symphony portfolio company. In addition, Mr. Busser serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center Institute.
Luke Evnin, PhD Dr. Evnin co-founded MPM's asset management business in 1997 to launch MPM's first venture fund and established the San Francisco office for the firm in 1999. Dr. Evnin was at Accel Partners for over seven years including four as a General Partner. He was involved in biopharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare service companies for Accel's funds III, IV and V. Dr. Evnin earned his PhD in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of California-San Francisco, and he received his AB in Molecular Biology magna cum laude from Princeton University.
Thomas B. King Mr. King has served as Alexza Pharmaceuticals’ President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors since June 2003. From September 2002 to April 2003, Mr. King served as President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Cognetix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical development company. From December 1994 to February 2001, Mr. King held various senior executive positions, including President and Chief Executive Officer from January 1997 to October 2000, and was a member of the board of directors at Anesta Corporation, a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, until it was acquire by Cephalon, Inc., a publicly traded biotharmaceutical company. Mr. King recieved an MBA from the University of Kansas and a BA in chemistry from McPhereson College.
Oleg Nodelman Oleg Nodelman is a Portfolio Manager and Partner of the Biotechnology Value Fund, a biotech focused investment fund in San Francisco where he is responsible for evaluating investment opportunities, in-depth scientific due diligence and working with company management on strategic and financial matters. BVF was founded in 1993 and is focused on both public and private therapeutic discovery and development ventures. Mr. Nodelman has served on the Boards of several seed stage start-ups. Before joining BVF, Mr. Nodelman was a consultant with Mercer Management Consulting: a strategy firm. At Mercer, he worked with senior management from companies in a variety of industries to develop and implement long-term strategy and build shareholder value. Mr. Nodelman holds a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs and a minor in Science in Technology from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He was also the recipient of an honors certificate in International Business Diplomacy from the Landegger Program at Georgetown. Mr. Nodelman speaks fluent Russian, and conversational Spanish and French.
Ben Perkins Mr. Perkins is a Managing Director in the Life Sciences group at Pacific Growth Equities and serves on the Firm's Committment Committee. 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.