Mark Leuchtenberger
President & CEO, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Mark Leuchtenberger has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Rib-X since March 2010, bringing experience in commercial operations, business development and preparing biopharmaceutical companies for product approval and commercialization.

Prior to joining Rib-X, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Targanta Therapeutics Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, from September 2006 until August 2009, following Targanta’s acquisition. As President and Chief Executive Officer at Targanta, he led its initial public offering in 2007 and its acquisition in 2009. From March 2002 to August 2006, Mr. Leuchtenberger served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Therion Biologics Corporation, a privately-held cancer vaccine company. Prior to Therion, Mr. Leuchtenberger was a senior officer at Biogen Idec Inc., where he led the Avonex development and launch in the United States and subsequently managed North American and international commercial operations.

Mr. Leuchtenberger received his MBA from the Yale School of Management and his BA from Wake Forest University. He is a past Chairman and current member of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council Board of Directors and serves as a trustee for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is a co-founder of Albor Biologics, Inc. and Alvos Therapeutics, Inc.

Dennis J. Purcell
Senior Managing Partner, Aisling Capital

Mr. Purcell has served as the Senior Managing Director of Aisling Capital since February 2000 and is responsible for the management of the Partnership. The fund has approximately $1.7 Billion of assets under management.

Prior to joining Aisling Capital, Mr. Purcell served as Managing Director of the Life Sciences Investment Banking Group at Chase H&Q (formerly Hambrecht & Quist, “H&Q”) for over five years. While at Hambrecht & Quist, he was directly involved with over two hundred completed transactions and supervised over $10 billion of financing and advisory assignments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical products industries.

During his tenure, BioWorld and other industry publications cited H&Q as the leading underwriter of life sciences securities. Mr. Purcell is a frequent commentator on the industry and has been honored in the “Biotech Hall of Fame” by Genetic Engineering News, named to the Biotechnology All-Stars list by Forbes ASAP and honored as one of the top 50 Irish- American businessmen and cited as the top 100 contributors to the biotechnology industry. Prior to joining H&Q, Mr. Purcell was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Group at PaineWebber, Inc.

Mr. Purcell currently serves as a director of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously he served as a director of Aton Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bridge Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cengent Therapeutics, Inc., Dynova Laboratories, Inc., and Valentis, Inc.

He has served as a member of the Advisory Council at Harvard Medical School, the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Association, as well as the New York Biotechnology Association and the Irvington Institute. He also serves on the Board of L.E.K. consulting.

Mr. Purcell received his M.B.A. from Harvard University, and his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Delaware. 

Timothy W. Trost, CPA
Sr. Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chimerix, Inc.

With more than 30 years of experience working in the financial field Timothy W. Trost joined Chimerix in 2011 as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. In this newly-created position, Mr. Trost will be responsible for overseeing the company’s financial operations. Prior to joining Chimerix, Mr. Trost was Vice President and CFO at Argos Therapeutics, Inc., a venture-backed immunotherapy company located in Research Triangle Park. Previously, he was Senior Vice President and CFO at InteCardia, Inc., a venture-backed cardiac imaging company. While at InteCardia, Mr. Trost played a key role in negotiating and executing the sale of the company to Syncor International Corporation (NASDAQ: SCOR). Prior to InteCardia, Mr. Trost served as Executive Vice President and CFO of Coastal Physician Group, Inc. (NYSE: DR), a contract provider of emergency room physicians, having joined the company as Vice President of Corporate Development. He also held the positions of Vice President of Finance at Morganite North America, Inc., and Senior Manager at Price Waterhouse. Mr. Trost holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jeff Calcagno, MD
Senior Director, Emerging Technologies, California Innovation Center, Johnson & Johnson 

Jeff Calcagno, MD, is Senior Director, Emerging Technologies, California Innovation Center, at Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s largest diversified healthcare companies.  Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and responsible for the Western US and Canada, Jeff’s role is to identify innovative healthcare technologies that may improve the lives of patients and fuel future growth for Johnson & Johnson.  He also conducts clinical and scientific due diligence on select potential investments and acquisitions.

Jeff joined Johnson and Johnson in 2011 from Scale Venture Partners where for four years he was a Principal and Kauffman Fellow.  Earlier, Jeff was Chief Business Officer & Chief Financial Officer for Vela Pharmaceuticals, a venture-backed drug development company.  Before that, he ran corporate development and operations for WIDCOMM, a wireless software company acquired by Broadcom.  He also served as a healthcare research analyst for JP Morgan Hambrecht & Quist.  He began his business career as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company where he advised major pharmaceutical companies on strategic and operational issues.

Jeff graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Biology from Harvard College and earned an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed his medical-psychiatric internship and psychiatry residency at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute where he was program chief resident.  He also completed a clinical neuropharmacology fellowship.  A former Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar in Europe, Jeff speaks six languages.

Joseph S. Dillon, CLP
Managing Director, Investor Relations & Business Development, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) 

Joseph S. Dillon, MBA, CLP, is Managing Director, Investor Relations and Business Development for Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington, DC. Mr. Dillon is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 20 years of experience. He has extensive experience in global pharmaceutical business development, planning and analysis, corporate finance, M&A, licensing, and technology valuations. He has been directly involved in the closing of over 40 licensing, M&A and financing transactions. Prior to joining BIO, Mr. Dillon was President & CEO of Dillon Capital Strategies, a strategy and business analytics advisory firm. Mr. Dillon held senior positions with two pharmaceutical management consulting firms, most significantly was as Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Development Services and Valuations for The Mattson Jack Group (now Kantar Health). Other previous positions include CEO, President, and Director of The Pharmaceutical Development Center, a pharmaceutical developer and manufacturer; Executive Vice President and CFO of Vail Banks Inc., a multi-bank holding company; CFO and Treasurer of Oread Inc., a contract pharmaceutical developer and manufacturer; and corporate positions with predecessor companies of Sanofi. Mr. Dillon is Chairperson of the Licensing Executive Society Life Sciences Sector Executive Committee and Past-Chairperson of its Education Committee. He is a veteran speaker at BIO, LES, WBR, EBD, and other prominent industry organization events. Mr. Dillon holds an M.B.A. in International Finance, a bachelors in Finance and has earned the Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) designation.

Lauren Silverman, PhD
Managing Director, Novartis Option Fund 

Prior to joining the Option Fund she was Global Head of Oncology Research Operations for Novartis. Previously, Lauren spent much of her career in Licensing & Business Development, first at OSI Pharmaceuticals and later at Pfizer with responsibilities in the areas of CNS, ophthalmology and oncology. Lauren was also a Director of Strategic Alliances and Head of Cell Biology where she led multiple research teams after having been a founding scientist of Cadus Pharmaceuticals. Lauren was a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Princeton University and earned her PhD in molecular biology from the University of Utah. She serves on the Business Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Research Foundation’s Epilepsy Therapy Project, National Cancer Institute’s SBIR review panel, Mass Life Sciences Center Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors of Science Club for Girls. Lauren currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Novartis Venture Funds portfolio companies:  Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Proteostasis Therapeutics, Pulmatrix Inc., Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Celladon Corporation.

Geeta Vemuri, PhD
VP, Head, Baxter Ventures 

Geeta Vemuri joined Baxter in January, 2012 as Senior Managing Director - Baxter Ventures, the corporation’s $200 million venture fund. Prior to joining Baxter, she was a General Partner at Quaker Partners, where she spent the last 8.5 years leading investments in Biopharmaceutical and Healthcare companies and being integral part of the team in raising capital for the funds. Dr. Vemuri's role in building and mentoring portfolio companies has helped lead their exit through either acquisition or through Initial Public Offering. Some of her representative Quaker portfolio board member or observer responsibilities include Protez, Cempra, Corridor, Regado and Tranzyme Pharma.

Jeron Eaves
Senior Practice Executive, Campbell Alliance

Jeron Eaves brings to Campbell Alliance nearly 15 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He leverages his scientific education, business aptitude, and real-world experience to provide strategic advice across corporate development and commercial objectives for executive leadership of pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients.

Before joining Campbell Alliance, Mr. Eaves held consulting positions in pharma and biotech, and Corporate Finance positions for a Fortune 50 Company. Before pursuing his MBA, Mr. Eaves worked as a synthetic organic chemist with a focus on the design and development of novel therapeutics for two biotechnology companies.

Mr. Eaves earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and a BS in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina.  

Lindy Fishburne
Executive Director, Breakout Labs, Thiel Foundation

Lindy Fishburne is the Executive Director of Breakout Labs, the newest project of The Thiel Foundation. After years in the trenches with start-ups, non-profit management, and consulting for global technology companies she's never been more inspired than by the scientific innovation happening right now. Follow on Twitter @breakoutlabs 

Mark Goldsmith, MD, PhD
Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures

Mark Goldsmith has committed his entire career to medical science. Dr. Goldsmith joined Third Rock Ventures in 2012 as a venture partner, where he contributes to the ideation, development and leadership of innovative companies. Previously, Dr. Goldsmith was president and chief executive officer of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, where he led the company to a preeminent position in the field of epigenetics and to development of a class-leading strategic relationship with Genentech/Roche. He continues active involvement with Constellation, a Third Rock Ventures portfolio company, in the role of executive chairman.

Before Constellation, Dr. Goldsmith held other senior executive positions in the biotechnology industry and academia. Prior to his appointment at Constellation in 2009, he was senior executive-in-residence at Prospect Venture Partners, a leading life science investment firm based on the west coast, after serving as chairman and CEO of Cogentus Pharmaceuticals. Previously he was senior vice president, responsible for the health care division of Genencor International, an independent and publically listed company prior to its acquisition by Danisco. Before entering the private sector, Dr. Goldsmith led a productive biomedical research laboratory at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, and he has co-authored 85 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is co-inventor on multiple patents. He practiced medicine on the faculty of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine and at San Francisco General Hospital, and served as a consultant to and collaborator of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Dr. Goldsmith received his BA degree from Princeton University, earned his MD and PhD in microbiology and immunology from UCSF, and conducted postgraduate medical training at Harvard Medical School and UCSF.

Robert Sarisky, PhD
Chief Business Officer, Forma Therapeutics, Inc.

Robert Sarisky is Chief Business Officer at Forma Therapeutics, joining the company in August 2012 from Janssen Pharmaceuticals where he most recently served as Vice President of Oncology Business Development and Licensing.  Prior to that role, Rob has held positions of Vice President of External Research and Early Development within Johnson & Johnson, Sr. Director of Immunology Research at Centocor, and Director of Virology at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals.

Rob received his BS degree in Biology from the University of Scranton, a PhD in Genetics from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, completed his postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and holds an MBA in Marketing from Lehigh University.  He has authored more than 120 publications and patents and served on the Editorial Board for two scientific journals. He has been active in the academic community by serving on the University of Pennsylvania Executive Advisory Committee for the HHMI Graduate Training in Medical Sciences, the University of Miami Innovation Corporate Advisory Council, the University of North Carolina Innovation Transfer and Development Initiative, adjunct Professor for Drexel University School of Medicine and an Advisory Board member for Indiana University's Biotechnology Program.

E. Cartier Esham, PhD
Senior Director, Emerging Companies Health and Regulatory Affairs, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

Cartier Esham is responsible for working on health and regulatory issues important to BIO's small biotechnology companies, the majority of which do not yet have a product in the market place. Issues of particular importance to emerging companies include intellectual property, technology transfer, clinical trials, and the Small Business Innovation Research Program. The emerging companies section also works on a wide range of FDA regulatory issues and is a strong advocate for NIH's biomedical research programs.

Prior to joining BIO, Esham was a Vice President and Director of Research at Dutko Worldwide, a private consulting firm in Washington, D.C. There she worked on a variety of environmental, education, science, technology, and health care related issues both on the federal and state/local levels. Esham has a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Georgia, a Master's degree in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Kentucky. She has published papers in peer-reviewed science journals on water quality, marine microbial ecology, and bacterial cloning. 

Emil Kakkis, MD, PhD
Chief Executive Officer & President, Ultragenex Pharmaceutical

Dr. Kakkis is best known for his work over the last 18years to develop novel treatments for rare disorders. He began his work developing an enzyme replacement therapy (Aldurazyme®) for the rare disorder MPS I, with minimal funding and support. The struggle to get the therapy translated from a successful canine model to patients succeeded due to the critical financial support of the Ryan Foundation, a patient organization formed by Mark and Jeanne Dant for their son Ryan.

Aldurazyme development was later supported by BioMarin Pharmaceutical and eventually their partner Genzyme leading to FDA approval in 2003. During his tenure at BioMarin, Dr. Kakkis guided the development and approval of two more treatments for rare disorders, MPS VI and PKU, and has contributed to the initiation of 7 other treatment programs for rare disorders, three of which are now in clinical development.

After 11 years at BioMarin, Dr. Kakkis left industry to initiate an effort to improve the regulatory and clinical development process for rare diseases. In early 2009, Dr. Kakkis launched and funded the Kakkis EveryLife Foundation to accelerate biotech innovation for rare diseases. The Foundation initiated a campaign to improve the regulatory and clinical development process for rare diseases. In just over a year, 160 patient organizations and physician society partners have endorsed the Campaign.

Dr. Kakkis has founded Ultragenyx™ to return to development of drugs for rare diseases. For many rare diseases, reasonable science exists that needs to get translated to patients. He will build on his previous experiences and will assemble an experienced team to efficiently develop treatments for rare diseases.

Dr. Kakkis is board certified in both Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. He graduated from Pomona College, magna cum laude and received combined MD and PhD degrees from the UCLA Medical Scientist Program and received the Bogen prize for his research. He completed a Pediatrics residency and Medical Genetics Training Fellowship at Harbor- UCLA Medical Center. He became an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from 1993 to 1998 where he initiated the enzyme therapy program for MPS I. In 1998, he joined BioMarin where he remained for 11 years in various titles eventually as Chief Medical Officer, before leaving in 2009.

Nick Leschly
CEO, bluebird bio

Nick Leschly is the president and CEO of bluebird bio, assuming the role in March 2010 in conjunction with Third Rock Venture’s investment in the bluebird’s Series B round. Formerly a partner of Third Rock Ventures since its founding in 2007, Nick played an integral role in the overall formation, development and business strategy of several of Third Rock’s portfolio companies, including Agios Pharmaceuticals and Edimer Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Third Rock, he worked at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, leading several early-stage drug development programs and served as the product and alliance leader for VELCADE™. Nick also founded and served as CEO of MedXtend Corporation. He holds a BS in molecular biology from Princeton University and an MBA from Wharton Business School.

Ellen Licking
Senior Writer & Analyst, Real Endpoints

Ellen joined Real Endpoints, a health information service company focused on product reimbursement, at its inception in December 2011. She has covered the medical industry for more than 12 years, as a reporter at BusinessWeek, then at Windhover Information, and since it’s acquisition by Elsevier, as business bureau chief and executive editor for the pharma group, where she was responsible for the editorial content of both IN VIVO and Start-Up. Ellen holds a BA in Biochemistry from Swarthmore College, an M. Phil. in Biochemistry from Cambridge University, and an MS in Biochemistry from Stanford University.

Hans GCP Schikan, PharmD
CEO, Prosensa

Hans Schikan is CEO of Prosensa, an innovative Dutch biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel treatments for rare diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy and Huntington’s disease, using its RNA modulation platform. In 2009 Prosensa announced a key agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for part of its Duchenne compounds at a value of nearly USD 700 million. Before joining Prosensa, Hans worked at Genzyme for five years in various executive roles, including as Vice President for Global Marketing and Strategic Development of Genzyme’s portfolio of products for rare genetic diseases. Prior to Genzyme, he spent 17 years at Organon, both at corporate level and in country operations which included assignments in Asia and Europe. Next to his role at Prosensa, Hans is currently Executive Board Member of the Dutch Top Institute Pharma and Non-executive Director of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. He is also past Chairman of Nefarma, the Dutch Association of Research Based Pharmaceutical Industry. He has a PharmD from Utrecht University. Hans has given numerous presentations on orphan drugs, rare diseases and innovation.

Steven Edelson
Executive Editor, SciBX:Science-Business eXchange, Senior Editor, BioCentury Publications

Steve, who serves as Executive Editor of SciBX for BioCentury, has been a writer and editor for BioCentury since 1998, including as Editor of BioCentury Extra and as Senior Writer responsible for financial markets coverage. Steve has a M.S. in biotechnology from Northwestern University, where he also received a B.A. in biochemistry.

Nagesh Mahanthappa, PhD
President & CEO, Scholar Rock LLC

Dr. Nagesh Mahanthappa is President and CEO of Scholar Rock, LLC – a Boston-area biotechnology start-up focused on the discovery and development of a novel class of biologic therapeutics.  He was most recently a founding employee and Vice President, Corporate Development at Avila Therapeutics, Inc, which was acquired by Celgene Corporation in early 2012.  Avila was a venture-backed, biotech focused on the discovery and development of novel, covalent, small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune, and viral diseases.  Prior to Avila, Dr. Mahanthappa was a founding employee of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, the first biotech established to discover and develop therapeutics based on RNA interference (“RNAi”) and rose to the position of Vice President, Scientific & Strategic Development.  He was previously Manager, Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and held a series of positions with increasing scientific and commercial responsibility at Ontogeny (now a part of Curis, Inc.).  Dr. Mahanthappa entered the biotech industry as a Staff Scientist at Cambridge NeuroScience.  Dr. Mahanthappa was also a founder of TwistDx, a DNA diagnostics company acquired by Inverness Medical Innovations (now Alere, Inc.) in 2010.

Dr. Mahanthappa completed his post-doctoral training at E.K. Shriver Center for Mental Retardation (then an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital) and Harvard Medical School after receiving his PhD degree in Neurobiology from the California Institute of Technology.  Dr. Mahanthappa received his BA degree in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Colorado, and his MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Management at Babson College (Wellesley, Massachusetts).

Pamela N. Munster, MD
Director, Developmental Therapeutics, UCSF

Dr. Munster received her medical degree from the University of Bern, Switzerland; completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Indiana University Medical Center then moved to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York for her oncology and hematology fellowship. She continued at Memorial Sloan Kettering as a faculty member in the breast cancer program before joining the Division of Breast Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics Program at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida. Dr. Munster served as the Scientific Director of Breast Research and Co-Chair of the Phase I Program at Moffitt for six years prior to moving to San Francisco.

Currently Dr. Munster is Professor in Residence at the University of California, San Francisco where she is Program Leader for the Developmental Therapeutics Program and the Director of Early Phase Clinical Trials Program at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her basic laboratory research interests are in the area of developing novel targeted therapy for the treatment of breast cancer and their integration into current treatment strategies. Dr. Munster’s research interest involves basic research studies on epigenetic modification of DNA repair and therapy resistance. Her laboratory is involved in several projects testing HDAC inhibitors reverse hormone therapy resistance in breast cancer and to potentiate chemotherapy by inhibiting DNA repair. Dr. Munster’s clinical research interests are in the area of early anti-tumor drug development with focus on drugs that target the HER kinase family and PI3k/mTOR pathway.

Dr. Munster has published in numerous scientific journals and has given lectures on topics such as the management of metastatic breast cancer, breast cancer receptors, clinical trials and translational research.

Thomas Cirrito, PhD
VP, Research & Development, Director, Business Development, Stemline Therapeutics

Dr. Cirrito is currently VP of Research and Development and Director of Business Development for Stemline. Prior to joining Stemline in 2005, Dr. Cirrito was a biopharmaceuticals equities analyst at Piper Jaffray, where he covered large and small cap biotechnology companies. Previously he was a life sciences consultant for A.G. Edwards Capital Partners, a venture capital group. He received a BA in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Immunology from Washington University (St. Louis, MO). Dr. Cirrito currently serves on the Scientific and Business Advisory Board of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation.

Leslie Crews Robertson, PhD
Project Scientist, Catriona Jamieson Laboratory, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center 

Dr. Leslie Crews is a scientist at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center and the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. Her research interests are focused on understanding the function of stem cells in degenerative and malignant disorders. She has investigated this topic across several fields from cancer to neuroscience, which has resulted in her co-authorship of over 50 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Crews is currently a member of the research team of Dr. Catriona Jamieson at UCSD, where she studies stem cell molecular pathways to explore critical questions about the pathology of blood cancers such as chronic myeloid leukemia. In these disorders, leukemia stem cells are thought to fuel disease relapse and resistance to therapy, and Dr. Crews’s research aims to elucidate the key mechanisms involved in leukemia stem cell survival and self-renewal. The goal of her work is to identify novel therapeutics to selectively target and eradicate these cancer stem cells, which may be a key strategy towards developing curative therapies for hematologic malignancies.

John Lewicki, PhD
Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

John Lewicki joined OncoMed after serving 16 years with Scios, Inc., where he managed the company's research organization across diverse therapeutic areas. Among his many achievements with that organization was the co-discovery of Natrecor™, an FDA approved drug for congestive heart failure. Previously, Dr. Lewicki was Senior Vice President, Research and Development of an early-stage biotechnology company working in the infectious disease field.

Dr. Lewicki received his PhD in Physiology/Pharmacology from U.C. San Diego and conducted his post-doctoral training at University of Virginia and Stanford University. He is the author of more than 70 research papers and book chapters and is an inventor on over 30 issued U.S. patents.

Jonathan Pachter, PhD
Head of Research, Verastem

Dr. Jonathan Pachter brings over 20 years of experience in leading discovery of small molecule and monoclonal antibody therapeutics for treatment of cancer. He was previously Head of Cancer Biology at OSI Pharmaceuticals where his team was responsible for development of models of tumor cell EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) and discovery of drugs disrupting this process. At OSI he advanced five small molecules into development for treatment of cancer, including OSI-906 – a selective IGF-1R/ insulin receptor kinase inhibitor currently in phase III clinical trials and OSI-027 – a selective mTOR kinase inhibitor.

Prior to OSI, Dr. Pachter held positions of increasing responsibility at Schering-Plough where he progressed three agents into development including the monoclonal antibody robatumumab which advanced to phase II clinical evaluation in cancer patients. Dr. Pachter also made key contributions to the regulatory approval of temozolomide for treatment of glioblastoma. He is an author of over 40 peer-reviewed publications and inventor on numerous patents. Dr. Pachter did his postdoctoral work in Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine and he holds a PhD from Baylor College of Medicine.

Nathan Sadeghi-Nejad
Contributor, Forbes & TheStreet

Nathan Sadeghi-Nejad has 15 years experience as a professional healthcare investor, and is currently a Contributor for both Forbes and TheStreet. He has worked on the buyside (as healthcare sector head for Highside Capital and as Senior Analyst at Kilkenny Capital) and sellside (with independent research boutiques Avalon Research and Sturza’s Medical Research). Sadeghi-Nejad is a graduate of Columbia University and lives in New York. You can follow him on Twitter @natesadeghi.

Evan McCulloch
Portfolio Manager, Franklin Templeton Investments

Evan McCulloch is a vice president, portfolio manager and analyst for Franklin Equity Group. Mr. McCulloch is the lead portfolio manager of Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund. He is also the health care sector team leader. Mr. McCulloch specializes in research analysis of biotechnology and emerging pharmaceutical companies, with a therapeutic focus on infectious diseases, ophthalmology, pulmonology, cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology and the central nervous system. Prior research coverage includes the pharmaceutical, medical technology and healthcare service sectors.

Mr. McCulloch joined Franklin Templeton Investments in 1992. He earned his BA in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder, and a member of the CFA Institute and the Security Analysts of San Francisco (SASF).

Bryan Roberts, PhD
Partner, Venrock

Bryan Roberts, Ph.D. joined Venrock as a Kauffman Fellow in 1997. He is based in Venrock's Palo Alto office and focuses on a broad range of healthcare investments. Bryan is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Achaogen, Castlight Health, and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IRWD) and also serves on the Board of several other private companies, including Ariosa Diagnostics, Ikaria, Intarcia, and Kyruus. Past investments include athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN), CodeRyte (acquired by 3M), Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), Sirna Therapeutics (acquired by Merck) and Xenoport (NASDAQ: XNPT). Bryan was named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute in 2006 and has been the highest-ranking healthcare investor on Forbes’ Midas List since 2008.

Immediately prior to joining Venrock, Bryan received his Ph.D. in Chemistry & Chemical Biology from Harvard University. He previously held positions in corporate finance at Kidder, Peabody & Co and received his B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Joel Sendek
Managing Director, Head Healthcare Equity Research, Stifel Nicolaus

Joel Sendek is a Managing Director and Biotechnology Analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company. He is also Group Head of the Healthcare Equity Research at Stifel. He has been a senior biotechnology analyst for 15 years with coverage that spans both large-cap and small-cap companies. Prior to joining Stifel, Joel was a Managing Director and biotechnology analyst for 11 years at Lazard Capital Markets, where he established Lazard's healthcare equity research effort in 2000. Prior to Lazard he was a Senior Vice President and biotechnology research analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison. He has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as an All-Star Analyst with a #1 ranking for stock picking in biotechnology as well as first place in the "Home Run Hitter" category among all sectors. From 1992 to 1997, Joel served as Senior Director of Corporate Development at Progenics Pharmaceuticals, where he negotiated corporate partnerships, raised private equity capital and prepared the company for an IPO. Prior to Progenics, he worked in the corporate finance department at Goldman, Sachs & Co., focused on healthcare, from 1989 to 1992. Joel received a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Rice University.

Asish Xavier
Vice President, Venture Investments, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation

Asish Xavier, Vice President, Venture Investments, joined Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation in 2004.  Asish previously worked in business development at BioRexis Pharmaceutical Corporation which was acquired by Pfizer in 2007.  While at BioRexis, he assisted the company in raising a $30 million second round of financing.  Asish has worked in business development at Structural GenomiX, Inc., acquired by Eli Lilly in 2008, and was a project leader at Message Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Asish received a PhD from the University of Houston and a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with honors.  He received a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India.  Asish was a postdoctoral research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University.

Francesco De Rubertis
Partner, Index Ventures

Francesco is a Partner in the firm's life science practice which he helped create in 1997. He has served on the board of directors of numerous companies. The list of companies that Index has been involved with from very early stages include; Genmab (GEN DC), PanGenetics (sold to Abbott ABT US), Addex (ADXN SW), Parallele (sold to Affymetrix), Bioxell (sold to Cosmo COPN SW), Aegerion (AEGR US), Cellzome and Molecular Partners. Prior to joining Index, Francesco was involved in post-doctoral research in Genetics at the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is also the author of several publications in international scientific journals. Francesco has a BA in Genetics and Microbiology from the University of Pavia and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Geneva. He is a CFA charterholder and is also a member of the Strategic Board of the University of Geneva.

Alan F. Eisenberg
EVP, Emerging Companies & Business Development, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

Alan F. Eisenberg serves as Executive Vice President for Emerging Companies & Business Development at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). In this role, Eisenberg manages and directs BIO’s services and advocacy efforts for BIO’s 650+ emerging companies, which comprise approximately 90% of BIO’s membership.  This includes tax, capital formation, financial services, and selected health policy development and advocacy, BIO’s global portfolio of investor and partnering events, industry research and analysis, and BIO’s affinity purchasing program enrolling over 2,000 companies. 

Previously at BIO, Eisenberg served in other senior leadership roles, including responsibilities for BIO’s communications function, as well as state government relations, Board operations, and BIO’s political action committee.

From 2001 through 2004, Eisenberg served as Health and Economics Policy Advisor to BIO CEO Jim Greenwood during his tenure in Congress. In this role, Eisenberg was extensively involved in the enactment of several public laws including the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act (P.L. 107-250), the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (P.L. 107-109), as well as key provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act (P.L.108-173).  

Prior to that, Eisenberg briefly served on the staff of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Public Health Subcommittee as Health Policy Advisor and also was a legislative assistant for Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ).

Before coming to Washington, Eisenberg spent four years with Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI, as a research economist and finance manager in manufacturing. As an economist, Eisenberg was responsible for conducting and overseeing the development of analyses relating to a variety of energy, regulatory and tax matters.

Eisenberg holds a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University (Kennedy School of Government), a Master of Science in Finance degree from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Union College. He is married to Shalla Ross, and they have two daughters, Michayla and Isabella.

Jonathan MacQuitty, PhD
Partner, Abingworth, LP

Jonathan has headed Abingworth’s West Coast office since May 1999. Abingworth is a leading trans-Atlantic life science venture capital investor with three offices and over $1.3 billion under management. Abingworth has invested in over 120 companies over the last 25 years, the majority having been acquired or gone public.

In 1988, following positions at Genentech and Genencor, Jonathan co-founded GenPharm International where he was CEO from inception until 1997 when its US operations were acquired by Medarex. GenPharm’s European operations were spun out as Pharming BV (listed on Euronext).

Jonathan has an MA in Chemistry from Oxford, a doctorate in Chemistry from University of Sussex, and an MBA from Stanford. He has served on the Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization ("BIO") and the Boards of private companies such as Acorda (now NASDAQ), Dicerna, Guava (acquired), Gynesonics, Hydra, Labcyte, Myelos (acquired), ParAllele (acquired), Personalis, Quantum Dot (acquired), SFJ Pharma, Sosei (now listed in Tokyo), and Sunesis (now NASDAQ). 

Brian McVeigh, CPA, CMA, CLP, MBA
Vice President, WWBD Transactions & Investment Management, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals

Brian McVeigh is the Vice President of Worldwide Business Development Transactions and Investment Management at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In this capacity he leads a global team of Business Development professionals responsible for GSK’s business development deals including in-licenses, out-licenses, research collaborations, co-development and co-promotion arrangements, joint ventures, product acquisitions, newco startups, equity investments, and M&A deals. He also has responsibility for managing GSK’s portfolio of equity investments in R&D collaboration partners and GSK’s portfolio of LP investments in venture capital funds.

Brian has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within the R&D Finance, Marketing, Corporate, and Worldwide Business Development organizations throughout his 20 year career with GSK. Brian has extensive business development experience having successfully led a broad range of business development transactions including the acquisitions of Domantis, Praecis, Sirtris, and Genelabs, and the in-licensing of ambrisentan (Volibris®). Brian is a member of GSK’s Business Development Executive Committee, Transactions Leadership Team, and the Technology Investment Board. He serves on the Board of Directors of the SB1 Federal Credit Union and on the LP Advisory Committee of the Longwood Founders Fund and the Hatteras Venture Partners III Fund and IV Fund. He is based at GSK’s R&D Headquarters in Upper Merion, PA.

Brian holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Finance from LaSalle University, an MBA with a Concentration in Finance from Villanova University, a Post MBA Certificate in Pharmaceutical Marketing from Saint Joseph's University, and a CPD from the Wharton Business School. He is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and a Certified Licensing Professional.