Ebola Update: A Conversation with Tekmira’s President and CEO, Mark Murray, PhD

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 | 12:10 – 12:30 p.m.
Moderated by: Phyllis Arthur, Senior Director, Vaccines, Immunotherapeutics & Diagnostics Policy, Biotechnology Industry Organization

The biotechnology industry has been asked to accelerate its response in the face of this year’s record setting Ebola outbreak. We will discuss the tensions and the path forward with the CEO of Tekmira, a leading company developing an Ebola therapy.

Abbvie Biotech Ventures, Inc.—David Donabedian, PhD, Vice President

Action Potential Venture Capital—Juan-Pablo Mas, Partner

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals—John Maraganore, PhD, CEO

Avalanche Biotechnologies—Thomas W. Chalberg, PhD, Founder and CEO

Biotechnology Industry Organization—Cartier Esham, PhD, EVP, Emerging Companies

Caribou Biosciences—Rachel Haurwitz, PhD, President and CEO

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners—Patrick J. McEnany, Co-Founder, Chairman, President and CEO

Deerfield—Jonathan Leff, Partner, Chairman of the Deerfield Institute

EcoR1—Oleg Nodelmann, Co-Founder and Managing Director

Editas Medicine—Katrine S. Bosley, CEO

The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research—Christopher J. Czura, PhD, VP, Scientific Affairs, CFO, Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine

Fenwick & West LLP—Effie Toshav, Partner

Forest Laboratories—Ellen Lubman, SVP Strategy and Innovation

GlobeImmune—Timothy C. Rodell, MD, CEO and President

GlycoMimetics—Rachel King, CEO (BIO, Chair)

Kite Pharma—David D. Chang, MD, PhD, EVP Research and Development, Chief Medical Officer

Knobbe Martens—Eli Loots, Partner

Morrison Foerster—Michael J. O'Donnell, Partner

MPM Capital—Todd Foley, Managing Director

NeuroPace—Martha J. Morrell, MD, Chief Medical Officer

Portola Pharmaceuticals—William Lis, CEO

RA Capital—Rajeev Shah, Portfolio Manager

Relypsa—John Orwin, President and CEO

Scioderm—Robert Ryan, MD, President and CEO

Takeda Ventures—Graeme Martin, President and CEO

Tocagen—Harry E. Gruber, MD, Chairman, CEO and President

ZIOPHARM Oncology—Jonathan Lewis, MD, PhD, CEO

—As of September 4, 2014

Thank you for your interest in the Buzz of BIO, recognizing the most innovative companies at the 2014 BIO Investor Forum!

The nominations period has ended. Voting will open at 9:00 AM ET on August 25. 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 | 10:30 a.m. - 11:25 a.m. | Twin Peaks North/South

Ken Drazan, MD

Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, California

Ken is Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, California.  His background includes more than 13 years in the healthcare industry and 12 years in the hospital and academic worlds.

A liver transplant surgeon by training, Ken spent several years at Stanford University before moving into entrepreneurial leadership roles in the biopharmaceutical industry and subsequently in the venture capital world. Ken’s deep background in science, his business experience, and his strong ties to the Bay Area life science community provide a unique combination of skills and expertise to his leadership of the California Innovation Center. 

Previously, Ken co-founded Bertram Capital Management in 2006. He served as General Partner of this family of growth equity funds focused on middle market equity investments in business services, consumer products, light manufacturing, and healthcare services. He was also Co-Founder and Chairman of EnGen Bio, a virtual company focused on novel therapeutics in infectious disease and oncology. 

Ken has held a variety of entrepreneurial leadership positions, including Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Arginox, a venture-backed company developing nitric oxide targeted medicines for critical care. He also held executive positions at Genesoft Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company that developed anti-infective therapeutics in collaboration with the Department of Defense and for consumer markets. 

Ken earned his B.A. in Economics from Yale College and received his M.D. Cum Laude from State University of New York. He completed his residency and Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA Medical Center, with a focus on surgery and microbiology. 

Moderator: Deepa R. Pakianathan, PhD, General Partner, Delphi Ventures

Deepa joined Delphi Ventures in 2001 and leads the firm's biotechnology investment activities.

Deepa served on the boards of Salmedix (a.b. Cephalon in 2005), Ilypsa (a.b. Amgen in 2007), Proteolix (a.b. ONXX in 2009) and PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTCT) and led Delphi's investment in Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN).

Prior to joining Delphi, Deepa was a Vice President in the healthcare group at JP Morgan where she was involved in healthcare M&A transactions worth in excess of $6 billion and public offerings for biotechnology companies that raised more than $9 billion in capital.

From 1997 to 1998, Deepa was a biotechnology research analyst at Genesis Merchant Group. She worked as a postdoctoral scientist in the Immunology Department at Genentech Corporation from 1993 to 1997, where she evaluated chemokines and chemokine receptors as targets for therapeutic intervention.

She serves on the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 | 2:00 p.m. - 2:55 p.m. | Twin Peaks North/South

Nick Leschly

President & CEO, bluebird bio

Nick Leschly has served as bluebird bio’s president and chief executive officer since September 2010. Previously, he served as interim chief executive officer from March 2010 to September 2010. Formerly a partner of Third Rock Ventures, L.P. since its founding in 2007, Mr. Leschly played an integral role in the overall formation, development and business strategy of several of Third Rock's portfolio companies, including Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Edimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to joining Third Rock, he worked at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., leading several early-stage drug development programs and served as the product and alliance leader for VELCADE. Mr. Leschly also founded and serves as chief executive officer of MedXtend Corporation. He received his B.S. in molecular biology from Princeton University and his M.B.A. from Wharton Business School. He currently serves as a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization board.

Moderator: Chris Collins, Principal, Healthcare Investment Banking, Piper Jaffray

Chris Collins is a principal in the Piper Jaffray healthcare investment banking group covering biotechnology companies. He is based in the firm’s San Francisco office.

Prior to joining Piper Jaffray in June 2014, Collins was a senior calling officer in the global healthcare groups at Citigroup and Credit Suisse where he focused on biotechnology companies.  During his time at Citigroup and Credit Suisse, he successfully represented biotechnology clients in transactions with an aggregate transaction value exceeding $24 billion, including over $13 billion of M&A and over $11 billion of capital markets transactions. Prior to Citigroup and Credit Suisse, Collins was on the buy-side for more than eight years, more recently as a founder and portfolio manager at CPC Capital Management, a long/short healthcare-focused hedge fund. Before CPC Capital Management, he was an associate at Frazier Healthcare Ventures, a leading biotechnology venture capital firm with over $2 billion of assets under management, for five years. Collins helped start and invest in a number of successful biotechnology companies while a venture capitalist. Prior to Frazier Healthcare Ventures, he was an analyst in the global healthcare group at Morgan Stanley.

Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a master’s degree in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a CFA^® charterholder.

Opening Plenary Lunch: A High-Speed Option at the FDA: Lessons from Veterans of the Breakthrough Therapy Designation Process

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:25 p.m. | Twin Peaks North/South

The Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) program instituted under the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) of 2012 has produced its first set of accelerated approvals under this program, dramatically cutting time to market for some cancer, cystic fibrosis, and hepatitis C therapies. The FDA so far has granted BTD status to more than 50 applications; however, that amounts to only about 30% of requests. Research suggests that the advantages vary significantly across therapeutic areas. Our panelists will discuss the characteristics of successful applicants, what lessons they learned from their BTD program experience, and what advice they would give companies seeking to apply.

Moderator

• Edward Dougherty, Principal, Dentons

Panelists

• Cartier Esham, PhD, EVP Emerging Companies Section, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
• William Lis, CEO, Portola Pharmaceuticals
• Patrick J. McEnany, CEO, Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners
• Robert Ryan, MD, President and CEO, Scioderm

Plenary Lunch Session: BioCentury Presents: 22^nd Annual “Back to School” Report

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 | 12:30 p.m. - 1:25 p.m. | Sunset Court

Always a source for great debate, the 22nd annual “Back to School” report from BioCentury will be released in September, bringing a spotlight to an important issue affecting the industry deserving additional attention. At this session, all corners of biotech will be asked to weigh in and help develop consensus on where progress is most achievable and efforts should be directed. Details and panelists will follow after the report’s publication.

Moderator

• David Flores, Co-Founder, President and CEO, BioCentury

Panelists

• Erin McCallister, Senior Editor, BioCentury
• Susan Schaeffer, Editor, BioCentury

Closing Plenary: Up, Up, and Away: How Fragile is the Biotech Rally After Five Positive Years?

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 | 3:30 p.m. - 4:25 p.m. | Sunset Court

The past year has seen more biotech IPOs than the past five years combined and companies are going public earlier in their drug development than ever before. Public officials’ comments questioning whether there is a biotech “bubble” have created temporary market shocks before investor confidence returned. New classes of blockbuster therapies are breaking revenue records—and attracting new attention to trends in healthcare costs. Drug approval processes are accelerating while M&A activity suggests the potential for major employment shifts. Are the innovative researchers and experienced investment community that brought the industry to its current peak communicating well enough to sustain this growth? What external threats deserve watching most closely?

Moderator

• Todd Foley, Managing Director, MPM Capital

Panelists

• Douglas Fambrough, PhD, CEO, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals
• Rachel King, CEO, GlycoMimetics
• Ellen Lubman, VP Strategy and Innovation, Forest Laboratories
• Michael A. Margolis, RPh, Managing Director, Roth Capital
• Vijay Murthy, PhD, Director, Venture Investments & Early Stage Collaborations, AbbVie

JOBS Act, from Enactment to IPO: Surprises from the CEOs in the First Generation

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 | 3:30 p.m. - 4:25 p.m. | Twin Peaks North/South

The JOBS Act has contributed to a dramatic acceleration in new biotech IPOs since its passage, with nearly a tripling in the rate of companies going public in the industry. By changing how entrepreneurs can access and communicate with investors earlier in the process, the JOBS Act has fundamentally shifted how CEOs of discovery-driven companies must spend their time dealing with internal versus external priorities. Panelists will discuss how investors’ expectations of biotech CEOs are changing and CEOs will describe new opportunities they have and surprises they encountered in taking their companies public in a post-JOBS Act environment, with implications for future entrepreneurs and policy experts.

Moderator

• Cartier Esham, PhD, EVP Emerging Companies Section, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

Panelists

• Paul J. Hastings, Chairman and CEO, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals
• John Orwin, President and CEO, Relypsa
• Effie Toshav, Partner, Fenwick & West LLP
• Robert Ward, CEO, Radius Health

Blurred Lines: VCs, CVCs, and IBs Explain Their Re-Thinking of Traditional Private-Only or Public-Only Investment Strategies

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 | 2:00 p.m. - 2:55 p.m. | Twin Peaks North/South

The recent expansion and acceleration of the biotech stock market has seen a new willingness and in some cases eagerness to pursue crossover investing in firms pre- and post-IPO. Venture capitalists have become less dogmatic about funding stage and equity share when positive returns seem nearly guaranteed and investment banks are engaging in discussions with entrepreneurs earlier than ever. Relatedly, corporate venture capital executives’ missions have broadened to consider more diverse forms of collaboration than the path to full acquisition. This panel will discuss how temporary or permanent these shifts appear to be and the implications for biotech firms reaching out to the investment community.

Moderator

• Michael J. O’Donnell, Partner, Morrison + Foerster LLP

Panelists

• Graeme Martin, PhD, President and CEO, Takeda Ventures
• James Noble, CEO, Adaptimmune
• Oleg Nodelman, Founder and Managing Director, EcoR1 Capital
• Rajeev Shah, Portfolio Manager, RA Capital
• Jonathan T. Silverstein, JD, Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Equity, OrbiMed