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In the Eye of the Beholder - Attracting the Right Investors and What Makes an Investor Fall in Love Today?

Wednesday, April 1st
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Constitutional Ballroom B

You’ve cleared your initial financing fences, and distributed precious angel and institutional investments into start-up operations.  Today, the hurdles for raising that next B round are higher than ever, and early-stage companies need to secure investors who truly understand their technology, risks, opportunities and timeframes.   How do you identify and attract the investors most suited to your company?   From business plans to patent estates, management experience, right-sizing and chemistry, hear experienced investors and start-up CEOs address the top reasons why biotech deals get killed and investors can be denied the opportunity to participate. 

Moderator

Panelists

Who's Who

Scott Sarazen;  As the Biotechnology Markets Leader, Scott is responsible for all aspects of Ernst & Young's global marketing, communication and go-to-market strategies for the biotechnology industry. In this role, Mr. Sarazen and his team serve as the primary conduit between the firm and the biotechnology and medical device industries for the purposes of identifying and tracking the changing landscape of these dynamic sectors. The Markets Leader also oversees thought leadership, including the production of Beyond Borders, Ernst & Young's annual report on the biotechnology industry. Scott is resident at Ernst & Young's Global Biotechnology Center based in Boston. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Sarazen has enjoyed over 18 years of experience supporting strategic operations and business development in the biotechnology and biomedical industries in roles including: Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Straumann, North America and Director of Global Planning and Development at Genzyme Corporation. Scott has also served in public roles as both the Senior Vice President for Life Sciences with MassDevelopment and as a special consultant to the Chief Economic Development Officer of the City of Boston for the purposes of advocating the expansion of the biomedical economies in Massachusetts. Mr. Sarazen has a BS in Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a MS in Management from Lesley University. In addition to other affiliations, Scott serves on the Boards of: the KIPP Academy in Lynn; the United Way's Math, Science and Technology After-School Initiative; the City of Boston's Life-Tech Initiative; Convergence - the Life Sciences Leaders Forum; and on the Industry Development Committee at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

Brian R. Dixon, Ph.D.; Prior to joining BioRelix in October 2007, Dr. Dixon was a Vice President with Bayer HealthCare in West Haven Connecticut.  In that position he led a multi-disciplinary organization of up to 130 employees that delivered state-of-the-art expertise in oncology biomarker discovery, new lead discovery, research drug formulation, pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism to Bayer's global R&D business.  In addition he held leadership roles in R&D licensing initiatives, strategic alliances and cross divisional collaborations in translational medicine.  From 1998 – 2001 Brian directed Bayer drug discovery efforts in both the Osteoporosis and Oncology therapeutic areas, where his research groups advanced a number of drug candidates into pre-clinical development.  Brian was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed post-doctoral training at Harvard University.

Steven Knight, MD; Dr. Knight has worked in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for over sixteen years. Prior to joining Fidelity in 2003, Dr. Knight was president and chief operating officer for EPIX Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For six years before joining EPIX, Dr. Knight worked at Arthur D. Little Inc., primarily as a senior consultant in Cambridge and Brussels, Belgium specializing in mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to 1990, Dr. Knight performed research at AT&T Bell Laboratories (now Lucent Technologies), the National Institutes of Health, and at Yale University. Dr. Knight holds an M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Organization and Management. Dr. Knight received a B.S. in biology from Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Knight currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for EnVivo Pharmaceuticals. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (formerly Microbia), CardioKine, Proteostasis Therapeutics, FoldRX, Bikam Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Ligocyte Pharmaceuticals and Respivert, Ltd.

Amir Nashat, PhD; Dr. Nashat joined Polaris in April 2002 and focuses on investments in the life sciences. Prior to joining Polaris, he completed his PhD as a Hertz Fellow in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a minor in Biology under the guidance of Dr. Robert Langer.  During his time at MIT, he completed an internship in the London office of Goldman, Sachs & Company. He currently represents Polaris as a Director of Athenix Corporation, aTyr Pharmaceuticals, Avila Therapeutics, Bind Biosciences, Fate Therapeutics, Living Proof, Pervasis Therapeutics, Promedior Pharmaceuticals, Selecta Biosciences and WaveRx.  He played an instrumental role in the inception of Living Proof (then named Andora), and Pervasis, serving as the founding President of both companies.  Additionally, he has served as a Director of Adnexus Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb) and Hydra Biosciences, and as an Observer of GI Dynamics and Advion.  Dr. Nashat currently serves on the Board of the New England Venture Capital Association, on the Advisory Board of the Simmons School of Management Entrepreneurship Initiative, and is a Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation  at MIT.  Prior to obtaining his PhD at MIT, Dr. Nashat earned both his MS and BS in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

Heather Preston, MD;  Dr. Preston is Managing Director of TPG Biotech.  Prior to joining TPG Biotech in May 2005, Dr. Preston spent two years at JP Morgan Partners where she focused on medical device and biotechnology venture capital investing.  Prior to JP Morgan Partners, Dr. Preston was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with New Enterprise Associates.  Dr. Preston has an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of London and a medical degree from the University of Oxford.  After leaving Oxford, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University.  She completed her training in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and then she sub-specialized in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at U.C.S.F.  During her academic career, she was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, a Fulbright Cancer Research Scholarship, a Harlech Scholarship and a Science and Engineering Research Council Post-doctoral Fellowship Award.  After leaving academic medicine, she spent five years at McKinsey & Co. in New York, where she was a leader of their pharmaceutical and medical products consulting practice.  She advised large pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies on critical strategic issues such as R&D portfolio prioritization, M&A opportunities, new technology acquisitions, new product launches and product growth strategies. Dr. Preston co-founded, and is the CEO of Virobay Inc., a biotechnology company which is seeking to develop new therapies for the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).  Dr. Preston serves on the boards of Albireo, Alder Biotherapeutics, Axcan Pharma, Virobay Inc. and VLST Inc.; and is an observer on the boards of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, FoldRx, and Macrogenics.

Steven Tregay, PhD; Prior to joining FORMA, Steven Tregay was a Managing Director for the $200M Novartis Option Fund. He led the fund’s investments in and served on the Board of Directors of FORMA Therapeutics, Adenosine Therapeutics (sold: CLDA) and Cequent Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining the venture group, he was the Executive Director and Head of Strategic Alliances-Oncology, Ophthalmology and Technologies at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. He managed a team who were responsible for identification, negotiation and management of collaborations for the oncology and ophthalmology disease areas and all the technology areas. Prior to Novartis, he had roles in business development at Array BioPharma and research. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in organic chemistry from Harvard University and a B.S. from Davidson College.