CEO Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals Symposium
Keynotes
Speakers
Alexey Margolin, Ph.D. is the co-founder of Allena Pharmaceuticals and has served as chief executive officer and director since September 2011. From September 2011 to February 2017, Dr. Margolin also served as Allena's president. From September 2011 to April 2014 Dr. Margolin served as chief executive officer of Alcresta Therapeutics, Inc., which he also co-founded and where he currently serves on the board of directors. From September 2011 to July 2013, Dr. Margolin also served as president of Alcresta. Prior to Alcresta, Dr. Margolin co-founded Alnara Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in 2008, where he was president and chief executive officer until 2010, when Alnara was acquired by Eli Lilly & Co., or Eli Lilly. Previously, Dr. Margolin also served as chief scientific officer of Altus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., through 2007, where he initiated and led several therapeutics programs based on protein crystallization technology. In 2003, Dr. Margolin was elected fellow of the American Institute of Medicine and Biological Engineering. He is the author of more than 60 publications and is an inventor on several patents. Dr. Margolin holds both his M.S. in chemistry and Ph.D. in bio-organic chemistry from Moscow University.
Alex focuses on investments in the biopharmaceuticals industry, especially in pharmaceuticals, generics, drug delivery and specialty pharma and biotechnology. He joined H.I.G. Capital as a Managing Director in January 2016. He currently serves on the board of directors for Leiter’s Pharmacy, Clarus Therapeutics, and Keystone Dental.
Prior to H.I.G., Alex was spent 13 years making similar investments at Thomas, McNerney & Partners. Previous board seats included Auspex Pharmaceuticals (sold to Teva), InnoPharma (sold to Pfizer), Quinnova (sold to Amneal), Celator (public), Zogenix (public), Tranzyme (merged with Ocera) and observer roles at PCI Pharma Services (sold to Partners Group) and Coley Pharmaceutical (sold to Pfizer).
Prior to Thomas, McNerney, Alex spent 11 years in the research department at Hambrecht & Quist (and its successor firms Chase H&Q and JPMorgan). During his tenure at H&Q, Alex led research teams covering the biotechnology, specialty pharmaceuticals, large-cap pharmaceuticals, drug delivery and diagnostics industries. After the merger of Chase H&Q and JPMorgan, Alex became the firm’s healthcare strategist. He was named twice in The Wall Street Journal All-Star Analysts Survey, including his last year at JPMorgan in which he placed in all three categories: stock picking (#1 in pharmaceuticals), earnings estimate accuracy (tied for #2), and ‘home run’ hitting (#8 across all industries).
Alex is the co-chair of the Business Advisory Council of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, an advisor for the Partnership Fund of NYC, which manages a bioaccelarator to advance local healthcare research, and is on the Life Sciences Council for Springboard Enterprises, a group that assists women entrepreneurs. He is also a board member for the Greenwich Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Prof. Peled is a professor at the Gene Therapy Institute, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem where he directs a laboratory, focusing on the role of chemokines and chemokine receptor in stem cell mobilization, inflammation and cancer. The laboratory of Prof. Peled's support the development of novel cell and molecular therapeutics for cancer and have been involved in the last 9 years in the development of novel therapies to cancer that are currently in Phase II/III. Prof. Peled worked in close collaboration with Israeli Biotechnology companies such as Biokine Therapeutics LTD, BiolineRX, and Gamida Cell. Prof. Peled has a Ph.D. from the Department of Cell Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science and is experience includes time spent as a post Dr. at Harvard Medical School and Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prof. Peled is also the founder of Biokine Therapeutics an R&D biotechnology company founded in 2000. The company develops novel therapeutics for cancer and inflammation. Prof. Peled has authored or co-authored over 100 papers and is listed as an inventor on over 80 patents related to therapeutic applications in stem cell biology, immunology, and cancer.
Dr. Shemi is Silenseed’s co-founder and has served as the company’s Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer since incorporation in 2008. Prior to founding Silenseed, from 2005 to 2008, Dr. Shemi served as the Senior Vice President Technologies at Medinol Ltd., a world leader in design, development and manufacturing of stent and stent delivery systems. Prior to that time, Dr. Shemi was the chief executive of several private Israeli technology companies, including Color-Chip Ltd. Dr. Shemi holds a Ph.D. degree in Physics from the Tel Aviv University. He is a single author and co-author of many scientific papers and a single inventor and co-inventor of more than a dozen of patents
Amy L. Grogg, PharmD, is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Commercialization for AmerisourceBergen. Dr. Grogg develops strategies to advance AmerisourceBergen's leadership in the pharmaceutical services industry and position AmerisourceBergen as the preferred commercialization partner for specialty pharmaceutical manufacturers. Additionally, Dr. Grogg holds operational responsibility for Xcenda, part of AmerisourceBergen, which provides strategic consulting services for life sciences manufacturers commercializing products in the United States, Germany, and key global markets.
Prior to her current role, Dr. Grogg was President of AmerisourceBergen Consulting Services where she led the growth of a portfolio of companies that included Xcenda, as well as Innomar Strategies, Canada's leading commercialization services firm for specialty pharmaceuticals; and Lash Group, the U.S. leader in patient support services. Before joining AmerisourceBergen, Dr. Grogg spent more than a decade in the pharmaceutical industry, primarily at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, (a Johnson & Johnson company), where she led teams that were responsible for all health economic, quality of life, and patient-reported outcomes research studies for all of the company's marketed products in the United States.
Dr. Grogg received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Mercer University and completed a two-year fellowship in pharmacoeconomics at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corporation and the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Diwan has been President and Chairman of the Board of the Company since its founding in 2005 Dr. Diwan spearheaded the efforts for the Company's 2013 uplisting from the OTC Markets to NYSE-American. Dr. Diwan has led several of the Company's financing efforts since 2010.
Dr. Diwan invented novel polymeric micelle-based nanomedicine technologies as early as 1991. Dr. Diwan is a prolific inventor and a serial entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding NanoViricides, Inc., he has founded TheraCour Pharma, Inc., a privately held company focused in nanomedicines and cell-targeted drug delivery, and AllExcel, Inc., a company with diverse portfolios including nanomedicines, small chemicals, device technologies, as well as informatics. He has won several NIH SBIR (small business innovation research) grant awards. Anil holds a Ph.D. from Rice University, TX, a B.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (IIT-B), India, and has consistently held high scholastic ranks and honors. Dr. Diwan has over 25 years of Bio-Pharmaceutical R&D experience with over 20 years as an entrepreneur.
He has several patents issued internationally resulting from three fundamental international patent applications. Under Dr. Diwan's leadership, NanoViricides, Inc. has been able to keep both administrative and R&D costs at extremely low levels while robustly expanding the drug pipeline every year. Dr. Anil R. Diwan was recognized as "Researcher of the Year" by BusinessNewHaven, a Connecticut Area Business Journal, in 2014.
Dr. Asher Nathan has extensive biotech operating experience, having started biotech companies, Intelligene and EvoRx, both of which were formed around technologies which he invented. Intelligene was a pioneering biotech company which dealt with molecular evolution and successfully attracted venture capital from top international venture firms including Walden Investments, Advent and Rothschild Venture Capital. The technology was acquired by Genetico. EvoRx was founded together with Nobel Prize Winners Arthur Kornberg and Roger Kornberg, and Jim Manuso, who was subsequently CEO of several successful publicly traded biotech companies, including Supergen. Dr. Nathan has authored over 25 patents in the field of biotechnology.
Prior to co-founding NeoTX, Dr. Nathan co-founded Zoticon Bioventures where he served as Managing Partner. Before that, Dr. Nathan served as a Managing Director at Paramount Biocapital, a top rated venture fund for in-licensing biotechnology transactions. His responsibilities at Paramount included managing Paramount’s European office.
Elizabeth G. Trehu, M.D (Beth), is Chief Medical Officer of Jounce Therapeutics, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company dedicated to transforming the treatment of cancer. Recent positions include Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Promedior, Inc., and Vice President of Product Development and Medical Affairs at Infinity Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Infinity, Dr. Trehu served as Vice President of Oncology Global Medical Affairs and ultimately held the position of Vice President and General Manager, Hematology. She entered the biotech industry at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where she held positions of increasing responsibility in medical affairs. Dr. Trehu's career prior to industry included laboratory and clinical research in immuno-oncology as an assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dr. Trehu was recognized as a ‘2012 Woman to Watch’ by Mass High Tech. She holds an M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and an A.B. cum laude from Princeton University.
Bill Korn is a seven-time Chief Financial Officer and former IBM executive with more than 30 years of experience managing fast growth businesses, seeking Board of Directors opportunities where he can contribute his proven expertise in strategy and finance.
Bill was a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and has actively participated in over 100 Board meetings during the past 15 years, leading discussions about strategy, acquisitions, raising capital, and financial performance. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of MTBC (Nasdaq: MTBC), provider of cloud-based healthcare IT solutions and services. He brought MTBC public on Nasdaq in 2014, buying three competitors simultaneously with the IPO, and building a public company infrastructure.
Bill worked closely with MTBC’s Audit, Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees to create Board governance for a public entity, and actively participates in every Board of Directors and Committee meeting. He has worked with four of the top audit firms, and has led audit committee discussions at five companies. Bill has worked with three executive compensation firms, assisting compensation committees in designing comp plans at four companies. He was corporate secretary of Antenna Software and director of 13 of its global subsidiaries. He was an Advisory Board member of SnapOne, member of the Board of Directors of iRail, LLC, and a participant and presenter to Boards of MTBC, SnapOne, Antenna Software, Telelogue, Integrion Financial Network and Incomnet.
As Chief Financial Officer for seven companies, Bill successfully raised $350 million of capital, including 12 public offerings, 14 rounds of private equity and venture capital, as well as 8 debt financings. Bill has completed 19 acquisitions, including negotiating terms, arranging financing, performing due diligence and integrating teams to reduce costs. He has a track record of creating successful partnerships and joint ventures.
In addition, Bill has significant operating management experience. His leadership enabled Antenna Software to grow at an 87% CAGR during his 10 year tenure. He served as President of Telelogue, a venture-backed spin-out of Bell Labs that created advanced speech recognition technology; and as Chief Operating Officer of INFONXX, an Inc. 500 company providing enhanced directory assistance services to the wireless industry. Bill led INFONXX through a period of rapid growth in which the company doubled in size to 2,000 people over a 12 month period.
Earlier in his career, Bill spent ten years with IBM building its global services business, and was a co-founder of IBM Consulting Group. He served on the senior management team that created IBM’s highly successful services strategy in the 1990’s; was IBM’s first director of strategy for electronic commerce in 1994; and spent a year on IBM’s corporate strategy team during Lou Gerstner’s first year as CEO. He was instrumental in forming Integrion Financial Network, a joint venture of IBM and 19 premier financial institutions, and became its first CFO.
Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics magna cum laude from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Robert (Bob) E. Ward is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Eloxx”). He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Radius Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDUS) successfully completing the initial public offering that became the top performing IPO; raised over $780M from private and public sources; achieved FDA approval and launch of the new drug TYMLOStm injection while gaining Fast Track development status for the Elacestrant oncology program. Prior to joining Radius, Mr. Ward held a series of progressive management and executive roles with established companies such as NPS Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough (Merck), Pharmacia (Pfizer), Bristol-Myers Squibb and Genentech. Mr. Ward has been a Director of Akari Therapeutics, Plc since October 14, 2016 where he chairs the Governance Committee. He served as a Director of Radius from December 2013 until July 16, 2017. Mr. Ward serves as a Director of the Massachusetts High Technology Council. Mr. Ward received a B.A. in Biology and a B.S. in Physiological Psychology, both from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.S. in Management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and an M.A. in Immunology from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Cameron is an experienced entrepreneurial executive, with expertise in biotechnology companies. He has extensive experience in the management, structuring, and strategic planning of start-up companies and has held positions including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Non-Executive Director of public and private enterprises.
Cameron was educated at the University of Western Australia receiving both a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA.
Dr. Spana, co-founder of Palatin, has served as president and chief executive officer since 2000. He has been a director of Palatin since 1996. From 1996 to 2000, Dr. Spana served as an executive vice president and chief technical officer of Palatin.
From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Spana was vice president of Paramount Capital Investments, LLC, a biotechnology and biopharmaceutical merchant banking firm, and of The Castle Group Ltd., a medical venture capital firm. Through his work at Paramount Capital Investments and Castle Group, Dr. Spana co-founded and acquired several private biotechnology firms. From 1991 to 1993, Dr. Spana was a research associate at Bristol-Myers Squibb, a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, where he was involved in scientific research in the field of immunology.
Dr. Spana received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from The Johns Hopkins University and his B.S. in biochemistry from Rutgers University.
Mr. Robins Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies, the leader in
translating the scale and precision of the adaptive immune system to diagnose and treat disease
through next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. He has held executive-level positions in
real estate, investing and medical technology, including: Pulte Homes, Connaught Real Estate
Finance, and HealthAxis.com. Mr. Robins started his career in banking for companies such as
Wasserstein Perella and Bank of America. In 2012, Mr. Robins was a “40 Under 40” Seattle
Leaders honoree. In 2015, he and his brother, Harlan Robins, were honored as one of Goldman
Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of the Year. Mr. Robins was a finalist for the Ernst &
Young 2016 Entrepreneur of The Year ® Award in the Pacific Northwest, and won the award in
2017 along with his brother. While in college and looking for a way to combine his
adventuresome spirit with a vast learning opportunity, he spent 100 days in the wilderness with
the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLs) where he gained his open and interactive
leadership style along with his strong teamwork mentality. A Cornell University honors graduate
with a major in entrepreneurship and business, Mr. Robins obtained his MBA from The Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania with a major in finance and concentrations in marketing
and operations. In addition to the Adaptive Biotechnologies board, Mr. Robins holds board
positions for Life Sciences Washington and Pavia Systems and is the co-founder and Chairman
of Aortica Corporation, a company that is simplifying endovascular repair (EVAR) for
abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).
Christine joined Insmed in 2013 as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, bringing over 20 years of leadership in the global biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Insmed, Christine served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she oversaw all legal aspects of the company’s successful IPO and secondary public offering and served as a member of the Executive Management Committee. Prior to Aegerion, Christine served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Dendrite International, Inc., a publicly traded company that provided sales effectiveness, promotional and compliance solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. As a member of the company’s management team, she led many critical initiatives including the sale of the company to Cegedim S.A. in 2007. Christine joined Dendrite from the law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer where she specialized in health care transactions and related regulatory matters. She previously served as law clerk to the Honorable Reginald Stanton, Assignment Judge for the Superior Court of New Jersey. Christine received her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
David has more than 25 years of experience in the life sciences industry with a proven track record for building new markets and establishing market leadership. Prior to joining Cytobank, David was CCO at Pathwork Diagnostics, a genomics-based cancer test developer and clinical lab. Before this he was vice president of business development at Affymetrix, Inc., where he held various business development and marketing leadership roles during the company’s growth. Early in his career, David held senior sales roles at Amersham Life Sciences, Inc., and BTX, a life sciences instrumentation company. David received a B.A. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego, and an MBA with a focus on marketing and finance from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Squaring the triangle of technology, patient need, and healthcare economics is one of the most challenging problems of our time. This is the challenge that fascinates David Harel, co-founder and CEO of CytoReason, who has a passion for aligning the big-data future with business models that create value today and scale for tomorrow. Collaborating on drug discovery and development with tier-1 partners today, CytoReason has grown to become one of the largest systems immunology groups in the world. CytoReason is on an exceptional growth trajectory - consistently tripling the business year over year, delivering exceptional biological insights on live projects. David started his career in the investment world, bridging dreams and reality. Most recently, prior to starting CytoReason, David led an EMR company in the transition to the cloud, introducing new technology standards to thousands of physicians and millions of patients. David holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business and he lives in Jerusalem with his wife, kids and their dog, Duplo. In the rare times that he is not on a plane, David enjoys spending his time sailing, camping and engaging in heated political debate.
David Benshoof Klein is a healthcare investor and entrepreneur with over 16 years life science industry experience; he has played key roles in founding, financing and operating more than 10 life science companies. In 2012, Mr. Klein co-founded Click Therapeutics which develops and commercializes software as medical treatments: Digital TherapeuticsTM. Following a groundbreaking clinical trial, Click’s industry-leading smoking cessation program is available nationwide through a wide variety of payers, providers, and employers. Click’s lead prescription program is entering into a multi-center, randomized, controlled, parallel-group, phase III FDA registration trial for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adults. He formerly served as Managing Director at Opus Point Partners, senior consultant to Pfizer, and strategic advisor to numerous publicly traded and privately held life science companies. Mr. Klein holds a B.A. from Brandeis University and has been a guest lecturer at Columbia University’s Biotechnology Program. A native New Yorker, Mr. Klein is an avid art enthusiast and is co-founder and owner of Klein Sun Gallery, America’s leading Chinese contemporary art gallery with locations in New York’s Chelsea art district and Beijing, China.
Donna Higgins is Founder & CEO of The Higgins Group, Inc., one of the oldest and most successful search firms in the life sciences. Founded in 1998, the firm has grown exclusively through referrals as a result of Donna’s simple but powerful business philosophy: to develop lasting relationships with a select group of clients by doing great work. This drive for excellence infuses every aspect of the firm’s work due to a culture that values superior results, exceptional teamwork, and doing the right thing. Although her team has diverse backgrounds and experiences, all of The Higgins Group consultants, researchers, and associates share Donna’s energy, optimism, integrity, and grit.
Over her 30 years’ in the life sciences, Donna has gained a global reputation for her insight, expertise and integrity. Prior to starting her own firm, Donna was Vice President & Life Science Practice Lead for Howard Fischer Associates International where she rapidly built the life science practice by consistently exceeding her clients’ expectations. Before becoming a search professional, Donna worked on commercial teams at both ends of the life sciences spectrum, dividing a decade between Abbott Laboratories, a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical company, and Immunex, an emerging biotech company at the time.
Donna holds an MBA from Drexel University and a BA from Penn State University. Committed to lifelong learning, she joined the Coaching Certification Program at Columbia University to continue sharpening the strategic coaching she provides to clients and candidates. She is an Advisory Board member for Life Sciences Cares and the Association of Women Entrepreneurs, and a Board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region and AchieveAbility. She also serves as adjunct faculty at the Center for Positive Leadership, where she is a frequent speaker on women in business. Donna divides her time between the company’s Philadelphia and Boston offices.
Elkan R. Gamzu is the Principal of enERGetics Biopharmaceutical Consultancy and the Chairman of NeuroHealing Pharmaceuticals, Inc., From 2010 until February 2018 he consulted for RedHill Biopharma Ltd., as a Project Manager and Director, Risk Management & Compliance Coordination. From July 2008 to July 2009, he was CEO of Epix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. From March to December of 2007, he was the CEO of Pharmos, Inc. Until the end of 2006, he served as one of the founding partners of BioPharmAnalysis, LLC, a company offering due diligence services. From March, 2005 until March 2006, on a part-time basis, he was Acting Head of Clinical Development for Hypnion, Inc. From December 2004 until February 2005, he was Interim CEO of XTL Pharmaceuticals, Ltd (LSE:XTL). In 2001 and 2002, Dr Gamzu served, on a half-time basis, as Interim VP, Project Management Leadership for Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc.
From 1989 until 1998, he worked for Cambridge NeuroScience, Inc. (CNSI), a public biotechnology company focusing on drugs for the treatment of neurological disorders, as VP, Development (1989-1990), President and COO (1990-1994) and CEO (1994-1998).
Previously, Dr. Gamzu was VP, Drug Development for Warner-Lambert's Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research Division, where he was responsible for the total development of tacrine (Cognex®) for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, Neurontin® for the treatment of epilepsy, as well as other medications. Before that, he was Therapeutic Group Head for Parke-Davis worldwide clinical research in cognition and psychiatry. Prior to that, Dr. Gamzu held research management positions in drug discovery with Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry since 1971.
He is a 1967 graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and has M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in experimental and physiological psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Gamzu has published extensively on psychopharmacology, neurology and drug development. He is the co-editor of books on memory dysfunction and cognitive disorders and has served on the Editorial Boards of a number of scientific journals. He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the New York Academy of Sciences and a member of many other professional organizations in the neuroscience and pharmacology fields.
Dr. Gamzu is a member of the Board of Directors of NeuroHealing Pharmaceuticals Inc. He served on the Board of Neurotech Inc., from 1995 until 2013, on the Board of XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd (LSE) from 1998 until Feb 2005, on the Board of Hypnion, Inc. from 2000 through 2006, on the Board of Hygeia Pharmaceuticals from 2009 until 2013, and also on the Boards of AviTx, Inc., and Paloma Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Emmanuel joined GE Healthcare in April 2008, following its acquisition of Whatman International Plc. Since 2008, Emmanuel has held various positions in GE Healthcare Life Sciences. Working both in the UK and in the US, he managed the North America BioProcess business. In January 2012, Emmanuel took charge of the Commercial part of the then Life Sciences business, across EMEA, later expanding his role to include global commercial leadership of BioProcess. In January 2016, Emmanuel was name General Manager of the Core Imaging business which he held until he was named President and CEO of Life Sciences In July 2017.
Emmanuel first entered the biopharma industry in Japan, joining Ostuka Pharmaceutical International Ltd as a Medical Representative in Tokyo. After five years in Ostuka in various roles, Emmanuel joined Abbott Japan, occupying positions such as Marketing Director Diagnostic Division and Commercial Director Diabetes Care Division. After 10 years in Japan, Emmanuel moved to the UK as Vice President Sales & Marketing Europe for Whatman International Plc.
Emmanuel graduated from the University of Aberystwyth in Wales (UK) with a BSc. degree in Marketing. He completed a Masters in Commercial Engineering at L’Université Savoie, France.
Dr. Bonvini, Senior Vice President, Research and Chief Scientific Officer, joined us in June 2003. From 1985 to 2003, Dr. Bonvini was with the FDA in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER, which is responsible for regulating therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and other proteins, ultimately serving as Acting Deputy Director, Division of Monoclonal Antibodies and Chief, Laboratory of Immunobiology. From 1982 to 1984, Dr. Bonvini was a Visiting Fellow at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bonvini received a Diploma in Science from the Scientific Lyceum in Genoa, Italy, and his M.D. and Specialty Certification in Clinical Hematology from the University of Genoa, School of Medicine.
Frank has spent over twenty years in biopharmaceuticals serving in commercial leadership roles. At Takeda, Amylin, and Acadia Pharmaceuticals he was a founding member of the team that brought them from R&D-only into launch-ready commercial organizations. His 15 product launches include large market brands such as Lipitor to orphan drug portfolios. Frank’s strong record of increasing company value has resulted in company acquisitions of over $100 billion.
Currently, Frank is CEO of ARSENAL ADVISORS, an advocacy firm focused on improving the trust, transparency, and effectiveness of the life science industry.
Dr. Gbola Amusa is Partner, Director of Research and Head of Healthcare Research at Chardan.. Dr. Amusa joined Chardan at the end of 2014 to focus on identifying companies that will generate exceptionally high long-term investment returns by creating shared value for society.
Dr. Amusa was previously Managing Director, Head of European Pharma Research, and Global Pharma & Biotech Coordinator at UBS, where he oversaw 25 analysts, and ultimately finished as the #1 ranked European pharma analyst in the Institutional Investor (II) Survey. Prior to UBS, Dr. Amusa was a Senior Research Analyst and Head of European Pharma research at Sanford Bernstein. He started his career in finance at Goldman Sachs as an Associate in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group, where he worked on large transactions including the Amgen/Immunex merger. Additionally, Dr. Amusa was previously a Healthcare Finance & Strategy Consultant working with governments, companies, leading foundations and think tanks. Dr. Amusa’s views on healthcare have been cited by socially responsible investing (SRI), ESG and sustainability organizations like FSG/Shared Value Initiative, GMI Ratings and the ATM Index.
Dr. Amusa earned his BSE with honors in biomedical engineering from Duke University, an MD from Washington University Medical School, and his MBA (GPA 4.0/4.0) from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Prior to being named as Minerva Neurosciences’ CFO, Mr. Race served as a consultant for the development of MIN-101 and MIN-117. He has previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Funxional Therapeutics Ltd., the lead program of which (FX125L) was acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim in 2012. He also served as Chief Financial Officer at PanGenetics B.V. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and earned his MBA from Durham University Business School.
Geoffrey Sargent, PhD CEO & Founder has been working in the field of gene editing in mammalian cells since 1987 starting at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer UK) in Great Britain. He was one of the first researchers to use a site-specific DNA strand breaking system in 1994 to study gene editing by homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining in mammalian cells while working at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. In 1998 Geoff moved to the San Francisco Bay area to work in a biotech startup developing high efficiency gene editing technologies for therapeutics and engineering large animals for AgBio applications. He has continued to work in biotech and academia developing gene editing technologies in pluripotent stem cells for treatment of Sickle cell disease and Cystic Fibrosis. During this time, Geoff has held positions at UCSF, and as CSO and VP Research in Stem Cell and Gene Therapy companies.
Prior to co-founding Signals, Gil served as a military intelligence and reconnaissance consultant for several defense-related governmental entities throughout the world, utilizing his vast experience honed as a commanding officer in an elite special forces unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He is a frequent guest lecturer and editorial contributor on the application of open source and signals intelligence to drive innovation, delight customers and reduce the risk of commercial decision making. Gil holds an LLB and MA in Government, Diplomacy and Strategy from the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel.
Prof. Dr. med. Hartmut Juhl
Founder and CEO of Indivumed GmbH and IndivuTest GmbH in Hamburg.
Hartmut Juhl attended the Medical School at Hamburg University, Germany and worked
for 12 years as an academic surgeon in oncology and cancer research at the University
Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf and, later, Christian-AlbrechtsUniversity in Kiel, Germany. In
1998 he became Associate Professor for Oncology and Surgery at Georgetown
University, Washington, DC (USA).
In 2002, Hartmut Juhl founded Indivumed GmbH in Hamburg, a company specialized on
highly standardized tumor biobanking, clinical data collection and research service.
In 2008, he founded together with Indivumed GmbH and scientists from Johns Hopkins
University, Inostics GmbH to commercialize a new technology that allows plasma-based
mutation analysis of circulating free tumor DNA (“liquid biopsy”). After 4 years the
company was sold to Sysmex Corporation.
Hartmut Juhl is CEO of the Indivumed Group including IndivuTest GmbH, a clinical
diagnostic laboratory founded in 2011, offering patients innovative diagnostic for
individualizing cancer therapy. Hartmut Juhl holds an extraordinary professorship at the
Medical Faculty of Hamburg University and is Adjunct Professor at the Lombardi Cancer
Center of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Ilan Danieli has served as Precipio's CEO since founding the company in 2011. With over 20 years managing small and medium-size companies, some of his previous experiences include COO of Osiris, a publicly-traded company based in New York City with operations in the US, Canada, Europe; and VP of Operation at Laurus Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund; as well as in various other entrepreneurial ventures. Ilan holds an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia, and a BA in Economics from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and served in the Israeli military as a tank commander. He is also a private pilot, and while on the ground, he enjoys travel, scuba diving, skiing (snow and water), and also dabbles in gourmet cooking.
Ingo is a 26-year senior executive of the health industry and is the current President and CEO of Navican.
As an Intermountain Healthcare company, Navican is part of an integrated healthcare system with the
capability to test and provide treatment for the greatest number of actionable gene mutation types,
offering an end-to-end, technology enabled service that aims to improve outcomes for advanced cancer
patients while reducing unnecessary cost.
Under the leadership of Ingo Chakravarty, Navican is focused on combining targeted therapies with
rapid improvements in technology and research to make precision medicine a viable solution for
everyone with cancer. Chakravarty is responsible for leading a team who works with physicians,
pharmaceutical companies, and healthcare leaders to find treatments and clinical trial options patients
wouldn’t have had access to previously.
Mr. Chakravarty spent the last two decades building global business in the in-vitro diagnostic
marketplace, here in the United States as well as in Europe, holding senior leadership positions at Gen-
Probe, Roche Diagnostics, Ventana Medical Systems and most recently as Senior Vice President and
General Manager, International at GenMark Diagnostics.
Ingo graduated from Friedrich Haecker School in Germany with a degree in electrical engineering. His
leadership philosophy is grounded in collective intelligence, goal orientation and personal accountability
as well as in fairness and tolerance. Ingo thrives in environments that are energetic, ambitious and
challenging while providing room for innovation and creativity.
Dr. Irach B. Taraporewala is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 25 years experience in drug development and regulatory strategy. He is a hands-on CEO with strong scientific background combined with significant management, leadership, business development, and financing experience.
Dr. Taraporewala is the founder and Managing Member of Sitara Pharmaceutical Consulting, LLC, providing consulting services to biotechnology companies on business strategy, regulatory strategic planning for small molecule and biological pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology drugs and drug-device combination products.
Dr. Taraporewala was previously the founding CEO and President of Ohr Pharmaceutical, Inc. ("Ohr"), from April 2010 until December 2015. During his 5 years of leadership at Ohr, he played a critical role in taking the company from preclinical stage through successful Phase II clinical trials. His achievements included technology assessment and opportunity identification, followed by due diligence for potential acquisitions. He led the acquisition of the lead compound Squalamine by Ohr, He was personally involved in successfully formulating the drug as an eye drop, completing FDA IND-enabling preclinical studies, and advancing the drug product through multiple Phase 2 clinical trials in retinal diseases. Results of human clinical trials in macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusions showed positive visual acuity benefits in patients.
Additionally, while at Ohr, he managed external contracts and manufacturing relationships, with particular attention to regulatory CMC and QA/QC aspects. Further, he managed the successful acquisition by Ohr of an ophthalmic research company, SKS Ocular, LLC. In addition, he established a joint venture spin-off between Ohr and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, called DepYmed, for further clinical development of certain oncology assets. Throughout his tenure as CEO of Ohr, Dr. Taraporewala ensured that the Company was well capitalized, oversaw the up-listing of the Company's common stock to the NASDAQ exchange, and completed several successful rounds of financing.
Prior to Ohr, Dr. Taraporewala was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Research at Mystic Pharmaceuticals Inc., Austin, TX, from April 2008 to March 2010. At Mystic, he led the regulatory strategy for the Company's ophthalmic and intranasal drug products, as well as drug delivery systems. He played a key role in advancing the Company's technology from lab bench research into clinical trials stage. Earlier, Dr. Taraporewala served at a well-known pharmaceutical consulting and clinical research organization, PAREXEL International Corp., as Senior Consultant in the Drug Development Consulting Division. In this position, he provided technical expertise and regulatory advice to small and large biotechnology and pharmaceutical company clients worldwide.
Dr. Taraporewala also has a track record of being awarded multiple Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the areas of development of antiviral drugs, DNA-based cancer diagnostics, and from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for antimalarial drug development, all as the Principal Investigator.
Dr. Taraporewala holds a Ph.D. degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (1984). He holds a Master of Science degree in Organic Chemistry, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Microbiology, both from the University of Bombay, India.
Jake cofounded Celdara Medical and currently serves as a Director and as CEO. He had previously founded the New Ventures Office at Dartmouth Medical School and still serves as its first Director. Prior to Dartmouth, Jake led business development, open innovation, and knowledge management initiatives at Cabot Corporation where he served as a member of Cabot’s Research Council, Technology Board, and Nanotechnology EHS Council. Jake joined Cabot from PolyTechnos Venture-Partners, a Munich-based venture capital firm. He has served on numerous non- and for-profit boards, including Virtici, MBV, StemSynergy Therapeutics, NIH’s TREAT Program and the University of Vermont’s SPARK Program. Jake has testified before Congress on entrepreneurship, was appointed by the Governor to the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center’s Board of Directors, and by US Senator Jeanne Shaheen to her Small Business Advisory Council. Jake earned a B.Sc. with First Class Honours from the University of Waterloo, and a Ph.D. (Chemistry) as a Brown-Wetherill Fellow at Purdue University and Ludwig Maximilians Universität.
Dr. Jennifer Perusini, a neuroscientist and entrepreneur, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Neurovation Labs. Dr. Perusini’s doctoral work forms the basis of Neurovation Labs’ pioneering research, which made the groundbreaking discovery that there is a physiological component to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that can be targeted to both diagnose and treat the disorder. Dr. Perusini and her team have developed a patent pending detection method and are currently creating a companion treatment for PTSD.
Dr. Perusini earned her B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior at Barnard College, Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied the mechanisms underlying PTSD in an animal model. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship, which focused on rodent models of aging and Alzheimer’s disease, at Columbia University in the Departments of Psychiatry and Integrative Neuroscience.
In November 2016, Dr. Perusini was profiled in AlleyWatch, the leading publication dedicated to start-ups and related organizations in New York City. She has been a lecturer and teaching associate in the Psychology Departments at both UCLA and Barnard College and is a founding member of Women in Learning (WIL), a nationwide organization dedicated to the support and advancement of women in science. Dr. Perusini is a presenter at national biotech industry events, and frequently speaks on issues pertaining to women entrepreneurs across industries.
Ms. Rhodes joined Adamas as general counsel and corporate secretary in April 2016, and was subsequently appointed chief compliance officer and chief business officer in August 2016 and January 2017, respectively. She previously served as general counsel at Medivation, Inc., where she was responsible for Medivation’s legal matters and also served as corporate secretary and as chief compliance officer. Before Medivation, Ms. Rhodes was an assistant general counsel at Pfizer Inc., where she supported the US primary care business and its primary care medicines development group and served as a global product lead for Pfizer Inc.’s primary care medicines. Prior to joining Pfizer, Ms. Rhodes was an associate in the regulatory law and international trade practice areas at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. She also served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Gregory A. Carman on the United States Court of International Trade. Ms. Rhodes received a JD from Wake Forest University School of Law and a BA in economics from Newcomb College of Tulane.
Jesús began his career in 1983 at the World Economic Foundation, and in 1989 at McKinsey & Co where he led studies in the pharmaceutical and food industries.
By 1993, he chose the entrepreneurial path by creating, investing and leading start-ups in Switzerland and the United States. He was for example a co-founder of LeShop in 1996, which became the Swiss leader in e-commerce and was sold to Migros.
In 2003, he created Eclosion, a public-private partnership for translating scientific discoveries in the field of life sciences into innovative drugs with disruptive potential. This unique structure was instrumental in the creation of GeNeuro, which was led by Jesús since its creation in 2006.
Jesús holds a bachelor's degree in industrial sciences, a master in law from Geneva University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He serves on the board of several biotech companies and industrial and business associations.
Joel H. Kaufman currently Heads Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Navidea Biopharmaceuticals. Mr. Kaufman also holds the same title at Macrophage Therapeutics, a therapeutics focused spin-out of Navidea. Mr. Kaufman previously worked at Goldman Sachs covering publicly traded Medical Device, Diagnostics, Life Sciences, and Healthcare Services companies for nearly a decade. He specialized in building out additional research coverage across various sectors in the Healthcare landscape. Throughout his career at Goldman, Kaufman’s research touched over 40 mid/large cap healthcare companies. He played an instrumental role in creating cross Healthcare sector content, bridging the gap between Healthcare Products and Healthcare Services. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Healthcare Management from the University of Pennsylvania.
John Amos has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company since April 2018. From May 2017 to April 2018, he served as the Executive Chairman of Willow Biopharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of ORIX Healthcare Capital LLC, a private equity and venture capital investment company, from October 2012 to April 2017. Mr. Amos served as the Operating Partner and Portfolio Company Board Member of BioVeda China Fund, a financial investment company, from February 2008 to October 2012. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Oncology Therapeutics Network (acquired by McKesson Corporation in November 2007), a physician services company, from June 2005 to November 2007 and was a special advisor to McKesson Corporation, a public healthcare services company, from November 2007 to May 2008. Mr. Amos served as the President of the Oncology Therapeutics Network of Bristol Myers Squibb, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from June 2003 to May 2005. He held executive roles in finance and technology in McKesson Corporation from March 1995 to April 2003. From 1991 to 2003, he served in the United States Air Force and the California Air National Guard in Tactical Fighter Operations. Mr. Amos has previously served on the board of directors of TD2, Navigating Cancer, CITIC Pharmaceuticals, Aesyntix Health, Prodigy Health, Apollo Health Street, Quinian Health, Oncology Therapeutics Network and Matawan Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Amos served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at MD Anderson Cancer Center Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) and was a health policy advisor to Governor Jeb Bush’s 2016 Presidential Campaign. He has been appointed as a Trustee of the Global Leadership Council of the University of California, Davis Foundation. Mr. Amos has been named to the Information Week Top 500 CIO’s twice, won the Frost and Sullivan Award for Corporate Innovation. He studied Economics at the University of California, Davis and has a B.S. in General Business from the University of the State of New York.
Jonathan Ben-Horin, Managing Director, joined Crestline in 2016 in the Opportunistic
Strategies Group.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Ben-Horin was a Principal with Elm Park Capital
Management. In this role, Mr. Ben-Horin was responsible for investing and managing
private debt capital across multiple sectors in the business services, technology and
light manufacturing industries. Prior to that, he was an investment professional with
Caltius Capital Management, a lower middle-market private equity firm where he
focused on buyout and growth equity opportunities. Prior to Caltius, Mr. Ben-Horin
worked as an investment banker with Houlihan Lokey and Morgan Stanley.
Jonathan graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in
Political Science and received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University
of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lieber is a seasoned, life sciences executive and currently the CFO of Histogenics Corporation, a leader in the development of restorative cell therapies that may offer rapid-onset pain relief and restored function. Mr. Lieber. joined Histogenics in 2015, and has more than 20 years of experience in financial and executive management at emerging growth, life sciences companies and in investment banking. Prior to Histogenics, Mr. Lieber served as the CFO of Metamark Genetics, Inc., a privately held, urology-focused, molecular diagnostics company, as the CFO and Treasurer of Repligen Corporation, a publicly held manufacturer and supplier of high-value consumables to the life sciences industry, and the CFO of Xcellerex Inc. (acquired by GE Healthcare), a company engaged in the manufacture and sale of capital equipment and related consumables to the life sciences industry. Previously, Mr. Lieber served as the CFO of Altus Pharmaceuticals where he led all public and private capital raising activities at the company, including its $110 million initial public offering and a subsequent $90 million follow-on offering. Prior to joining Altus, Mr. Lieber was an investment banker for 10 years where he originated and executed on numerous corporate financings and merger and acquisition transactions at SG Cowen and Salomon Brothers Inc. He received a B.S. in business administration and finance from Boston University and an M.B.A. in finance from New York University Stern School of Business.
Mr. Moch joined Cognition Therapeutics in October 2016 as president and CEO. He has broad expertise building, financing and leading private and public life science companies from start-up through commercialization, having previously served as president and CEO of four life science companies: Chimerix, Inc., an antiviral therapeutics company; BioMedical Enterprises (acquired by DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson company), a manufacturer and marketer of nitinol orthopedic implants; Alteon, Inc., a developer of small molecule therapeutics for cardiovascular aging and diabetic complications; and Biocyte Corporation, where he pioneered the storage and therapeutic use of cord blood stem cells and launched the first cord blood stem cell storage bank. Mr. Moch started his career in biotech drug development as a co-founder and vice president of The Liposome Company, Inc. (acquired by Elan Corporation), a pioneer in the use of liposomes for the delivery of anticancer and antifungal drugs. He has also been a managing partner of The Salutramed Group, LLC, a managing director of Healthcare Investment Banking at ThinkEquity Partners and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc.
Building on his longstanding interest in health policy, Mr. Moch has served for over a decade on the Board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and currently serves as the chair of the BIO’s BioEthics Committee and as co-chair of the Policy Subcommittee of BIO’s Emerging Companies Section. He is a past chairman of BioNJ and a past member of the Executive Committee of the New York Biotechnology Association. He currently serves as a member of the Boards of Zynerba, Inc. and Gamida Cell, Ltd, and served for 11 years on the Board of M2Gen, the personalized medicine subsidiary of the Moffitt Cancer Center. Mr. Moch is also a founding member of the NYU Working Group on Compassionate Use and Pre-Approval Access.
Mr. Moch holds an A.B. in biochemistry with a minor in health policy from Princeton University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Laurent joined Kymera Therapeutics from Pierre Fabre, where he was the Global Head of R&D and a managing partner at the PF fund for innovation. Laurent started his drug development career at Pfizer, where he led multiple discovery efforts in inflammation and immunology contributing to the identification of Xeljanz®. Subsequently, he held various strategic, leadership and operational roles at MedImmune, Merck, and Pieris, building global collaborations and therapeutic pipeline value across oncology, autoimmunity, respiratory, neuropsychiatry, dermatology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, contributing to the launch of multiple products currently on the market. He earned his PhD in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt and was an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellow at Duke University. Laurent has authored >70 patents and papers published in top-tier scientific journals including J Exp Med, Nature Immunology, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, and PNAS. Laurent is a co-author on more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and patents and has served on various NIH study sections. He serves as a board member and advisor for multiple healthcare organizations worldwide to help accelerate the discovery and advancement of novel therapies for patients and their families.
Dr. Mohindru joined the company in August, 2017 as our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. She came to Cara Therapeutics from Curis, Inc. where she was most recently its Chief Strategy Officer. Previously, Dr. Mohindru has spent several years as a Wall Street research analyst covering the biotechnology industry at ThinkEquity, Credit Suisse and UBS, and in the investment banking division at Capstone Investments. She has also been a strategic consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry at Axon Healthcare Partners and SAI Healthcare (acquired by IMS Health) and was a co-founder of ImmTox, Inc., an oncology-focused private biotechnology company.
Dr. Mohindru received her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Northwestern University, and Masters in Biotechnology as well as B.Sc (Hons) Human Biology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Dr. Matthew Rabinowitz has had dual careers in industry and academia. While completing his dissertation, Dr. Rabinowitz co-founded an intelligent online merchandizing company, Panop.com, which later sold for $100M. Shortly after, Dr. Rabinowitz started his second company, Rosum, which developed a location technology using TV signals to augment GPS. He received the World Economic Forum “Technology Pioneers” award for founding Rosum and Natera.
In 2003, Dr. Rabinowitz’s life took a turn; a family member had a child born with a genetic disease, and the child passed away in infancy. Dr. Rabinowitz experienced firsthand the trauma, stress, and devastation that an unexpected diagnosis of genetic disease can bring to a family and was moved to action.
Drawing on expertise from his seemingly unrelated background, Dr. Rabinowitz embarked on a journey to ensure that other families need not experience similar pain. Through a team of experts in medicine, engineering, statistics, and genetics, along with Dr. Rabinowitz's own skills in optimization, signal processing, informatics, and entrepreneurship – Natera was born. Natera’s results have been remarkable; Dr. Rabinowitz and the entire Natera team are dedicated to bringing breakthrough technology to all.
Dr. Rabinowitz is now an authority in the field of prenatal and preconception informatics-based genetic testing. He has served as the Principal Investigator on six research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health. Multiple publications have emerged in leading journals including Bioinformatics, Human Reproduction, and Molecular Human Reproduction. He actively presents at medical conferences around the world, including at the annual meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics, American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and Fetal Medicine Foundation World Congress.
Dr. Rabinowitz is a board member, advisor, and angel investor for multiple companies in biotechnology, communications, cleantech and healthcare. He has received the Scott Helt Memorial Award from IEEE and was selected by MIT Technology Review Magazine as one of the top 35 technology innovators under 35 in the United States.
Dr. Rabinowitz completed his B.A., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees at Stanford University, receiving both the Levin and Terman Awards — the highest academic honors offered in engineering and physics — and a graduate fellowship to the school of engineering.
Matt Wallach is co-founder and president of Veeva. Since the company’s launch in 2007, he has helped build Veeva into one of the most valued and trusted partners to the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and emerging biotechs. With almost 20 years of life sciences expertise, he plays a pivotal role in helping meet customers’ most pressing global requirements in developing and bringing products to market.
Prior to starting Veeva, Matt held leadership positions in product management, marketing, and business development at various healthcare technology companies. Earlier in his career, Matt was the general manager of the pharmaceuticals & biotechnology division at Siebel Systems, where he established the company as the market leader in Pharma CRM and clinical trial management systems (CTMS) before its acquisition by Oracle.
Matt serves on the board of directors of HealthVerity and advisory board at Crossix, two innovators in healthcare data and analytics. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of science degree in economics from Yale University.
Michael Mirsky is a Managing Director, Investment Banking at HCW. Mr. Mirsky has executed over $30 billion of financing and advisory transactions for a wide array of healthcare companies. Previously, Mr. Mirsky was a Managing Director at Rodman & Renshaw, LLC. Prior to joining the HCW Team at Rodman & Renshaw, LLC in 2008, Mr. Mirsky was an Executive Director in the Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group at UBS Securities for seven years. Mr. Mirsky holds an MBA in Finance and Management from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University and a BS in Accounting and Finance from American University.
Dr. Karnieli earned his PhD in Biotechnology focusing on Cell & Gene Therapy from the Sacler school of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and an MBA from the Haifa University school of management. Dr. Karnieli served in several executive rolls in the field of cell therapy and medical devices with his last position being the VP of Technology & Manufacturing at Pluristem Therapeutics. A well-known expert in the field of cell therapy process development and serves on several industry committees including chairing of the process & product development committee of the International Society for Cell Therapy and an expert member in the ISO TC276 Bioprocessing committee. Dr. Karnieli is the founder of Karnieli Ltd and ADVA Biotechnology.
Ori Zelichov M.D. is the Chief Medical Officer of NovellusDx, a startup company developing image analysis and genomic technologies for precision oncology. Ori leads the medical strategy and clinical trials for the company and has established partnerships with MD Anderson, UCSD, and other leading medical centers.
Prior to joining NovellusDx, he was the co-founder of Boomerang, a startup that developed a bio-imaging technology for oncology surgeries, winning international awards and selected as the best Israeli startup for 2016.
Before medical school, Ori served for 4 years at the Israeli NSA (Unit 8200) as a graduate of the elite ‘Haman Talpiot’ project.
He received his M.D. from Ben Gurion University and completed his internship at Tel Aviv Medical Center. He also graduated from the Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp of MIT and Harvard Medical School.
An industry executive with a 37-year career in biotechnology and a proven track record of developing turnaround and financing strategies, executing strategic alliances, and building commercial and R&D capabilities. Former President and CEO of Asterias Biotherapeutics and Optimer Pharmaceuticals with 16 years experience at Pfizer Inc as President of Global Primary Care and President of Europe.
He currently serves on Board of Directors for Gemphire Therapeutics and Sanfer de Mexico and sits on the Advisory Board of Zero Gravity. He holds an MBA degree from Wharton School of Business and an engineering degree from the National University of Mexico.
Peter L. Hoang brings over twenty years of immuno-oncology, investment banking, venture
capital, and public company executive management experience to Marker Therapeutics, Inc.,
serving most recently as President & CEO of TapImmune Inc. (Nasdaq: TPIV), one of the
predecessor companies that merged to form Marker Therapeutics. He has also served as
Senior Vice President of Business Development & Strategy at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals
(Nasdaq: BLCM). Previously, as the Managing Director of Innovations at The University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, he headed the new venture formation and development
effort for the institution. There, he led the commercialization of MD Anderson’s Sleeping Beauty
transposon-based CAR-T program, resulting in the largest public company-to-academic
research institution upfront deal in history. Before joining MD Anderson, Mr. Hoang was a
Managing Director and head of healthcare mergers & acquisitions advisory for CIT Group
(NYSE: CIT). He also served as a senior investment banker in the M&A departments at
Oppenheimer, J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank. He earned an M.B.A. with high
honors distinction from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and a B.A. from Yale
University.
Rachel is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences and has been President and CEO since its inception in 2011. She has a research background in CRISPR-Cas biology, and is also a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics. In 2014, she was named by Forbes Magazine to the "30 Under 30" list in Science and Healthcare, and in 2016, Fortune Magazine named her to the "40 Under 40" list of the most influential young people in business. In 2018, the Association for Women in Science recognized Rachel with the annual Next Generation Award. Rachel is an inventor on several patents and patent applications covering multiple CRISPR-based technologies, and she has co-authored scientific papers in high impact journals characterizing CRISPR-Cas systems. Rachel earned an A.B. in Biological Sciences from Harvard College, and received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Rami founded Telesofia Medical (MyOp.md), combining his passions to medicine and technology.
He has over 20 years of experience in the Internet industry. He started his career in 1997 at ICQ (formerly Mirabilis, acquired by AOL in 1998, for US$407 million) in various roles including Director of Web Operations. Since 2001, he helped several companies and start-ups with product development, launching and marketing in the online world. As VP Operations at Novawind, he provided Hands-On marketing, business development, and innovation management services for leading companies.
Rami also holds a medical doctor degree from the Tel Aviv University and worked at the Vascular Surgery department in Tel-Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center and Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.
Robert Beckman has been a corporate and industry leader for several decades and has supported the
development and growth of a wide range of healthcare companies around the globe. Mr. Beckman was
a founder both of BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization) and NYBIO, where he served as a
Chairman and in Board leadership positions of both organizations for many years. During his tenure, he
was engaged in actively supporting the development of the biotech industry globally with leaders in
government, regulation, and finance. Beckman testified before Congress several times and participated
in the negotiations regarding healthcare and FDA reforms.
During his corporate career at Revlon Health Care Group, Mr. Beckman led a division of businesses
focused on biologic and diagnostics. Following the sale of Revlon's healthcare companies, he led a
management buyout of led a management buyout of a unit of the Armour Pharmaceutical Company
which he strategically positioned toward the emerging biotechnology industry. The newly formed
company, Intergen grew profitably during a fourteen-year history which included a series of M&A
transactions and global expansion.
Following the sale of Intergen in 2002, Mr. Beckman formed The Channel Group, a transaction-oriented
strategic advisory business that provides support to global healthcare companies including multinational
businesses and development or commercial stage companies in virtually all sectors of healthcare. The
Channel Group has established partnerships in investment banking, clinical and regulatory development
and in the support of the commercial development of European and Israeli technology.
Through is activities with Orgenesis, a leading cell therapy company, He is active and engaged in the
next generation of innovation in health care that promises to offer cures for a wide range of poorly or
untreatable diseases
Beckman received his degree and advanced studies in Clinical Pharmaceuticals at Columbia University.
Robert “Bob” Preti is the co-founder of Hitachi Chemical Advanced Therapeutics Solutions ("HCATS", formerly PCT) and the visionary behind its successful growth and development strategy over much of the last two decades. Upon HCATS' acquisition by Hitachi Chemical Co. America, Ltd. (Hitachi Chemical’s consolidated subsidiary) in May 2017, Bob’s role expanded to Chief Executive Officer and President of HCATS, as well as General Manager, Hitachi Chemical Regenerative Medicine Business Sector, responsible for development, management and oversight of the global business operations of Hitachi Chemical’s regenerative medicine business unit.
Bob built HCATS to meet a recognized need for high quality manufacturing and development services in an emerging industry. As the cell therapy field has grown, so too has HCATS- the company has now served over 100 Clients and performed more than 20,000 cell therapy procedures. His leadership has been instrumental in creating PCT’s Client-focused model that helps bridge the gap between discovery and patient care through efficient transfer of cell-based therapies from laboratory into clinical practice. His vision for HCATS includes expansion of its manufacturing capacity in the U.S., Asia and Europe, as well as the development of new technological and engineering innovations that will help streamline and automate many cell processing techniques, leading to faster scale up, appropriate cost of goods, and robust quality for the industry.
Before assuming his role at HCATS, Bob held a number of positions within the cellular therapy and blood banking fields. From 1996 to 1999, he was the director of hematopoietic stem cell processing and applied research at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J. He served in several capacities with the New York Blood Center from 1990 to 1997, including tissue bank director, director of hematopoietic stem cell processing, scientific director and associate investigator. He also worked as a research scientist for Marrow-Tech Incorporated, which went on to become Advanced Tissue Sciences (ATIS), where work in his laboratory lead to the Dermagraft product currently marketed by Organogenesis.
Bob began his career in academics, teaching first as an elementary and secondary level educator, then as an adjunct assistant professor and lecturer at Hunter College, an assistant professor at Queensborough Community College, and then adjunct assistant professor at York College. He also has served as clinical assistant professor of medicine for New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y.
Also active in the public health arena, Bob has served on the Stem Cell Banking Committee and Cord Blood Subcommittee of the New York State Department of Health and on the New Jersey State Department of Health’s Blood Bank Advisory Committee, chairing the Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Processing Subcommittee. In addition, he has served in a leadership capacity for many professional organizations, including treasurer and founding member of the International Society of Hematotherapy and Graft Engineering, now called ISCT (International Society for Cellular Therapy). He has published and presented extensively on a variety of topics relating to cellular therapies. He recently completed a five year term as a director for AABB, and is currently Chairman for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), where, among other activities, he previously served as Vice Chairman from 2015 to 2016 and co-chaired the Standards and Technology Committee.
Bob holds a BS degree in biology from Fordham University, and a MS degree and Doctorate, both in biology, from New York University
Roger D. Tung, Ph.D. is our co-founder and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since April 2006. Before Concert, Dr. Tung was a founding scientist at Vertex, a pharmaceutical company, where he was employed from 1989 to 2005, most recently as its Vice President of Drug Discovery. Prior to Vertex, he held various positions at Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, a global healthcare provider, and The Squibb Institute for Medicinal Chemistry. During his career, Dr. Tung has overseen the discovery of five drugs approved for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, and cystic fibrosis and was an inventor of several of them. Dr. Tung received a B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College and a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Experienced entrepreneur passionate about applying life sciences and information technology to improve healthcare delivery. Co-founded and lead IsoPlexis, a venture-backed startup focused on accelerating the fight against cancer using our predictive patient profiling platform. Led company through foundational licensing with Yale and Caltech, venture capital financing, and building out our fantastic team while developing applications, products, and collaborations. Previously, helped incubate Kleiner Perkins-backed Lifesquare, which connected patients, payers, and providers through sharing essential healthcare information. At Lifesquare, generated business development and strategic initiatives related to partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem. Through work at Lazard and with several early-stage ventures, developed deep experience in structuring and financing life sciences and medical device and technology companies. Helped multiple public and private biotechnology and medical technology companies to manage times of strategic change.
Mrs. Suzana Nahum-Zilberberg is the CEO of BioLight. Previously Mrs. Nahum-Zilberberg worked at Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd for 12 years in several positions, her last role being Vice President Asia and Pacific, leading the penetration of Teva into Japan and China. In her position Mrs. Nahum-Zilberberg led the JV agreement with Kowa Pharmaceutical in 2008 and the acquisition of Taisho Pharmaceutical in 2009, leading Teva to become the fifth largest generic company in Japan.
Mrs. Nahum-Zilberberg holds a BA in Accounting and Economics from Tel Aviv University, MBA in Finance and Marketing from Tel Aviv University and is certified CPA.
Lee has more than 15 years of executive leadership in corporate, government and regulatory affairs; marketing and communications; fundraising; and human resource functions. Prior to joining Recombinetics, Lee served as Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company; Vice President of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the University of Minnesota Foundation; and Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Delta Air Lines.
Co-Founder and CEO of Biond Biologics, an Israeli biotechnology discovery and development company developing innovative immunotherapies to cancer and autoimmunity. Former CEO and VP R&D of cCAM Biotherapeutics, a company that developed novel immune checkpoint for immunoncology and was fully acquired by Merck Sharp & Dohme (July 2015). Prior to that Tehila was member of the R&D team of Protalix BioTherapeutics. Tehila holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science focusing on molecular signaling pathways in health and disease.
Dr. Tracy is an expert in clinical pharmacology and a Fellow with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. He holds two patents related to drug delivery systems and has published over 100 scientific manuscripts. Dr. Tracy has held numerous key positions at state universities and brings significant leadership competencies to Aprecia.
Former Provost at University of Kentucky
Former Dean of the College of Pharmacy at University of Kentucky
Former Head of the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota
Dr. Truong is a founder of Aridis and was elected CEO in 2014 after having served as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer since 2005. He has more than 20 years of experience in biopharmaceutical drug development, having held positions of increasing responsibilities in companies which were eventually acquired by larger entities, including Gene Medicine (sold to Megabios), Aviron (sold to MedImmune) and MedImmune (sold to Astra Zeneca). Having maintained a life-long interest in infectious diseases, he has focused on researching and developing innovative human monoclonal antibodies and vaccines designed to address life-threatening infections. His product development experience includes FluMist™, Synagis™ mAb and a number of other monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics. Dr. Truong is the principal architect of Aridis’ technologies, which includes a range of anti-infective products and pharmaceutical processing technologies. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Moderators
Al Hansen is CEO of KESA Partners, Inc., an investment firm focused on small pharma-related businesses. He was formerly a Managing Director at Signet Healthcare Partners. Mr. Hansen has over 25 years of small company private equity investment experience. He was Chairman of Bioject, Cedarburg Pharmaceuticals and Molecular Medicine BioServices. He is and has been a director as well as a number of other private companies. He is a former Chairman and interim CEO of Questcor Pharmaceuticals (subsequently acquired by Mallinkrodt for $5 billion.)
Prior to Signet, Mr. Hansen was a principal of Darby Overseas, since acquired by Franklin Templeton. He was also Director of Corporate Finance at the U.S. Treasury Department in 1992. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hansen was an investment banker with Dillon Reed & Co., Inc., focusing on mergers and acquisitions. He was also an investment banker at E.F. Hutton & Co. Mr. Hansen also served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry and Special Forces officer. Mr. Hansen has a B.A. from Princeton University and a Masters of Business Administration (with distinction) from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
William R. Wagner has extensive experience in structuring and negotiating secured and unsecured credit facilities on behalf of corporate borrowers, private equity firms, portfolio companies, agent banks, financial institutions, and specialty lenders. He has substantial experience advising healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and biotech companies on their most important transactions. In addition, he focuses his practice on loan workouts, financial restructurings, special situations, and distressed investments. He regularly counsels hedge funds, investment and commercial banks, asset managers, and strategic investors on legal issues related to the purchase and sale of distressed assets and strategic investments in distressed companies. Mr. Wagner also regularly advises startups and early-stage emerging companies on financing techniques and investment opportunities. He has extensive experience in both foreign and domestic markets.
He is a frequent speaker on loan market developments, financial legislation, bankruptcy issues, and the restructuring process.
Eddie Moradian received his PhD in biotechnology from the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. Since 1987, he has been a founder or co-founder of a series of companies in the biotechnological, pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries with presence in Europe, US and Israel.
At MD Biosciences, he leads a group of companies, each individually focused on drug development, preclinical contract research services, CLIA clinical biomarker diagnostic services, and early stage investment in other promising, emerging companies.
Most recently, Eddie was a co-founder of and is serving as co-CEO of Incubology, LLC, a state of the art multi-technological incubator facility with over 50,000sqf of built, turn-key ready laboratory and high tech space located near Saint Paul, MN.
Eugene Babenko is an established pharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical arena. Eugene brings an extensive wealth of knowledge in specialty pharmaceuticals and in various niche therapeutic areas.
Eugene spent 12 years working in a variety of capacities at various major pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Gilead Sciences, Inc. Ten years ago, he along with 2 partners, founded Quality Specialty Pharmacy (QSP), a successful retail specialty pharmacy chain focusing on disease states such as dermatology, HIV, and hepatitis B and C. QSP's focus is customer-driven and provides affordable, high-quality care for complex chronic conditions. The company prides itself on its commitment to compassion, integrity and quality - measuring its success through healthy outcomes, satisfied clients and clarity of vision to support the hundreds of new life-changing biopharmaceutical drugs that will help patients in the decades to come. QSP is currently licensed and operating in 45 states.
Ilan Danieli has served as Precipio's CEO since founding the company in
2011. With over 20 years managing small and medium-size companies,
some of his previous experiences include COO of Osiris, a publicly-traded
company based in New York City with operations in the US, Canada,
Europe; and VP of Operation at Laurus Capital Management, a multi-billion
dollar hedge fund; as well as in various other entrepreneurial ventures. Ilan
holds an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia, and a
BA in Economics from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and served in the Israeli
military as a tank commander. He is also a private pilot, and while on the
ground, he enjoys travel, scuba diving, skiing (snow and water), and also
dabbles in gourmet cooking.
Jeffrey Fessler is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the firm's New York office. Mr. Fessler is a Co-Leader of the firm’s Capital Markets and Public Companies team, as well as the firm’s Life Sciences Team.
Mr. Fessler is principally engaged in the practice of corporate and securities law. His practice is focused on the representation of public and private companies, principally in the biotechnology industry. Mr. Fessler has extensive experience representing investment banks and companies in public offerings and private placements as well as exchange listings and compliance. In addition, Mr. Fessler has been involved in a wide variety of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, proxy contests, restructurings and private equity and debt financings, as well as securities disclosure issues and corporate governance. In addition to the biotechnology industry, Mr. Fessler also represents companies in a variety of industries, including technology, telecommunications, broadcasting and healthcare.
A founding partner of CTSW and managing partner of the firm, Jerry Cohen has been engaged in business and commercial law for over thirty years. As a business attorney, Jerry handles corporate, financial, commercial and intellectual property transactions. Bringing both legal and business experience to balancing risk, reward, and the legal ramifications of business decisions, Jerry counsels clients on the best ways of achieving their business goals.
Often in the role of a company’s day-to-day advisor on legal and business affairs, Jerry provides strategic business advice to public and private corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies. Jerry advises clients in a wide range of transactions, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, licensing, marketing and distribution arrangements, acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings and financings.
His practice includes clients in technology, life sciences, furniture and home furnishings, financial institutions, life settlements, and fast-growing emerging and entrepreneurial businesses.
Jerry co-founded and served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President to a large corporation before returning to the full-time practice of law. He also previously worked at the law firm Botein Hayes & Sklar.
Jerry has been included the Super Lawyers publication every year since 2013.
John is RSM’s national life sciences practice leader, a position that reflects his years of experience
providing services to companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and companies that support the life
science sector. John has been instrumental in driving the development of RSM’s national life science
practice related to firm wide initiatives for the industry group.
John is the tax service coordinator for corporate and partnership clients of RSM’s New Jersey and New
York offices and the lead tax partner for several major public clients. As the practice leader, John
oversees the provision for income tax and other tax services to life sciences clients. He draws on his 25
years of tax experience to advise clients on issues such as R&D tax credits, M&A assistance, revenue
recognition related to collaboration agreements, intellectual property planning, and assistance with
accounting for income taxes under ASC 740.
John’s life sciences clients include Covance, Immunomedics, Cyclacel, Edenbridge, Iroko, Cancer
Genetics, PTC Therapeutics and Aralez. He has worked on life sciences engagements across the United
States and internationally, including in Canada, Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
In addition, John is the Office Managing Partner of the Edison (Metropark), NJ office and prior to joining
RSM, John served for 12 years as a tax services coordinator for a Big Four firm, where he also oversaw
New Jersey tax operations for the firm.
Michael P. Kahn represents innovative companies in complex litigation matters concerning patent infringement and related claims, such as trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition and breach of contract. Mr. Kahn is trusted as lead counsel by some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in the world and has handled litigation across all major technical disciplines. He sits on the Akin Gump Partnership Admissions Committee and the firm’s Hiring Committee. Mr. Kahn is an experienced trial lawyer whose trial practice spans a variety of technologies in district courts across the country and before the International Trade Commission. He has represented innovative companies in cases involving materials science, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, e-commerce, software, consumer products and electrical, chemical, computer science and mechanical engineering.
Building upon long-term relationships of trust, Mr. Kahn carefully and efficiently evaluates and addresses patent claims in the context of his clients’ market position and business goals. Working closely with in-house Intellectual Property lawyers, he wields his substantial skill as a strategist to manage complex cases through to wins.
Mr. Kahn has significant experience in all aspects of IP litigation, including:
pre-suit investigations
discovery
Markman hearings and other claim construction hearings
substantive patent and non-patent counterclaims
determining appropriate types of relief
inter partes review before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
multidisciplinary matters with parallel proceedings in multiple judicial and administrative venues.
In addition to his litigation work, Mr. Kahn advises clients concerning IP licensing, diligence, planning and strategy—both from a transactional perspective and in anticipation of litigation for both patent owners and potential defendants.
Mr. Kahn also is an active participant in pro bono programs, most recently in connection with multiple matters concerning asylum applications, petitions before the New York Department of State, and custody and visitation Family Court matters.
Mr. Kahn is a frequent author and presenter on developing and cutting-edge areas of IP law.
Mikhail joined Atlant Clinical in 2012 as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to Atlant Clinical he worked at GlaxoSmithKline where he started as a clinical research assistant, later becoming a local study manager in the oncology group. He subsequently joined the Moscow Sales Department, where he rose to become Regional Market Access Director. Mikhail graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University with Master degrees in biochemistry and management.
Ravi Raghunathan is a partner at CohnReznick and serves as the Firm's Life Sciences Industry Leader. In this role, he is responsible for growing the Firm’s practice and developing a team of accounting, tax, and consulting professionals dedicated to, and experienced in, serving companies in this industry.
Ravi has more than 20 years of accounting experience and specializes in providing assurance services, including audit and review, for public companies and private companies looking to go public. He is an active member of CohnReznick’s Public Company Audit Practice and a top Firm resource on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). He is frequently utilized in consultations with audit and non-audit clients on matters relating to complex accounting and reporting issues, including Firm clients with IFRS reporting requirements. As such, he has extensive experience working with foreign companies with U.S. operations as well as with U.S. companies that conduct business abroad.
Ravi has significant expertise across the life sciences and technology sectors and across the manufacturing and distribution sector, providing services to businesses in industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, technology, and software development. He is a frequent author on topics such as revenue recognition, accounting for intellectual property, and other topics of interest to startup companies, emerging entities, and public companies in the life sciences and biotechnology industries. He joined the Firm after working as an internal auditor for a company in the Middle East and subsequently working for a Fortune 500 company in India.
Rodney Dean Reider serves as President and CEO of Saint
Alphonsus Health System, a multi-hospital and clinically-
integrated healthcare system serving Southwestern Idaho
and Eastern Oregon. Mr. Reider provides vision and
leadership in the transformation of the organization to a
people-centered Health System. Under Mr. Reider's
leadership the health system places the people they serve at
the center of every decision as they work to improve quality,
the experience of care, and the health of our communities.
Previously, Mr. Reider served in healthcare leadership as Vice President, Aurora St.
Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI; President and CEO, Community Health
Systems/University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, PA; as well as
several other President and CEO positions prior. Mr. Reider received his MBA at Loma
Linda University; his Masters of Science at Cal Poly Pomona Harrison; and he has a
Master of Arts and Doctorate from Harrison Middleton University. He has studied as an
international scholar studying healthcare and business in both Western Australia and
Salzburg, Austria. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Locally, Mr. Reider is involved in critical community strategies, such as the City of
Boise's Housing First Initiative, which will transition the chronically homeless to a stable
housing environment. Saint Alphonsus is a major funder of the project and will be
providing health care to the residents once the project is operational.
Mr. Reider has also been inducted into the 124 th Fighter Wing of the Idaho National
Guard as an honorary commander. In that position, he is supporting the important role
the National Guard has throughout the State of Idaho and the local community. Saint
Alphonsus works with to support and train as well as employ numerous Idaho National
Guard members in our area hospitals and clinics.
In 2017, Mr. Reider was selected as one of 10 "CEO's of Influence" in the business and
non-profit sectors in Idaho by the Idaho Business Review.
Susan founded The NemetzGroup in late 2003 to help clients balance the entrepreneurial spirit of breakthrough innovations with the need for discipline and process to maximize the potential of their technology and company. Susan has spent over three decades as a life sciences senior executive. Her many industry accomplishments include creating international operating strategies for the launch of a novel cancer therapy and successfully integrating two distinct therapeutic and imaging organizations into a cohesive cardiovascular franchise. Susan's commitment to mentoring the next generation of leaders is apparent in her dedication to clients and her leadership of The NemetzGroup.
Dr. Szilard Voros, MD, FACC, FSCCT, FAHA is a cardiologist, geneticist and entrepreneur. He is Founder and CEO of Global Genomics Group (“G3”), a precision-medicine-based biotechnology company, developing and commercializing diagnostic biomarkers and novel drug targets for common diseases. G3’s platform is based on the largest-ever program using DNA and RNA sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics and other platforms. G3 has developed a diagnostic blood test for cardiovascular disease and has identified several novel drug targets. Before G3, Voros was Chief Scientific Officer, Chief of Cardiovascular Prevention and Medical Director of Cardiovascular Imaging at Piedmont Heart Institute. He has published extensively in major scientific journals including Nature Reviews, New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, etc.
Zack Irani-Cohen - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Biomerica Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRA) a
global biomedical company that develops, manufactures and markets advanced diagnostic
products used at the point-of- care and in hospital/clinical laboratories for the early detection of
medical conditions and diseases. Biomerica’s InFoods® IBS product is designed to allow
physicians to identify patient specific foods (e.g. eggs, milk, wheat, sugar, corn, etc.), that when
removed, may alleviate or improve an individual's IBS symptoms. The InFoods® IBS product is
intended to be used in conjunction with current pharmacotherapy to improve outcomes in the
over 45 million Americans that are affected by IBS.
Zack is also the managing partner of T&T investment group (a real estate investment fund
focused on multi-tenant apartment buildings in California) and a board member/investor in a
Biospecimen Technologies and Oryn Therapeutics. Previously he served as the CEO and
Chairman of Lancer Orthodontics, Inc., an international manufacturer of orthodontic products.
Mr. Irani-Cohen earned an MBA from the University of California, Irvine, in 1994, and graduated
from Chapman University with a B.S. in Business, in 1988. He is a member of YPO International.
His interests and hobbies include: Surfing, kite surfing, performing music, real estate
investments, and various philanthropy projects.
Sponsors
Agenda
About
This CEO Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals Symposium will convene a group of industry-leading executives, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors to explore solutions to the most pressing problems surrounding the research and development process - such as reducing the time and cost of drug development, drug pricing, raising capital, and more - while celebrating the advancements currently being made and encouraging the life sciences leaders of tomorrow. This symposium will be a unique opportunity to candidly share knowledge and engage in innovative solutions that will stimulate positive change within the life sciences industry.
The YJP Organization is the world largest group of business leaders, executives and investors to provide mentoring leadership opportunities for the new generation of Jewish business leaders.
Interested in speaking? Please contact Michelle - michelle@yjpnewyork.com
Interested in sponsoring? Please contact Gabrielle - gabrielle@yjpnewyork.com
Manhattan
This event starts on November 13th at 4:00 PM.
Partial Attendee List
