10th Annual BIO Investor Forum Business Roundtables Highlight Innovative Strategies in Deal-Making and Investments
WASHINGTON, DC – (October 11, 2011) – The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announces Business Roundtables planned for the 10thannual BIO Investor Forumto be held October 25-26 in San Francisco, CA.
“During these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever to seek alternative deal structures and new approaches for investment opportunities,” said Alan Eisenberg, Executive Vice President of Emerging Companies and Business Development at BIO. “These Business Roundtables will encourage attendees to consider new models for business development and provide guidance on key considerations based on experiences from industry leaders and experts.”
The 10th Annual BIO Investor Forum, celebrating a “Decade of Excellence,” will assemble a select group of public and venture-stage growth companies, as well as top public and private equity investors, to explore investment trends and opportunities in life sciences. In addition to expert-led workshops and panel discussions focusing on industry trends, the conference features presentations by more than 100 biotech companies poised to join the growth “watch list” in 2011, as well as a number of nonprofit and venture philanthropy organizations.
Business Roundtables include:
Financing: Dreaming of Public Exits – If not Now, then When...and How?
Tuesday, October 25th, 9:30am - 10:25am
The latest IPO window has stalled and global macro events threaten to completely shut it. Meanwhile, reverse mergers in biotech continue to gain momentum with eight transactions in the last year alone. As chilly winds continue to blow through the latest IPO window, more private companies are considering this option among others. This panel will examine the current financing environment and common hurdles private executive teams need to be aware of as they pursue the public path.
Moderator:David Parrot, Managing Director, BMO Capital Markets
Panelists:Alan H. Auerbach, President & Chief Executive Officer, Puma Biotechnology, Inc.; Paul J. Hastings, President & Chief Executive Officer, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Jonathan MacQuitty, PhD, Partner, Abingworth
Business Development: Broad is Beautiful– MultipleAssets Diversify the Deal
Wednesday, October 26th, 9:00am - 9:55am
With a recent surge in pharma companies collaborating earlier on with small biotech companies, discovery stage partnering deals seem to be the “BD deal du jour.” Striking a discovery stage deal can be extremely beneficial for both parties in today’s environment. Pharma gets to fill its ever elusive R&D pipeline as patent expirations loom, and the small biotech struggling to raise money to stay alive gets the capital infusion necessary to stay in play. De-risking has become a theme for deal-making in a difficult market environment; is the best strategy to cast a wide net and diversify as much as possible? Are the days of straightforward single asset deals a thing of the past? Company executives on both sides of the table of recent discovery deals will convene to provide insights on their experiences.
Moderator:Michael Margolis, RPh, Managing Director, Roth Capital Partners
Panelists:Christine Grygon, PhD, Interim Head, Global Licensing-Oncology, Boehringer Ingleheim; Steven E. Hall, PhD, Venture Partner, Lilly Ventures; Andrew Merickel, PhD, Partner, Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP; Ali Tehrani PhD, President & CEO, Zymeworks Inc.
Corporate Venture Funds and Traditional VCs: Can They Coexist?
Wednesday, October 26, 12pm-12:55pm
Many traditional VC firms were forced to do some “soul searching” on their business model during the last market downturn. They shifted to the early, most innovative and transformational start-ups, shying away from lingering projects in competitive markets. During the same period, corporate venture funds began to step up to fill critical financing gaps for these early stage start-ups, and we’ve steadily seen an increase in the number of large companies with their own funds. In today’s competitive licensing environment for early-stage assets and with traditional venture capital financing on the rebound, a question remains: how best can corporate venture funds and traditional VCs coexist? This panel of corporate and traditional venture capitalists will share their financing strategies and areas of focus as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with bringing the next series of innovative products to market.
Moderator: Michael Fleming, Vice President, Campbell Alliance
Panelists: Brian G. Atwood, Managing Director, Versant Ventures; Janis Naeve, PhD, Director, Amgen Ventures; Brian McVeigh, VP of Worldwide Business Development Transactions & Investment Management, GSK; Asish K. Xavier, PhD, Vice President, J&J Development Corporation
To learn more about the BIO Investor Forum, registration and up-to-date workshop program information, please visit here. Advance media registration is now available here. Registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the media.
BIO is pleased to recognize the leadership provided by the BIO Investor Forum Conference sponsors. The sponsors include: Supporting Bank Sponsors, BMO Capital Market; Rodman & Renshaw, LLC and Roth Capital Partners.