Next Phase Newsletter

By Joey Wong, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

With only one week left, Digital RESI September 2020 is right around the corner! We are very excited to announce the live panel schedule for the conference.

All panels at Digital RESI September will be live-streamed. There will be two live panel sessions each day, starting as early as next week and will continue through the end of the conference, September 8-16. We welcome all Digital RESI September attendees to join and participate in these live sessions. Registered attendees can RSVP via the partnering platform to receive the dial-in information to join. For those who cannot make the live sessions, all the panel videos will be available via the virtual agenda.

It is worth noting that Global Investment and Partnership Panel, sponsored by Onelin Capital, is open to the public (no RESI registration required). Interested readers are welcome to RSVP here and participate in this panel.

Digital RESI September registrants will hear from the leading industry experts about their investment strategies and differentiated approaches, recent investments and areas of interest, and much more. If you haven’t already, register here for RESI September 2020 to participate in these live panels!

Below is the schedule for next week’s live panel sessions:

By Gregory Mannix, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President International Business Development, LSN

The Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) Group at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is leading a panel at RESI September on the product development pipeline. SEED is advancing the cause of scientific innovation in healthcare through collaborating with the buyers and sellers in life science to enhance relationships, products, and technology. Fundraising CEOs, strategic partners, and investors can take advantage of the opportunity to learn from the SEED team. Read below to learn more about the panel and click here to register for Digital RESI September.

NIH is SEEDing the Product Development Pipeline 

Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) Group, Changing the Game for Life Science Innovators

SEED supports the NIH innovator community in their efforts to validate the potential health impacts of promising scientific discoveries and advance them into healthcare products that improve patient care and enhance health. Developing products across the biomedical spectrum requires NIH’s collaboration with universities and research institutions, small businesses, trade associations and societies, angel investors, venture capitalists, and strategic partners. SEED leads initiatives that develop these relationships and build opportunities for NIH innovators to further their product development efforts.

Matthew McMahon, PhD, Director, SEED, NIH

Matt leads the SEED Office to accelerate NIH-funded biomedical innovations from bench to bedside. SEED supports a comprehensive translational research ecosystem that includes a national network of academic proof-of-concept centers and a small business program that invests over $1 billion annually in a portfolio of more than 1500 life science companies. SEED also provides technical and entrepreneurial advisory services and builds relationships with business, finance, and healthcare stakeholders to ensure these innovations will impact patients’ lives. Matt has a diverse background in academia, biomedical small business, congressional policy, and NIH program development and management. His previous experience also includes service as the principal scientist for the bionic eye company Second Sight Medical Products and as a staff member on both the United States Senate and House of Representatives committees responsible for science, technology, and innovation policy.

Stephanie Fertig, MBA, HHS Small Business Program Lead, NIH

Ms. Stephanie J. Fertig is the HHS Small Business Program Lead in SEED (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She currently oversees the Health and Human Services (HHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which includes the NIH SBIR and STTR programs. The HHS SBIR and STTR programs are congressionally mandated set-aside programs that provide over $1.2 billion dollars per year to small business concerns. Prior to joining SEED, she managed the SBIR and STTR Programs at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). During her over 15 years at NIH she has led the development and implementation of multiple programs focused on small businesses and translational research. Ms. Fertig has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a major in Physics from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Chris Sasiela, PhD, Team Lead, Innovator Support, SEED

Dr. Sasiela has over a decade of experience providing support and consultation to academic innovators and small businesses engaged in therapeutic, device, and diagnostic development programs. As the Innovator Support Team Lead in SEED (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) in the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health, Chris coordinates the activities of a team of seasoned professionals with experience in product and business strategy, business development, fundraising, partnerships, reimbursement, and regulatory affairs. Chris is passionate about enabling NIH’s innovator community to progress their discoveries as far as science and human biology permit. Starting her career as a researcher, Chris worked in basic research at the University of Southern California and the University of Maryland, and in drug discovery, development, and improvement groups at Baxter, the Department of the Army, and the National Cancer Institute. Chris transitioned from a research to a regulatory career path via an Interagency Oncology Taskforce Fellowship at the US Food and Drug Administration. Continuing her regulatory career path at Social & Scientific Systems, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Chris deepened her experience working with product development researchers understand, develop, and execute regulatory plans to get their innovative technologies from ideas to first-in-human and beyond. She regularly conducts project-focused consultations, delivers educational seminars, and develops regulatory resources for internal and external audiences. Dr. Sasiela earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Whittier College, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, and has maintained Regulatory Affairs Certification status from the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society since 2011.

John Sullivan, MBA, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, SEED

John Sullivan has been a leader in healthcare technology innovation throughout his career, with extensive experience in operating, investing in, developing and acquiring market-leading businesses. Prior to the NIH, John worked with healthcare leaders such as Cardinal Health (VP, Strategy and Business Development) and Boston Scientific. He was a Partner with Foundation Medical Partners, a national healthcare venture capital firm with financial backing from the Cleveland Clinic. He also helped to start Molecular Staging Inc., a biotechnology tools company spun out of Yale University School of Medicine. Working with Yale University founders, he helped grow the company to over 100 employees, develop its product and service lines, and ultimately sell the company to Qiagen, a global life sciences company. He has served on the boards of directors of Semprus Biosciences (acquired, Teleflex), Coapt Systems (acquired, MicroAire), KEW Group, and Direct Flow Medical and held board observer roles at BridgePoint Medical (acquired, Boston Scientific) and Explorys (acquired, IBM). John earned a BS in Industrial Engineering degree with distinction from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

By Joey Wong, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

Oncology research is a massive industry within healthcare, and the interest in innovation is only growing. One may worry that entrepreneurs are challenged to stand out and differentiate themselves in this space, however, funding cancer therapeutics remains one of the most attractive economic and philanthropic opportunities available in healthcare, and there are many firms that strongly or even solely focus on oncology.

The Oncology Innovation panel at the upcoming Digital RESI September Conference will feature 5 speakers actively seeking investment opportunities in this space. Panelists will discuss the latest in industry-wide changes, as well as the opportunities and challenges that both investors and companies are facing as they search for success in this rapidly advancing field.

The live panel session will happen on Thursday, September 10, 12:00 – 12:50 pm ET. For those who are unable to attend, the panel video will be available afterwards on the RESI September digital agenda. Check out our panelists below and click here to register for Digital RESI September.

This panel is moderated by Steve Yoder, Vice President, Business Development, Taiho Oncology

Dr. Yoder is an accomplished business development professional who has participated in many significant transactions; bringing more than 25 years of industry experience in business development, strategic planning and new product development, including in the areas of oncology and hematology, on top of his clinical experience.

Dr. Yoder joins Taiho Oncology from Bristol Myers Squibb, where he most recently served as head of the company’s Hematology and Cell Therapy Search & Evaluation team in Business Development. Prior to Bristol Myers Squibb, Dr. Yoder was Head of Search & Evaluation at Celgene Business Development, and held positions in business development, strategic planning, marketing and new product development while previously working at Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer. Dr. Yoder has worked as a consultant in life sciences at Easton Associates and Arthur D. Little and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Life Sciences Pennsylvania.

Anthony Bajoras, Managing Director, Cancer Fund

Anthony Bajoras is the Founder and Manager Director of the Cancer Impact Fund. He also serves as a BioAccel Board Member, manager of their for-profit BioAccelerator investment fund, and is a limited partner in the Arizona Founders Fund.

Barbara Lavery, Chief Program Officer, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy

Named for the 1965 hit song by the Beach Boys, Barbara Ann Lavery has a passion for creativity. Whether she’s transforming the landscapes of Ireland, Iceland, and California into large-scale abstract paintings or finding and funding life-changing opportunities to cure cancer, Lavery is guided by an inspired sense of appreciation for innovation.

“Cell and gene therapies embrace an entirely new paradigm,” says Lavery whose years of experiences with non-profit and for-profit organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions helped build her framework of knowledge in life sciences. “Since its inception, ACGT has led the way in recognizing and advancing revolutionary new ideas that really matter.”

As Chief Program Officer, Lavery is responsible for many ACGT initiatives, including leadership of the Academic Research Program and the Biotechnology Investment Program. “This is my dream job,” says Lavery. “It combines science and research with business development and venture philanthropy in a forward-thinking, non-profit environment that’s dedicated to brilliant people who are finding creative new solutions to some of cancer’s toughest challenges. I love it!”

Mark Krul, Partner, Aglaia Oncology Funds

Mark has been involved in anticancer drug development since 1993 and has a background in molecular biology and immunology. Before founding Aglaia in 2003 he was Program Director of the NDDO Research Foundation. He held several positions with NDDO Oncology BV (formerly the EORTC New Drug Development Office) with respect to oncology drug development strategies (1997-2002). From 1993 until 1997 Mark was Research Manager of the European Cancer Center and headed the Department of Molecular Virology at the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection from 1989 until 1993.

Duncan Young, Director, Search and Evaluation Oncology, BD&L, AstraZeneca

Duncan is a Experienced Business Development professional passionate about early innovation and technology, with keen interest new models of collaborative working and open innovation between academia, the charity sector and industry, and supporting and mentoring life science entrepreneurs.

Specialities: Open Innovation, Drug Discovery, Mentoring, Medical Technologies, Technology Transfer, IP Management, Technical Due Diligence and Evaluation, Networking, Agreement Negotiation, Consortia Drafting, Strategy.

By Karen Deyo, Senior Investor Research Analyst, LSN

There has been a large paradigm shift in healthcare delivery this calendar year and adapting to this digital age will require adoption of new technologies, providing a great opportunity for up-and-coming digital health companies to showcase themselves. At our upcoming Digital RESI conference taking place September 14-16, the panelists will discuss how investing in digital health has changed, which technologies are gaining the most traction, and how to approach investors in the current industry landscape.

We are happy to introduce the speakers participating on the Digital Health Investors panel!

Moderator: Robert Garber, Partner at 7wire Ventures

For over 25 years, Robert Garber has worked with early-stage healthcare and technology companies, co-managing three venture funds with $200M+AUM and holding leadership positions with three high-growth companies. Robert is currently a Partner at 7wire Ventures, where he focuses on investments in digital healthcare and technology-enabled services that empower consumers to be better stewards of their health and healthcare expenditures. 7wireVentures is an early stage, healthcare venture firm that supports entrepreneurs who focus on empowering the Connected Informed Health Consumer to create great companies and change the status quo. 7wire believes that mobile, connected platforms, the cloud, and sophisticated insights will improve the efficiency of the healthcare system and improve outcomes for all.

Evan Cohen, Associate Principal, Strategic Investing at Healthbox

Evan is part of the investment team for the DaVita Venture Fund. Previously, he led M&A and strategic payer activities at Genoa Healthcare (OptumRx division), the country’s leading behavioral health pharmacy, telepsychiatry and medication management services company. Evan joined Genoa Healthcare through the acquisition of 1DocWay, where
he managed clinic-based telepsychiatry sales. He was formerly a healthcare investment banker at Piper Jaffray, where he advised biopharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare services companies on capital raising and M&A transactions. Evan began his career at BlackRock, where he served as a fixed income product specialist managing institutional client business totaling nearly $100B AUM. Evan resides in New York City and received his BA in Economics from Northwestern University and his MBA from Columbia Business School.

Roy Wiesner, Managing Director at aMoon Fund

Roy Wiesner is a Managing Director at aMoon Fund, Israel’s largest life sciences and healthtech VC. He focuses on early-stage investments, primarily in digital health and medical devices. Prior to joining aMoon, he was the CEO of a Cleantech incubator and seed-stage fund owned by CK Hutchison (Fortune 500 company), where he was also involved in forming a number of ventures. Roy was previously a corporate lawyer, specializing in M&A, Private Equity and VC transactions, working for international law firm Weil Gotshal in New York and Hong Kong, and as a partner for a prominent law firm in Tel Aviv. He holds an LL.B from the Hebrew University and a dual MPA from the LSE and Columbia University.

Ben Evans, Investment Director at InHealth Ventures

Netalie Nadivi, Partner at TriVentures

Netalie has 20 years of professional experience in technology start-up and global corporate environments. Netalie’s interdisciplinary and holistic background, working with start-ups from different vantage points throughout her career, contributes greatly to the evaluation and identification of investment opportunities and portfolio management.

Netalie spent over a decade at Philips in various corporate capacities including Director of Business Development and M&A. She brings with her tremendous transaction and project management experience in investments, strategic partnerships, acquisitions and post-merger integration spanning across several industries including healthcare and consumer health and wellness.

Prior to her time at Philips, Netalie gained experience in a technology start-up and an accelerator that set up companies from stage zero. In both positions, Netalie held senior multidisciplinary CEO support roles where she was responsible for the companies’ business, legal and financial affairs.

Netalie holds a M.S. in Management from Boston University and a B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.

This panel will be live-streamed on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 2:00 pm EDT – Make sure to register for RESI to join this and other exciting panels!

A corporate venture arm of a global company seeks to make strategic investments into early-stage companies that are aligned with the company’s R&D focus. For equity investments, the firm will lead, co-lead, or participate in syndicated financings. With deep connections into the firm’s global research and development centers, the firm is ideally placed to nurture innovative pharmaceutical companies and to connect these into the parent company.

The firm’s core focus is on therapeutics. Currently, the firm is most interested in oncology, gastrointestinal diseases, neuroscience and rare disease. The firm is also interested in breakthrough platform technologies that improve peptide, antibody, cell, and gene based therapies. The firm does not invest in medical devices or diagnostics.

The firm’s primary focus is on start-up/seed rounds, through mid-stage financings – pre-clinical through Phase II. The firm respects the autonomy of the institutions it invests in and seeks standard institutional venture investment terms without special rights or options.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.

A venture capital firm based in the USA invests in companies dedicated to working on the intersection of biology, technology, and data science. The firm is focused on early-stage investments from Seed to Series A and also dedicates funds to follow-on investment. Initial check sizes are usually between $1-2M but can fall outside of this range on a case-by-case basis. The firm will consider global opportunities.

The firm invests in the intersection of biology, technology, and data science and the areas of interest fall beyond traditional sectors. The firm is focused on (1) technology driving biology (miniaturization, automation, data sciences); (2) biology as technology (synthetic biology, genetic engineering, stem cells); (3) biology beyond healthcare (agriculture, chemicals/industrials, consumer). The firm will consider cutting edge therapeutics/drug development and platform technologies and diagnostics, is not interested in traditional medical devices or digital health.

The firm focuses on privately owned, early stage companies and is open to working with all types of management teams. The firm likes to step in early and prefers to act as the lead investor, but is open to co-investing as well.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.