Closing Plenary
The Return to a Thriving Marketplace - What's It Going To Take
Friday, October 31, 2008
11:15am - 12:30pm
Twin Peaks North/South
What signal or signals do we need? Change of office, FDA reform, significant M&A, outrageously low valuations, a new investment model? What do we need to offset investor concerns and reinvigorate public capital access and capital inflows into Biotech again? A panel of experts who have "been there before" will discuss upcoming milestones, events or catalysts that might signal a change in sentiment and take us to a less cautious environment.
Moderator
- George Milstein, Senior Managing Director, Pacific Growth Equities LLC
Panelists
- Robert Rynd, Director of Biotech Corporate Advisory Services, Thomson Reuters
- Matthew Perry, Portfolio Manager, Biotechnology Value Fund, LP
- David Singer, Partner, Maverick Capital
- Bryan Roberts, PhD, Managing General Partner, Venrock
- Rajiv Kaul, Portfolio Manager/Research Analyst, Fidelity Investments
Who's Who
George Milstein George joined Pacific Growth in 1997 as a Managing Director in investment banking. Previously, he was an investment banker with Robertson, Stephens & Company, where he focused on emerging growth technology investment banking. George began his banking career with Pacific Growth in 1993, working with emerging growth companies, primarily in technology and healthcare. He also worked in the Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and was a legal fellow in the office of Senator John McCain. Education: B.S., Biology, University of Southern California J.D., University of Arizona.
Robert Rynd Robert Rynd is the Director of the Corporate Advisory Services Biotech team at Thomson Reuters. In this role, Mr. Rynd provides C-suite executives and IROs at life sciences companies with insight, analysis and guidance to support their strategic and tactical decisions. He helps companies understand shareholder activity, trading dynamics, qualitative factors impacting valuation, Wall Street's perceptions and how asset managers invest and behave. He joined Thomson Reuters in 2004. Prior to this he worked as Vice President of Investments within the private wealth management groups at UBS and Morgan Stanley, where he focused primarily on the biotechnology, healthcare, and technology sectors. Education: B.BA, Finance, University of Massachusetts.
Matthew Perry Mr. Perry is a Portfolio Manager of the Biotechnology Value Fund, L.P. (BVF), a San Francisco-based, private investment partnership focused on the biotechnology industry with assets of approximately $600m. Prior to joining BVF in 1996, Mr. Perry was an account executive with Feinstein Partners; a consulting firm with an emphasis on investor relations for emerging health care companies focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics. He was simultaneously an account executive with FPI's affiliate, Kendall Strategies, a business development and strategy consulting firm assisting start-up through large, public biotechnology companies. Mr. Perry is also a co-founder and Director of Nordic Biotech, a European-based venture capital fund. He holds a BS degree from the College of William and Mary.
David B. Singer Mr. Singer is responsible for Maverick’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Investments. He joined Maverick in 2004 from Oscient Pharmaceutical Corporation, where he was Chairman of the Board. Mr. Singer is a founder and former CEO of three biotech companies: Affymetrix, Inc., Corcept Therapeutics, Inc., and Genesoft Pharmaceuticals, Oscient’s predecessor. Before these experiences, Mr. Singer was the senior financial officer at Affymax and Heartport. He began his career at Baxter International and worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. Mr. Singer received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.B.A. from Stanford University. He is a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a Sterling Fellow of Yale University and on the Rand Corporation’s Health Advisory Board. Mr. Singer currently serves on the boards of several private companies.
Bryan Roberts, PhD Bryan joined Venrock as a Kauffman Fellow in 1997 and now serves as a Managing General Partner. Previously, he earned his PhD in Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Harvard University. Prior to his doctoral program, Bryan held corporate finance positions at Kidder, Peabody and Co. In 2006, Bryan was named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute.
Rajiv Kaul Mr. Kaul is a portfolio manager and research analyst for Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans and a leading online brokerage firm. Mr. Kaul manages Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio and Fidelity Advisor Biotechnology Fund.
Mr. Kaul joined Fidelity's equity research department in 1996 following the health care sector. In 1998, he was named portfolio manager of Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio, which he managed until February 2000. He followed emerging telecommunications equipment stocks and managed Fidelity Select Developing Communications Portfolio from February 2000 until June 2001. Mr. Kaul managed Fidelity Advisor Aggressive Growth Fund and VIP: Aggressive Growth Portfolio from June 2001 and Fidelity Aggressive Growth Fund from November 2002 until June 2005. He resumed management of Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio and began managing Fidelity Advisor Biotechnology Fund in October 2005.
Born in 1971, Mr. Kaul received a bachelor of arts degree in government, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1995. He also received an international baccalaureate diploma from the International School of Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1991. He is fluent in German and Hindi.