Selected Speakers

For a complete list of industry representatives and lecturers, visit PrescienceIntl.com/bioexec_faculty.html.

Martin Babler, President & CEO, Talima Theraperutics, Inc.

Martin Babler was until recently VP of Immunology Sales and Marketing at Genentech with responsibility for Xolair, Rituxan Immunology and the late stage Immunology pipeline. Prior to this, Martin was Senior Director and head of Commercial Development in charge of marketing and strategic input for all products in Genentech's pipeline across the different therapeutic areas. His team was focused on creating high value assets in close collaboration with Research and Development and introduced several new tools and systems to the organization that help optimize product launches. Martin joined Genentech several years ago as Director of Marketing in the Cardiovascular Franchise. Prior to joining Genentech, Martin held various roles of increasing responsibility in sales, sales management, marketing and business development on a global as well as affiliate level with Eli Lilly and Company. Martin Babler holds a degree in Pharmacy/Pharmacology from the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland and has attended the Executive Development Program at Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Minnie Baylor-Henry: Consultant, Life Science Regulatory Practice, Deloitt & touche LLP

Minnie Baylor-Henry is currently a Consultant in the Life Sciences Regulatory Practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP. Prior to joining Deloitte, she was the Vice President for Global Regulatory Affairs – OTC, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a Johnson & Johnson Company, where she served on the Leadership Board for the company. Prior to joining McNeil, Minnie worked for another J&J company, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development (“PRD”), as a Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, where she was responsible for the regulatory oversight for promotional activities at several J&J Companies. Before joining J&J in July 1999, Minnie was the US Food & Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) Director, Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (“DDMAC”) from 1995-1999. Before becoming DDMAC’s Director, she worked as a Regulatory Review Officer and Branch Chief. She also has served as the FDA’s National Health Fraud Coordinator in the Office of Regulatory Affairs. Minnie is a pharmacist and an attorney. She received her pharmacy degree from Howard University’s College of Pharmacy and her law degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.

Christopher S. Boerner: Group Product Manager, Xolair Marketing, Genentech, Inc.

Chris Boerner is currently a Group Product Marketing Manager for Xolair covering promotions. In this role Chris manages a team responsible for all direct to physician and patient promotional activities for Xolair, including physician marketing, direct to patient programs, advocacy group activities and conventions / medical meeting programs. Prior to this role, Chris was responsible for strategy development for Xolair. In addition to his role on Xolair, Chris has worked in Genentech's Market Development Group. Most recently he was Associate Director of Oncology Market Planning. In this role, Chris managed teams responsible for all commercial analytics for Genentech's in-line and pipeline oncology products.

Prior to joining Genentech, Chris worked at McKinsey & Company. He is Graduate of the Business and Public Policy Ph.D. Program at the Hass School of Business at UC Berkeley, where specialized in Economics. His dissertation focused on firm strategy in the pharmaceutical industry.

Casper De Clercq: Venture Partner, US Venture Partners

A twenty-year veteran of the medical and life sciences industry, Casper de Clercq observes that innovation in the biotech sector runs in cycles. In the past five years, for instance, there has been extensive adoption of high throughput cell screening assays in the industry. "Over the next five to ten years we will see an emphasis on the integration of those tools and significant acceleration of lead compounds arising out of their application," he says. Because FDA approval and public financing exert a defining influence on the biotech sector, Casper notes, medical device companies have recently been favored while biotech remains a longer term game. USVP has a long track record in biotechnology — founding partner Bill Bowes founded Amgen in the late 1970s — which attracted Casper to the firm. "USVP takes the long term approach. They really stick with companies, using seasoned judgment with regard to risk while supporting the management team in building long term value." Another strength of USVP is the operating experience of its team, Casper notes. "The emphasis here is on deep management experience. We don't get in the way of our companies, but we do get involved with respect to clinical, regulatory and commercialization strategy."

Having joined USVP in 2004, Casper has extensive experience with device innovations in the cardiovascular arena, drug delivery and diagnostics. Given changing conditions in the drug development area, oncology and other therapeutics with an abbreviated regulatory path are of particular interest to Casper. Prior to 2004, Casper was heavily involved in several rounds of financing and the IPO process at Aerogen (AEGN), a specialty pharmaceutical company, where he served as Vice President of Business Development, Sales and Marketing. In 1999 he co-founded Epicor, which was acquired in 2004 by St. Jude Medical at a valuation of more than $200 million. Casper also held senior sales and marketing positions with Heartport (minimally invasive heart surgery) and Diagnostic Products Corporation (immunodiagnostics). At these companies, Casper worked closely with the scientific and engineering teams to define customer requirements and lead product commercialization.

Casper has been through venture financing from the company side many times, and advises: "It's important to get substantial investors early in the process. Yes, you want strategic guidance and good counsel, but it's also important to find VCs that have the financial resources to support several rounds. The commitment to long-term funding can be more important than initial financing terms. Medical investing is an endurance sport." Early in his career Casper worked as a strategy consultant for Bain & Company, working in Boston, Johannesburg and London. Casper holds a B.A. in Biochemistry from Dartmouth and an M.B.A. and M.A. in Biology/Immunology from Stanford University. A fan of aquatic sports, Casper has sailed competitively on the San Francisco Bay and in Europe and windsurfs when the wind gets above 20 knots. He rowed competitively at Dartmouth for four years. He is active with environmental organizations, especially around issues concerned with health and human impact. "The advances in health care have allowed us to live longer—the other half of the equation is how we can minimize human impact on the ecosystems that sustain us."

Keith Donnermeyer: National Life Science Industry Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Keith has over 30 years serving the Life Sciences and Health Care industry in a variety of capacities. He leads the industry practice for Deloitte on the West Coast and serves on the firm's National Life Sciences Management committee. In his capacity he overseas the Deloitte services provided to virtually all of its West Coast biotech and pharmaceutical clients, regardless of the nature of those services. In addition, to his leadership role he also serves as the lead partner serving some of the firm's largest clients in the biotech industry. As a senior partner for Deloitte, Keith has assisted many public companies, international clients and early-stage companies with mergers & acquisitions, IPO services, regulatory matters, capital financing and strategic and operational matters. He has also assisted numerous companies with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 readiness and attestation engagements.

He is an active member of a variety of industry associations including BIO, BayBio, Biocom and CHI. Keith is also a member of the Board of Directors for BayBio. He participated in the 2005 UC Berkeley BioExec Institute. He is a frequent speaker and presenter for industry matters at Deloitte presented programs. He is a CPA and a 1975 graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire.

David Donabedian, Ph.D., MBA

Dr. Donabedian is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances in GSK's Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (ceedd). In his role, Dr. Donabedian is primarily responsible for identifying and evaluating new business opportunities for the U.S. ceedd and supporting the current network of external alliances. Prior to joining the ceedd, Dr. Donabedian served as a principal of his own consultancy practice providing business development services to emerging biotechnology companies. He has sourced and closed several agreements with biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutions.

Dr. Donabedian's previous senior level positions include CEO, COO and VP of Business Development for Tutorzilla, BioChemics, and Surface Logix. Dr. Donabedian also worked as a Sr. Manager in Accenture's Strategic Services Consulting Group serving both in the U.S. and internationally, with assignments focusing on R&D post-merger integration, business unit strategy, and resource planning. Prior to Accenture, Dr. Donabedian held senior level positions at Sentry® Products, a Union Carbide life science venture (now Dow Chemical), where he headed a product development team specializing in developing and patenting a broad range of technologies to the life sciences industries. Dr. Donabedian began his research career as a scientist with SciMed Life Systems, a division of Boston Scientific, where he developed novel bioadhesives to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms. Dr. Donabedian is an inventor/co-inventor on several patents and has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals in the field of polymer science.

Since 2006, Dr. Donabedian has served as a member of University of Massachusetts Lowell Plastics Advisory Committee. He is also as an Alumni Network Advisor for the University of North Carolina Business School. He received an A.B. from St. Anselm College, a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where he was a Deloitte Case Cup Challenge Winner.

Mark Edwards: President, Deloitte Recap LLC & Founder of Recombinant Capital

Mark Edwards Mark has over 25 years of experience in the life sciences industry. Mark was the founder of Recombinant Capital and has an extensive track record advising biotech and pharmaceutical companies with alliance strategies, negotiation, and execution.

Martin Eglitis, Ph.D.: Senior Partnering Director, Teva Partners

Scott Evangilista: Principal, Life Sciences National Leader, Commercialization & Product Launch Practice, Deloitte Consulting

Chris Franck: Principle, Life Sciences & Health Care Practice, Deloitte Consulting

Chris Franck joined Deloitte in 1993 and is a Principal in Deloitte Consulting's Life Sciences and Health Care practice based in New York. Chris has more than 18 years of consulting experience and is a leader in Deloitte's Life Sciences Commercial practice. Chris has expertise in the areas of program management, pharmaceutical brand planning, pharmaceutical product launch, pharmaceutical marketing and sales strategy, scenario planning, budgeting and planning, product development; and merger, acquisition, and alliance strategy. Chris's clients include many of the top 20 biopharmaceutical manufacturers. Chris is author of "Blueprint for the Brand," published in Medical Marketing & Media, and has presented at Med Ad News' "Building Better Brands" conference and at BIO, the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Chris has also lectured at The Wharton School and the Ross School of the University of Michigan.

Chris holds a BA degree in economics from Yale University, a MPH in health policy and management from Columbia University, and a MBA from The Wharton School.

Abhay Joshi, Ph.D., MBA: President & CEO, Alvine Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Abhay Joshi brings over twenty years of global experience as a pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive.  He has served as President and CEO of Alvine Pharmaceuticals since March of 2007.  Previously, he served as an Executive Vice President, Chief Technical Officer and member of the Executive Committee at CoTherix, Inc., which was acquired by Actelion Ltd in 2007.  Prior to CoTherix, Dr. Joshi was the Vice President of Global Technical Operations, Specialty Pharmaceuticals at Allergan where he was responsible for the company’s global biologics manufacturing operations for BOTOX® and its Latin America and Asia Pacific pharmaceutical operations, and held a series of senior management positions.  He currently serves on the Board of Genyous Biomed.  Dr. Joshi received his BTech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, an MSE and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Joshi holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Southern California School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Barbara Handelin, Ph.D.: President & Principal, BioPontis Alliance:

Dr. Handelin is a veteran entrepreneur and molecular medical geneticist who has pioneered the responsible application of genetics to clinical medicine over a 20 year career. In 1987 Dr. Handelin established one of the first commercial DNA testing laboratories at Integrated Genetics (now Genzyme Genetics). After co-founding a gene therapy company in 1995 (Genovo), Dr. Handelin began her own consulting practice, Handelin Associates. She delivered consulting services to venture capital investors, start ups, biomedical universities, as well as established biotechnology, diagnostics, genomics, pharmacogenomics and bioinformatics companies. In late 2000, she founded a biosimulation company, Kenna Technologies, where she has served as CEO until its acquisition by DNA Print Genomics in October 2005. At DNAG she served as Director of Diagnostics and Computational Modeling leading the development of new pharmacogenetics diagnostic tests until 2008 when she returned to consulting. Dr. Handelin served 3 years on the board of RedPath Integrated Pathology, Inc. and on advisory boards of several genomics companies (eg. EXACT Sciences). She served 10 years as a board member of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) as well as on a variety of federal committees and advisory panels on ethics in genetic testing, including the Secretary’s Advisory Panel on Genetics, Health and Society.

Karl Handelsman: Managing Director, Life Science, CMEA Capital

You have to believe Karl Handelsman is fully immersed in science when the Managing Director of CMEA's Life Sciences division listed solar astronomy and synthetic biology as his favorite pastimes. The 11-year CMEA veteran has a passion for science and innovation . Karl has been privileged to work alongside talented entrepreneurs. The management teams at Ambrx, Ensemble Discovery, Ilypsa, Intellikine, Kalypsys, Maxygen, Phenomix, Rigel, Syrrx, Tetraphase, and Xenoport – all have contributed to Karl's wealth of experience executing visionary plans. Prior to joining CMEA, Karl worked in biotech business development at Millennium. He was one of the first employees of Tularik, and the Whitehead Institute.

Paul Hastings: Chairman of the Board, Bay Area Biosciences Association

Mr. Hastings brings more than 20 years of experience as a biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry executive. He has served as President and CEO of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals since January 2006. Prior to joining OncoMed, Mr. Hastings was President and Chief Executive Officer of QLT, Inc. Previous to that, Mr. Hastings served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Axys Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Celera Corporation in 2001. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Hastings served as the President of Chiron Biopharmaceuticals, a division of Chiron Corporation. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of LXR Biotechnology. Mr. Hastings also held a series of management positions of increasing responsibility at Genzyme Corporation, including serving as President of Genzyme Therapeutics Europe as well as President of Worldwide Therapeutics. Mr. Hastings also served as Vice President, Marketing and Sales and General Manager, Europe for Synergen, Inc., and previously held a series of marketing and sales management positions with Hoffmann-La Roche. Mr Hastings was recently Chairman of the Board of Proteolix (sold to Onyx Pharmaceuticals in 2009), and served on the boards of ViaCell (sold to Perkin-Elmer in 2008), and Cerimon Pharmaceuticals. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Bay Area Biosciences Association (Bay Bio) and serves on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Biotechnology Industry Association. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island.

Fran Heller: Executive VP, Business Development, Exelixis

Ms. Heller is Executive Vice President of Business Development at Exelixis and has more than 15 years of legal and business development experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Prior to joining Exelixis, Ms Heller was Head of Strategic Alliances at Novartis Pharmaceuticals where she was responsible for transactions with partners in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry as well as academic institutions worldwide. Prior to joining Novartis, Ms. Heller was Vice President, Corporate Development and Legal Affairs at Signature BioScience, Inc. a drug discovery company focused in oncology. Previously, she was Corporate and Intellectual Property Counsel for Celera Genomics, where she was the head of the legal department and responsible for negotiating corporate and business transactions and collaborations. She has also held several positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of business development, licensing, and sales & marketing.

Ms. Heller is a member of the California State Bar, is licensed by the US Patent and Trademark Office and has a B.S. in biology from Tulane University an M.A. in biology from American University and J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law.

Matthew Hudes: National Managing Principal, Biotechnology, Life Sciences & Health Care, Deloitte Consulting LLP

As national managing principal, biotechnology, for Deloitte Consulting LLP's Life Sciences & Health Care practice, Matthew Hudes is a seasoned professional with more than 17 years of experience in a broad array of biotechnology arenas. As practice leader in this dynamic sector, Matthew directs strategic professional services for leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Before joining the Life Sciences & Health Care practice, Matthew worked extensively within the biotechnology arena, including being chief executive officer of a software company that developed a system to find patients (and investigators) for clinical trials to improve researchers' access to information typically "trapped" in laboratory and medical systems. He has directed the management teams of three successfully acquired biotech start-ups and has worked with many leading-edge companies in life sciences and high technology.

He speaks frequently about the use of technology for innovating clinical research, manufacturing and quality, regulatory compliance, supply chain and other topics. He also has written extensively about the business of biotechnology.

Dana Hughes: Senior Director, Worldwide Strategy & Innovation, Pfizer

Dana Hughes is a Senior Director in Pfizer’s Worldwide Strategy and Innovation team. Last year, he led the integration of the Wyeth human pharmaceutical business and now has been ensuring successful implementation across the enterprise. He has also been involved in enterprise projects in corporate strategy, innovative deal structures and the new Worldwide Research & Development organization. Additionally, he has done work for the human drug business in adherence, distribution and the pain therapeutic area.

Prior to Pfizer, Dana was a Principal in the New York office of The Boston Consulting Group. His work was focused on strategy and financial performance of healthcare and information technology clients.

Earlier, Mr. Hughes advised market-leading multi-industry businesses with Lazard Freres & Co. He was also a Senior Associate at the former CSC Index. Mr. Hughes has an A.B. cum laude in Classical Archaeology from Harvard College and an MBA in international finance from Columbia Business School. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. 

Hoyung Huh, M.D., Ph.D.: Chairman of the Board, BiPar Sciences & Epizyme, Inc.

Dr. Huh led the merger with the French pharmaceutical firm sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) for $500 million in April 2009. BiPar is now an independent, wholly owned subsidiary and center of innovation within the sanofi-aventis corporation.

Dr. Huh has been involved in the formation, management and board positions of multiple biotechnology and innovation-based companies. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Epizyme, Inc., a novel biopharmaceutical company in the area of epigenetics based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also serves on the Board of Directors at Facet Biotech (NASDAQ: FACT), BayBio, SciDose LLC, Interplast, and on the Presidential Advisory Council of the Berklee College of Music. He was previously a member of the Board of Directors, Chief Operating Officer, and Head of the PEGylation Business Unit at Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR), a drug development company focused on oncology, CNS/pain, diabetes and infectious diseases. At Nektar, Dr. Huh engineered and led significant, partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, Roche, Baxter, Novartis, and Pfizer.

As an industry thought leader, Dr. Huh speaks frequently on innovation, entrepreneurship, and biotechnology strategies. Dr. Huh was formerly a Partner at McKinsey and Company, where he was a leader in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical sectors. Dr. Huh holds an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, a Ph.D. in Genetics/Cell Biology from the Cornell University/Sloan-Kettering Institute, and a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Dartmouth College.

Paul Keckley: Executive Director, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions

Dr. Keckley, is Executive Director for the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions ("the Center"), a part of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP. In this role, Dr. Keckley provides strategic guidance on the development of Center research and thought leadership. Dr. Keckley brings to Deloitte 30 years of experience in academic medicine and the private sector. He is regarded as a primary expert in health care economics, health policy and trend analysis.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Dr. Keckley served in several key roles at Vanderbilt University. He was the Executive Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Evidence-based Medicine (VCEBM), Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and an Associate Professor of Health Management at the Owen Graduate School of Business. He continues to teach in the Schools of Medicine and Business on an adjunct basis.

In the Center for Evidence-based Medicine, he conducted research evaluating how consumer adherence to evidence-based treatment directives might be achieved, how health insurers incorporate evidence in their coverage and pay for performance programs, and methods for integrating evidence-based practices in provider organizations.

Dr. Keckley led efforts by the Vanderbilt Medical Group to develop, integrate and measure adherence to evidence-based pathways and order sets. He led Vanderbilt joint ventures involving clinical outsourcing in domestic and international settings and spearheaded Vanderbilt's entry into integrative health, with the anticipated opening of the Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health scheduled for November 2006.

Before joining Vanderbilt, Dr. Keckley served as Chairman of the Board of Interdent, a California dental practice management company; Chief Executive Officer of EBM Solutions, a developer of evidence-based guideline software; Chief Executive Officer of Aveta (formerly the IPA Management subsidiary of PhyCor Inc.), and Principal of The Keckley Group, a strategic planning consulting practice that served 1,200 U.S. provider organizations and health plans.

Dr. Keckley is an active member of several societies and editorial boards, and has authored numerous articles and three books. He has been profiled by ABC's 20/20, CBS's 60 Minutes, Fox News, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and has been featured as a keynote speaker at several national industry meetings. Dr. Keckley has also testified for state Medicaid Review Committees in Utah and Tennessee about the potential impact of evidence-based standards on benefits for enrollees.

Dr. Keckley received a B.A. from Lipscomb University, his MA/PhD from Ohio State University, and completed a fellowship in economic policy at Oxford University.

David Kessler, M.D.: Former Commissioner of the US Food & Drug Adminstration

David A. Kessler, M.D., was until recently the dean and vice chancellor for medical affairs at UCSF School of Medicine. Before joining UCSF in the fall of 2003, Dr. Kessler had been Dean of the Yale University School of Medicine since July 1997. Dr. Kessler, who served as Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration from November 1990 until March 1997, was appointed by President Bush and reappointed by President Clinton.

As commissioner of the FDA, he acted to speed approval of new drugs and placed high priority on getting promising therapies for serious and life-threatening diseases to patients as quickly as possible. He introduced changes in the device approval process to make it more efficient and ensure that it meets high standards. Under his direction, the FDA announced a number of new programs, including: the regulation of the marketing and sale of tobacco products to children; nutrition labeling for food; user fees for drugs and biologics; preventive controls to improve food safety; measures to strengthen the nation's blood supply; and the MEDWatch program for reporting adverse events and product problems. He emphasized strong law enforcement and created an Office of Criminal Investigation within the agency. According to The New York Times (11/27/96), David Kessler " revitalized a beleaguered agency that had become mired in bureaucratic disarray." The Los Angeles Times (11/27/96) praised him for " restor[ing] the Food and Drug Administration to what it was meant to be - an aggressive advocate for the public's health." With his departure, "[t]he American people lost one of their most effective champions" (New York Daily News, 11/28/96).

Dr. Kessler has a wide range of experience in research, clinical medicine, education, administration, and the law. He is a 1973 magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College. He received his J.D. degree from The University of Chicago Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review, in 1978, and his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1979. He did his internship and residency in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1986, he earned an Advanced Professional Certificate from the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Terri Kraemer: Director, Enterprise Risk Services National Life Sciences & Health Care Regulatory Practice, Deloitte & Touche

Terri Kraemer is a director in Deloitte & Touche's Enterprise Risk Services National Life Sciences & Health Care Regulatory Practice. For the past ten years she has focused her work on consulting with Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Device companies around compliance program development and assessment and sales and marketing compliance. Terri has led multiple compliance program implementation and effectiveness assessment engagements for Life Sciences companies. In addition, she has led HIPAA engagements including assessing and implementing HIPAA privacy and security requirements.

Prior to joining Deloitte & Touche, Terri spent nine years practicing health law representing health care providers on issues including reimbursement, licensure and regulatory compliance and was the Director of Government & Regulatory Affairs for a State Association representing long term care facilities. In addition, Terri has over 14 years of clinical and administrative nursing experience.

Patrick Mahaffy: President & Ceo, Clovis Oncology

Mr. Mahaffy is a founder of Clovis and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors since its inception. Previously, Mr. Mahaffy served in the same role at Pharmion Corporation, which he founded in 2000 and sold to Celgene Corporation in 2008. From 1992 through 1998, Mr. Mahaffy was President and Chief Executive Officer of NeXagen, Inc. and its successor, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Mr. Mahaffy was a Vice President at E.M. Warburg Pincus and Co. Mr. Mahaffy also serves on the boards of directors of Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., and Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. He is also a trustee of Lewis and Clark College. Mr. Mahaffy has a B.A. in international affairs from Lewis and Clark College and a M.A. in international affairs from Columbia University.

Brian McRee: Director, NA Operations Planning, Genentech

Brian McRee is currently the Director of Sales & Operations planning for the North American Region for the Roche/Genentech network. Brian's responsibility include collaboration with the Commercial organization and the international manufacturing network to ensure that supply and demand are effectively balanced and that key supply chain metrics are achieved. Brian has worked for Genentech for the past eight years, most recently with responsibility for the operational planning of the overall Genentech manufacturing network. Brian's background is primarily in finance. He has served as a financial director at Genentech, supporting the manufacturing organization including the CMO organization, Process development and manufacturing strategic planning during a time of incredible growth. Past experiences also have included 8 years at Silicon Graphics, in a variety of roles including Finance Director of the America's Region, (including sales and order management responsibilities) and Brian also served at a Silicon Graphics facility in Switzerland in the position of manufacturing controller and was responsible for leading a variety of supply chain optimization initiatives from a financial standpoint. Brian also has held positions at Unisys and Charles Schwab & Co. Brian is a UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Graduate, Class of 1983 and also has a Master's in Business from Cal State Hayward.

Susan Molineaux: Chief Scientific Officer & Founder, Proteolix

Dr. Molineaux co-founded Proteolix in December 2003 and served as the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer. From January 2006 until February 2009, she served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, at which time she transitioned back to the role of CSO with responsibility for all research, development and clinical affairs activities. Prior to joining Proteolix, Dr. Molineaux was Vice President, Biology at Rigel Pharmaceuticals from 2000 to 2003. Before that, she was Vice President, Biology at Praelux, and from 1994 through 1999, Dr. Molineaux served as Vice President of Drug Development at Praecis Pharmaceuticals. From 1989 until 1994 she was a scientist in the Immunology group at Merck, in Rahway, NJ. Dr. Molineaux received a B.S. in Biology from Smith College, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University.

Lee Mermelstein, Ph.D.: VP of Process & Product Development, Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc

Lee Mermelstein is Vice President of Process and Product Development at Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (San Carlos, California, USA) a private clinical stage company developing innovative biopharmaceuticals to treat autoimmune/gastrointestinal diseases. He is responsible for the drug supply strategy and management of a network of manufacturing partnerships as well as internal/external process and product development initiatives. Lee has also served as a consultant to the biopharmaceutical industry on a variety of process development and manufacturing projects.

Prior to Alvine, Lee was an Associate Director of Bulk Manufacturing within the Johnson & Johnson Global Biologics Supply Chain, with primary responsibility for third party bulk Natrecor® supply. Lee became an employee of Johnson & Johnson in 2003 with their acquisition of Scios, Inc., where he had worked since 1996. Prior to the acquisition, Lee managed numerous internal and external contract manufacturing programs at Scios and was head of the Fermentation and Central Laboratory Services departments. Lee started his industrial career at Repligen Corporation where he was involved with an assortment of fermentation and cell culture process development and manufacturing projects.

Lee received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Melinda Richter: Founder & CEO Prescience International

Melinda Richter is the founder and CEO of Prescience International, a firm dedicated to the commercialization of science and technology through starting and managing research centers, incubators, foundations and institutes such as the San Jose BioCenter, Environmental Business Cluster (EBC), UC Berkeley BioExec Institute and Cleantech Institute. With over 15 years of global experience managing and operating incubators and research centers, Ms. Richter specializes in the practices that expedite the path to commercialization.

Ms. Richter started her career within a small elite leadership group of 8-10 people who were selected and developed to be one of the leaders of the Nortel Networks. Ms. Richter worked for eight years in Nortel Networks throughout North America, the U.K., Europe, Central and Latin America, and Asia. Ms. Richter worked in acquisitions, strategic planning, marketing, contract negotiations, engineering and manufacturing optimization, world trade market development, and general management of an IT business unit. One of Ms. Richter’s key accomplishments was the successful implementation of a new technology across Nortel Networks’ seven international regions including Nortel Africa, Nortel Asia South Pacific, Nortel CALA (Caribbean and Latin America), Nortel China, Nortel Europe, Nortel Japan, and Nortel U.K. Ms. Richter won several Nortel awards including the highest level CEO Award for People / Emerging Market Development in China. In China, Ms. Richter was responsible for creating joint ventures with locally owned telecommunications companies and, post agreement, she was responsible for developing the management for each joint enterprise. She also was responsible for general management development for Nortel Asia Pacific, which encompassed the regions of Nortel China, Nortel Japan, and Nortel Asia South Pacific. In her final position, she was responsible for integrating and managing a software business unit which was an acquisition of a 1500 person firm.

Ms. Richter left Nortel to start eTreasurer, a European online financial and accounting hub for CFOs, where she raised $11M and executed operations in London, Paris and Barcelona. Following, Ms. Richter led business development for high technology companies in Silicon Valley before entering the field of incubation for science and technology by co-leading the life science and technology incubator, ASTIA (formerly known as the Women’s Technology Cluster). Currently Ms. Richter’s firm oversees the direction of centers of commercialization including the San Jose BioCenter, a science and technology incubator that provides specialized facilities, capital equipment, laboratory support and business development services to life science and cleantech companies and the Environmental Business Cluster (EBC), the largest private technology commercialization program for clean energy start-ups in the United States. Prescience International also directs the University of California at Berkeley’s BioExec Institute and Cleantech Institute which Ms. Richter co-founded. Prescience also co-founded and currently directs the California Center for Healthcare and BioMedical Technology Research Foundation, InnovateMD. Additionally, Prescience International consults on other commercialization centers such as the US Market Access Center and international agencies such as JETRO, the Canadian Consulate General, and the Finnish agency Global Connexus, and provides business development services to their respective companies in the fields of science and technology.

Ms. Richter currently sits on the governing board of the National Business Incubation Association and the boards of University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business BioExec Institute and San Jose State University’s Masters of Biotechnology Program. Ms. Richter holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and an M.B.A. from INSEAD in France.

James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D.:VP, Partnering, Genentech

James is the Vice President of Genentech Partnering. Prior to this, he was President and CEO of Arete Therapeutics as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors and former CEO of Cytokinetics, a company he co-founded in August 1997. He currently sits on Cytokinetics' scientific advisory board. Prior to Cytokinetics, he held faculty positions at the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard Medical School. He serves on the Board of Directors of HopeLab, a not-for-profit organization developing innovative technologies for the management of cancer, obesity and other diseases. He is a former member of Dean's Council of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves on the advisory board of the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences. He received an M.D. from Queen's University and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco. His continued interests are in identifying,completing and managing drug discovery and development alliances that focus on novel targets and approaches to managing serious medical illness. In particular, he is interested in approaches that take into consideration the complexity and variation inherent in the human biological processes and putting the drug discovery process in an evolutionary context.

Patrick Scannon, M.D., Ph.D.:Founder, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer & Member of Board of Directors, XOMA Ltd.

Patrick J. Scannon, M.D., Ph.D. is XOMA's Company Founder, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of XOMA Ltd. Since 1980, Dr. Scannon has directed the Company's product identification, evaluation and clinical testing programs. As Chief Medical Officer, he heads the clinical research programs and has evaluated several classes of biologic compounds and conducting clinical studies for infectious, oncologic and immunologic indications.

Dr. Scannon holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He completed his medical internship and residency in internal medicine at the Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. A board-certified internist, Dr. Scannon is also a member of the American College of Physicians. He is the inventor or co-inventor of several issued U.S. patents, and has published numerous scientific abstracts and papers.

Dr. Scannon has served as a Trustee of the University of California Berkeley Foundation and as a member of the University of California Berkeley Chancellor's Community Advisory Board. He has served or is serving on the boards of several companies and institutions, and is currently a member of the National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB), a federal advisory board for the Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the Defense Sciences Research Council (DSRC), a research board for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Dennis Schmats, Ph.D.:President & CEO, Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva Switerland

Dr. Schmatz has over 30 years of drug discovery and development experience in pharmaceutical research. Most recently he was Vice President of Basic and Preclinical Research for Merck Research Laboratories in Japan where he was the Site Head for a research facility with over 400 researchers focused on Oncology and Metabolic Disorders. Previous to this role he was Vice President of Merck Basic Research in Rahway NJ where he was responsible for Human and Animal Infectious Disease Research and Immunology. During his 30 year career at Merck Dr. Schmatz has managed research teams across diverse therapeutic areas toward the successful delivery of pipeline compounds. Significant contributions include the discovery of; new biochemical pathways and drug targets, novel natural products with antimicrobial activity, and several approved drugs including CANCIDAS, an antifungal agent for treating serious life threatening hospital infections and INVANZ, an IV carbapenam antibiotic for treating bacterial infections. He has also served on, and chaired, a number of scientific committees for the World Health Organization. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the External Scientific Advisory Committee for the Medicines for Malaria Venture in Geneva which is focused on developing new chemotherapeutic agents for treating malaria in the developing world. Dr. Schmatz has extensive experience in establishing research collaborations and developing licensing opportunities on an international level. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Cell Biology from Rutgers University in 1984.

Jay Shepard: President & CEO, NextWave Pharmaceuticals

Jay Shepard joined NextWave Pharmaceuticals as President & CEO in 2010.  He has more than 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug delivery arenas. In addition to his responsibilities to NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Jay maintains a consulting relationship with Sofinnova Ventures in his capacity as an Executive in Residence, a position he has held since 2008.

Before joining Sofinnova Ventures, Jay was President and CEO of Ilypsa, a nephrology therapeutics company acquired by Amgen for $420 million. He then helped with Ilypsa’s spin-out of Relypsa, serving as interim President and CEO, and today remains involved as a board member. Before Ilypsa, Jay served as Vice President, Commercial Operations at Telik, where he was responsible for all activities relating to market preparation toward the launch of the company’s lead oncology compounds. He was also Vice President of ALZA Pharmaceuticals’ Oncology Business Unit, having held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in the establishment and operation of ALZA’s specialty pharmaceutical sales and marketing group.

Jay began his career in pharmaceutical sales and marketing at Ortho Pharmaceutical and Syntex Laboratories. He holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Arizona and serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University.

David Summa: Chief Business Adivsor, Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

David Summa is currently the Chief Business Advisor of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, a pre-clinical drug development company that is developing the first effective therapeutics and diagnostics that prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Prior to joining Acumen, Dave was the President and CEO of Mendel Biotechnology, a successful genomics company that was the first to functionally characterize all the transcription factors in arabidopsis thaliana. Mendel's traits now form the core of the Monsanto product pipeline. Before joining the ranks of Bay Area biotech entrepreneurs, Dave was a Vice President at Monsanto where he created Renessen, the joint venture between Cargill and Monsanto. Prior to joining Monsanto, Dave was a partner at McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he was the global leader of the Innovation Practice.

Dave received his B.S. and M.S. from MIT in the department of Chemical Engineering.

Andrew Thompson: Co-Founder, CEO, Proteus Biomedical

Mr. Thompson is a co-founder of Proteus. He is also a Managing Member of Spring Ridge Ventures, and has led the incubation of Proteus since inception. From 1994-1999, Mr. Thompson co-founded and served as a director and chief executive officer of FemRx until the company was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Previously, Mr. Thompson co-founded and was chief financial officer for CardioRhythm through its acquisition by Medtronic. He holds an M.A. in engineering from Cambridge University, where he was a United Kingdom National Engineering Scholar, an M.A. in education from Stanford University and a M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Mervyn Turner, Ph.D.: Chief Strategy Officer, Merck & Senior Vice President, Merck Research Laboratories

Dr. Mervyn Turner joined Merck Research Laboratories in 1985.  Over the last 25 years, he has held many positions of increasing responsibility at Merck.  In August 1999, Dr. Turner was appointed Senior Vice President, Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research in Montreal, Canada.  Dr. Turner returned from his assignment in Montreal in October 2002 to take up the position of Senior Vice President, Worldwide Licensing and External Research.  In this role, he was responsible for the oversight of all of Merck’s licensing activities, and for the management of academic relations.  Through his multiple and diverse experiences in the Merck Research Laboratories, Dr. Turner has acquired a broad perspective on the issues surrounding drug discovery and development.

2004 through 2008 saw a sizeable increase in deal activity for Merck, with over 190 transactions completed.  Merck has also been active in M&A, with Aton, Abmaxis, GlycoFi, Sirna and NovaCardia, all acquired to build areas of key strategic importance.  Dr. Turner saw all this activity as a logical product of a cultural shift within Merck towards a more outward-facing organization.

Dr. Turner is the author of over 80 articles in peer reviewed journals.  He has served on the Editorial Board of a number of journals, and from 1998 to 2008 he was a member of Health Care Ventures Scientific Advisory Board.  In September 2009, Dr. Turner was appointed to the Advisory Board of the USA-India Chamber of Commerce.

Kuo Bianchini Tong: Founder & President, Quorum Consulting

Mr. Tong works with his clients to understand how economic, financial, and reimbursement forces can be managed and how to influence product acceptance and utilization. His consulting engagements focus on strategic planning and implementation in early phases of product development, during clinical evaluation, and following regulatory approval. Mr. Tong has worked across a number of different clinical specialties and therapeutic categories including: hematology and oncology; solid organ and bone marrow transplantation; infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis; cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics; dermatology; orthopedic surgery; and anesthesiology/pain medicine.

Mr. Tong is an active member of numerous professional organizations and societies including: the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy; American Public Health Association; American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation; American Society of Clinical Oncology; Infectious Disease Society of America; International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation; International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research; and Society for Investigative Dermatology.

Prior to founding Quorum Consulting, Mr. Tong was a senior associate with Corning HTA (now known as Covance), a Washington, DC health care consulting firm. Prior to entering the consulting field, Mr. Tong was active in clinical and health services research at the University of California at Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute and the University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine. He holds a MS Business and Management, Johns Hopkins University and a BA, University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Wiebe, Ph.D.: President, Quantum COnsulting, LLC

Dr. Wiebe is Founder and President of Quantum Consulting based in Redwood City, California. His consulting practice is focused on biotechnology development, biosafety, manufacturing, quality assurance and GMP compliance. He has 24 years of experience in the CMC aspects of biotechnology and has participated as a member of numerous product development teams that were successful in bringing new biotech products through the development pipeline and into commercial life. He has held positions at the following companies: Genentech, 1984-1998 (Senior Scientist, Cell Culture Development; Sr. Director, Quality Control); BioReliance, 1998-2001 (Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Quality & Regulatory Affairs); IDEC Pharmaceuticals, 2001-2003 (Vice President of Quality); Biogen Idec, 2003-2005 (Vice President of Corporate Quality & Drug Compliance); Novartis (formerly Chiron), 2005-2007 (Vice President of Quality Assurance for U.S. Biopharmaceutical Operations). Earlier in his career Dr. Wiebe held positions at Duke University Medical School (Research Fellow), Cornell University Medical College (Assistant & Associate Professor), and the New York Blood Center (Associate Investigator). He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Kansas and his B.S. in Natural Sciences from Sterling College (Kansas).

Michael Weingarten: Executive Director, National Cancer Institute, SBIR

Mr. Weingarten was appointed as Director of the NCI SBIR & STTR Small Business Programs in 2005. In that role, he is overseeing the development of new strategies to optimize the impact of this Program in advancing emerging technologies towards clinical development and commercialization. Mr. Weingarten served from 1990 until 2005 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Most recently, he held the position of Program Manager, Exploration Systems Research and Technology Program at NASA, where he led a team of scientific and technical experts focused on the biomedical industry and the public health application of emerging technologies, as well as leading collaborative teams in building partnerships with private and public sector organizations to address public health needs. Earlier, as Program Manager of NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program, he oversaw the Partnership Development Programs and Small Business Programs, formulating national policy and providing leadership on the development and implementation of educational outreach campaigns targeted towards small businesses. Mr. Weingarten also served as a Program Analyst from 1989 to 1990 at the Department of State. He holds a Masters in Political Science from Columbia University.

Kristin Peck: Executive Vice President, Worldwide Business Development and Innovation

Kristin Peck is Executive Vice President, Worldwide Business Development and Innovation for Pfizer Inc. and a member of Pfizer's Executive Leadership Team. In this role, Ms. Peck is responsible for Pfizer's merger and acquisition, licensing, venture capital, alliance management and innovative business model activities.

In her Business Development role over the last year, Ms. Peck has overseen the completion of numerous deals, including ones involving King Pharmaceuticals, FoldRx, Biocon and Teuto. She also led the team that launched a first-of-its-kind, enterprise-wide, web-based platform focused on innovation to harness the creative energies and insights of Pfizer colleagues to drive continued growth at Pfizer.

Ms. Peck joined Pfizer in 2004 in a Strategy role, and later became Senior Vice President of Worldwide Strategy and Innovation. Ms. Peck's Strategy team led the development of Pfizer's current strategies and global operating model review process. With Pfizer's acquisition of Wyeth in 2009, she led the global integration, focusing on ensuring the combined companies successfully delivered the promised value for patients, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. She subsequently took on responsibility for Business Development, becoming Senior Vice President, Worldwide Business Development, Strategy and Innovation.

Prior to joining Pfizer, Ms. Peck was a principal with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), focusing on strategy and merger-related issues in the pharmaceutical and financial services industries. Before BCG, Ms. Peck worked in private equity and real estate finance at Prudential, The O'Connor Group and J.P. Morgan. Ms. Peck holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. Ms. Peck and her husband live in Connecticut with their two children and dogs.

James Topper, M.D., Ph.D.: General Partner, Menlo Park

Dr Topper joined Frazier Healthcare in 2003 as a Venture Partner and became a General Partner in 2005. Since joining Frazier Healthcare, Dr. Topper has led multiple biopharma investments. Dr Topper led Frazier Healthcare's investment in Calistoga Pharmaceuticals that was acquired by Gilead in April 2011 for an up-front payment of $375 million, Alnara Pharmaceuticals that was acquired by Eli Lilly for initial consideration of $190 million and Cotherix (Nasdaq CTRX) that was acquired by Actelion for $420 million. Dr. Topper currently serves on the boards of Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq FOLD), Incline Therapeutics, Silence Therapeutics, and Anaptys Biosciences.

Prior to joining Frazier Healthcare, he served as head of the cardiovascular research and development franchise at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and ran Millennium San Francisco (formerly COR Therapeutics). Prior to the merger of COR and Millennium, Dr. Topper served as the Vice President of Biology at COR and was responsible for managing all of its research activities. He served on the faculties of Stanford Medical School and Harvard Medical School prior to joining COR, where he functioned as a clinician, instructor and basic investigator.

Dr. Topper received his M.D. and Ph.D. (in Biophysics) from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1991 under the auspices of the Medical Scientist Training Program. He completed his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and is board certified in both disciplines. After completing a research fellowship in the Vascular Research Division in the department of Pathology at the Brigham and Women's hospital, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School from 1997 to 1998, and subsequently Stanford University as an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular) in July 1998. He has authored over 50 publications and was the recipient of a Howard Hughes Scholars Award while on the faculty at Stanford University. He continues to hold an appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and as a Cardiology Consultant to the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital.

Bernard Munos

Mr. Munos is the founder and chief apostle of InnoThink, a partnership dedicated to bringing evidence-based innovation models to the pharmaceutical industry and its stakeholders. Before that, he was advisor for corporate strategy at Eli Lilly and Company, where he focused on disruptive innovation and the radical redesign of the industry R&D model. His research, which has been published in Nature and Science, has helped stimulate a broad rethinking of the pharmaceutical business model by companies, investors, policymakers, regulators, and patient advocates.

He has presented his findings at numerous meetings sponsored by the National Academies, the Institute of Medicine, the President’s Cancer Panel, the NIH Leadership Forum, the World Health Organization, the OECD, the Kauffman Foundation, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Genome Canada, the American Chemical Society, and the Council for American Medical Innovation as well as leading universities and think-tanks in the U.S. and Europe.

He received his MBA from Stanford University and holds other graduate degrees in economics and animal science from the University of California at Davis and the Institut National Agronomique in Paris, France.

“What I do: InnoThink was created to advance research into breakthrough innovation, and help bring new evidence-based innovation models to the pharmaceutical industry and its stakeholders. It rests on work I started during my 30-year career at Eli Lilly, which led to a series of publications in Nature and Science that have helped stimulate a broad rethinking of the pharmaceutical business model by the industry, investors, policy-makers, regulators, and patient advocates.

I have presented my findings at meetings sponsored by the National Academies, the Institute of Medicine, the OECD, the President’s Cancer Panel, The NIH Leadership Forum, the World Health Organization, the Kauffman Foundation, FasterCures, the US Patent and Trademark Office, Genome Canada, the American Chemical Society, The Council for American Medical Innovation, the Genetic Alliance, as well as leading universities and think-tanks in the US and Europe.

Projects

Our understanding of breakthrough innovation has dramatically improved in the last 10 years. However, these insights have not translated into better innovation models, and unsupported assumptions about what causes innovation remain common across the industry.

InnoThink’s objective is to help correct this by bringing new evidence-based innovation models to the pharmaceutical Industry and its stakeholders”

Douglas L. Black, Ph.D.

Dr. Black is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His B.A. degree is in chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He received his Ph.D. degree in molecular biochemistry and biophysics at Yale University, working with Joan Steitz. Prior to his appointment at UCLA, he worked with David Baltimore and Donald Rio at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research as a Helen Hay Whitney and American Cancer Society fellow. He was also a fellow of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Bill Taranto: Managing Director, Global Health Innovation Fund LLC; Executive Director, Global Health Innovation Group (GHI)

Bill Taranto joins Merck as Managing Director, Global Health Innovation Fund LLC and Executive Director, Global Health Innovation Group (GHI). Bill will be responsible for building the GHI capability for Merck. His job responsibilities will be to work across the Strategy Office, other Divisional and employee groups, and with external input to scout out new business opportunities outside traditional pharmaceutical and vaccine projects. Bill will work to build early concepts and drive business plan development for these opportunities and work on early incubation of new opportunities. Additionally, Bill will be a member of the Innovative Ventures Board, a group that manages the identification and funding of a portfolio of emerging businesses. Bill will also sit on the leadership team with the Strategy Development Group, Strategy Realization Office, and Enterprise Wide Portfolio Management leaders to ensure the sharing of information and networking across the Strategy Office.

Prior to joining Merck, Bill spent 18 years at Johnson & Johnson in various marketing, sales and business development roles with increasing responsibility. In his previous position, Executive Director, Health Care Strategy & Alliances, Bill was responsible for evaluating the future healthcare environment, the viability and impact of health care channels, and the creation of new health care business models. Bill started his career as a sales representative for Janssen Pharmaceutica and progressed through various sales and marketing positions, including an assignment in Beerse, Belgium. Prior to joining J&J, Bill spent eight years in investment banking. Bill has a Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.

Stephanie Robertson: Director, Industry Alliances & Program Management UCSF

Stephanie Robertson is currently the Director of Industry Alliance and Program Management for the University of California, San Francisco. In this role her group oversees the on-going industry partnerships at the University including Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis and works team members in the Office of Technology, Innovation and Industry Partnerships to develop innovative alliances with industry and UCSF.

Since joining UCSF in 2009, Dr. Robertson has served in various leadership roles including Program Director for the Sandler Center for Drug Discovery, where she continues to oversee drug discovery programs targeting therapeutics for neglected third world parasitic diseases. She also managed the overall program for the Multiple Myeloma Translational Initiative at UCSF.

Prior to joining UCSF, Dr. Robertson worked for 10 years at Exelixis, Inc. During her tenure at Exelixis the company grew from tiny start-up to over 700 employees. Her most recent position of Associate Director of R&D held responsibilities that included project management for early phase clinical programs and alliance management for several collaborations with large pharma. In addition, she served as a scientific project leader for several drug discovery programs in cancer, cardiovascular disease and metabolism. She earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry (Honors) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.