About the BIO ToolBar

Plenary Session

"The Last Word: The View from the Buyside"

Wednesday, February 15, 2006
5:00 AM
Empire Room

In the annual kickoff to the year in biotech financial markets, Karen Bernstein writes "...the consensus among buysiders is that 2006 should be a solid year for biotech..." ( BioCentury: The Bernstein Report on BioBusiness, January 9, 2006). This is quickly followed by a strong desire to ward off evil spirits -- "knock wood, throw salt, stamp three times, spin around". So, what do prominent members of the biotech investment community think are the key catalysts for our sector to maintain this positive momentum? And, moreover, dare they discuss any positive sentiments they may have without fear of chasing away the good feeling that seems to be taking hold?

Moderators

Panelists

Who's Who

Deborah A. Somerville, Esq.: Deborah A. Somerville is a partner of Kenyon & Kenyon in their New York office and has substantial experience in the management, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for major U.S. and foreign clients. Her practice focuses on the issues confronting clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical and medical device industries. Ms. Somerville counsels clients on the validity, scope, enforceability and transfer of intellectual property rights. She actively guides clients in introducing new products and in developing intellectual property strategies and portfolios. While successfully procuring commercially significant patents, she has supervised the drafting of applications and their prosecution, including inter partes proceedings. She also negotiates licenses and conducts due diligence for major corporate transactions. In addition, Ms. Somerville has considerable experience in patent litigation before the federal courts. Ms. Somerville's combination of experience enables her to provide legal advice that considers the full range of issues and options available to clients. Representative clients include biotech companies, research hospitals and universities, as well as manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, polymers and specialty chemicals. Ms. Somerville is currently a co-chair of the Kenyon & Kenyon Life Sciences/Chemical Practice Group. She is involved in the New York Biotechnology Association (NYBA), Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO), New York Intellectual Property Law Association (NYIPLA), the American Bar Association (ABA) (Intellectual Property Law and Litigation Sections) and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). She is also a member of the New York Academy of Science. Ms. Somerville is a co-author of several articles of interest to her practice, including most recently: Developments in US Biotech: Focus on Research Tool Patents, 2004, NASDAQ, The Value of Research

Jean-François Formela, MD: Jean-François Formela is a Senior Partner and joined Atlas Venture in 1993 to help build the US life sciences franchise. Previously, he was Senior Director, Medical Marketing and Scientific Affairs at Schering-Plough in the US. During his tenure there, he was responsible for the marketing of Intron A, Schering-Plough's alpha-interferon. In his last position at Schering-Plough, he directed the US Phase IV studies in all therapeutic areas, as well as the health economics, medical information, and biotechnology pre-marketing groups. As a medical doctor, Jean-François practiced emergency medicine at Necker University Hospital in Paris. Since joining Atlas Venture, Jean-François has been involved in the formation of companies such as Archemix, ArQule (Nasdaq: ARQL), Aureon Laboratories, Cellzome, deCODE (Nasdaq: DCGN), Exelixis (Nasdaq: EXEL), MorphoSys (Neuer Markt: MORG), NxStage (Nasdaq: NXTM) and SGX. He was also an investor in Ciphergen Biosystems and Nuvelo (Nasdaq: NUVO). Jean-François received his MD from Paris University School of Medicine, and his MBA from Columbia University. Investment Sector : Life Sciences Boards : Achillion, Cellzome, Compound Therapeutics, NxStage, Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, SGX Pharmaceuticals Featured Past Investments: Archemix, ArQule, Ciphergen Biosystems, deCODE, Exelixis, MorphoSys, Nuvelo

Michael B. Sheffery, PhD: Michael B. Sheffery, is a founding General Partner of OrbiMed and Co-Head of Private Equity. Dr. Sheffery was formerly Head of the Laboratory of Gene Structure and Expression at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He received both his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and his B.A. in Biology from Princeton University. Dr. Sheffery joined Mehta and Isaly in 1996 as a Senior Analyst covering the biotechnology industry. He is currently a Director of NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals, Biosynexus Incorporated, Eximias Pharmaceuticals and Memory Pharmaceuticals.

Dennis J. Purcell: Mr. Purcell has served as the Senior Managing Director of Aisling Capital Fund I since February 2000. He is responsible for the management of the Partnership. Prior to joining Aisling Capital Fund I, Mr. Purcell served as Managing Director of the Life Sciences Investment Banking Group at Chase H&Q (formerly Hambrecht & Quist, "H&Q") for over five years, and served on the Executive Committee of Hambrecht & Quist. While at Hambrecht & Quist, he was directly involved with over two hundred completed transactions and supervised over $10 billion of financing and advisory assignments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical products industries. During his tenure, BioWorld and other industry publications cited H&Q as the leading underwriter of life sciences securities from 1995 through 1998. Mr. Purcell has also often been cited as one of the sector's leaders. He was honored in the "Biotech Hall of Fame" by Genetic Engineering News in June 1998 and named to the Biotechnology All-Stars list by Forbes ASAP in May 1999. Prior to joining H&Q, Mr. Purcell was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Group at PaineWebber, Inc. Mr. Purcell currently serves as a director of Auxilium Pharma- ceuticals, Inc., Valentis, Inc. and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) - Emerging Companies Section and the New York Biotechnology Association. He is a member of the Advisory Council at Harvard Medical School. Mr. Purcell received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Accounting from the University of Delaware and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.