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The Cure for Market Anxiety: M&A

 

Tuesday, February 10th
3:15 pm - 4:20 pm
East Foyer

In a recession year, characterized by a non-existent IPO window, more risk-averse public and private investors, and the constant need to conserve cash, 2008 was the year of M&A. Many companies in the past year turned to mergers and acquisitions, some of historic scope, as a way to preserve their assets or put their stake in the ground to hold a strategic position. Listen to the foot soldiers who were involved in some of the notable M&A deals of 2008, as they discuss how license deals and partnerships evolve into M&A, the rationale for doing these deals, and what makes for a successful transaction.

Moderator

Panelists

Who's Who

Glen Giovannetti; Mr. Giobannetti is Ernst & Young’s Global Biotechnology Sector Leader.  He has over 24 years of experience with Ernst & Young, including 16 years serving clients in the biotechnology and medical device industries.  He has extensive experience in assisting clients with strategic transactions including public equity and debt offerings, technology licensing and R&D collaborations, and acquisitions.  He is also experienced in helping companies address the challenges of commercialization including revenue recognition, related reserves and channel inventory.  As Global Biotechnology Leader, he is responsible for leading of team of professionals in Boston dedicated to understanding the needs of clients, monitoring industry trends and business drivers, and networking and informing professionals serving biotechnology and medical device clients globally.  The team is also responsible for producing the Ernst & Young Thought Leadership publications such as Beyond Borders, The Biotechnology Annual Report, now in its 22nd year, and the bio*link and medtech*monitor  publications. He is a frequent speaker at biotech industry events in the US and around the globe.  Mr. Giovannetti is a Certified Public Accountant in the states of Massachusetts and California and a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the California Society of CPAs, and the Massachusetts Society of CPAs.

Benjamin Bowen, PhD; Dr. Bowen is a Managing Director in Rodman & Renshaw’s Investment Banking group, where he specializes in financing and advisory transactions for life science companies.  Dr. Bowen’s previous experience includes a position as Director of Biological Sciences at Acumen Sciences, a retained advisory services firm focused on the life sciences industries, as well as 14 years in pharmaceutical research and research management at Genentech, CIBA-Geigy, and Novartis.  Dr. Bowen holds a BA from Hamline University and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mark Leuchtenberger; Mr. Leuchtenberger has been President & Chief Executive Officer of Targanta Therapeutics Corporation since September 2006 and led the company’s successful IPO in 2007. He joined Targanta from Therion Biologics Corporation, a privately held cancer vaccine company, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2002 to 2006. Under his leadership, Therion filed its first IND, progressed through Phase 3 trials, completed the buildup of its commercial manufacturing capabilities, and raised over $120 million in three rounds of private financings.

Prior to joining Therion, Mr. Leuchtenberger was a senior officer at Biogen, where he served as Vice President, International from 1999-2002. In this capacity, he led all commercial operations outside of North America. He joined Biogen in 1990 and was responsible for managing the late-stage development, registration, marketing, and North American launch of Avonex®. He subsequently served as Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development, where he oversaw North American commercial operations as well as Biogen's global market, licensing and strategic partnership activities. Prior to Biogen, Mr. Leuchtenberger worked as a Senior Consultant at Bain and Company specializing in healthcare products and services.

Mr. Leuchtenberger received an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. from Wake Forest University. He is currently the Chairman of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council Board of Directors and also serves on Boards for EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Wake Forest University.

Drew Fromkin; Mr. Fromkin joined Clinical Data on October 12, 2005, as our Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, and was elected President and Chief Executive Officer on May 12, 2006. He was most recently President and CEO of DoctorQuality, Inc., a leading provider of patient safety products and information services that was acquired by Quantros, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Fromkin held several senior management roles at emerging healthcare companies, including executive appointments as President and Chief Executive Officer of Endo Surgical Devices, Inc., where his achievements included developing a line of innovative surgical devices, securing funding for the company, and guiding the company to its first FDA approval. Mr. Fromkin also was Vice President, Business Development and before that, Vice President, Sales for Merck-Medco Managed Care, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. In all of these roles, Mr. Fromkin successfully developed and negotiated complex transactions including major account sales, strategic alliances, joint ventures and acquisitions. Mr. Fromkin began his career in healthcare at Health Information Technologies.

Michelle Dipp, MD, PhD; Dr. Dipp is the Vice President and Head of the US Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD).  In her role, Dr Dipp manages the day-to-day operation of the CEEDD, which is working to develop a network of external alliances with world-class biotech companies to bring breakthrough medicine into the GSK pipeline.  Dr Dipp is based at Sirtris, a GSK company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Prior to managing GSK's CEEDD, Dr Dipp was the vice president of corporate development at Sirtris, which is focused on discovering and delivering small molecule drugs to treat diseases of aging.  Dr Dipp played a leading role in orchestrating the successful acquisition of Sirtris by GSK in June 2008 for $720 million.

Before joining Sirtris as a founding employee, Michelle worked in healthcare private equity at The Wellcome Trust, London.  Dr Dipp did her post doctoral research in the departments of Pharmacology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital. Oxford. She has published several papers in peer-reviewed jounals in the pulmonary field.  She holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in pulmonary physiology from the University of Oxford.

In 2008 Dr Dipp received the Stevie Award for Women in Business in the category of Best Executive of a non-services business under 100 employees, and the Tech Dealmaker of the Year Award in the category of Life Sciences Mergers and Acquisitions.

Dr Dipp teaches ballet and rowing to underprivileged children through Kids Enjoy Exercise New (KEEN), and helped start Doctors for Africa, a non-profit organisation in the UK.