Life Science Investing: Ready to Roll!
Join us as our panel of experts discuss the future of venture capital in the life sciences.
September 27, 2012 – 7:00 AM – Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine
There’s a great many questions related to the future of venture capital in the life sciences community.
While some have received funding, many others still struggle to find capital. Add a jobless recovery, high
profile election and healthcare policy debates, and you’ve got one uncertain future.
Our panelists will help shed some light on what’s probable, what’s possible and what’s unlikely.
Join us for what will certainly be a lively discussion and come away of some insights for how to navigate the
current murky waters.
Our panelists include Kevin Kinsella, Nim Shah, Mike Grey, Heath Lukatch, and our moderator is Bruce Bigelow.
Kevin Kinsella, Founder of Avalon Ventures
Mr. Kinsella has specialized in the formation, financing and development of more than 100 early-stage companies. He was the founding chairman of Athena Neurosciences, Aurora Biosciences Corporation, Landmark Graphics, NeoRx, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Synaptics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, X-Ceptor, and Sequana Therapeutics. Mr. Kinsella is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in management, with minors in electrical engineering and political science. He holds a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and conducted post-graduate work in political economy on a Rotary International Fellowship at the University of Stockholm, Sweden.
Nim Shah, Domain Associates
Mr. Shah joined Domain in 2006 and became a Principal in 2008. He serves as a co-founder as well as director for Zyga Technology as well as on the boards of Apnex Medical, Benvenue Medical, Foundry Newco XII, Miramar Labs, and Sequent Medical. Mr. Shah is also an observer at NeuroPace, ReVision Optics and Tandem Diabetes Care. Pervio,usly, Mr. Shah was a part of the investment team at venture firm Cutlass Capital where he was involved with that firm’s investments in Apneon, GI Dynamics, Titan Health, and TranS1. From 1998 to 2002, he worked at Alex. Brown & Sons (now Deutsche Bank) serving as a member of the medical device equity research team. Mr. Shaw also spent time at Johns Hopkins Hospital involved in a project that aimed to map the functional areas of the brain.
Mike Grey, CEO, Lumena
Mr. Grey is a co-founder and has been serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Lumena Pharmaceuticals since the company’s inception. He is also a Venture Partner with Pappas Ventures since January 2010. Between January and September 2009, Mr. Grey served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private biotechnology company. From January 2005 until its acquisition in August 2008, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly held biotechnology company, where he previously served as President from June 2003 to January 2005 and as Chief Business Officer from April 2001 until June 2003.
Mr. Grey received a B.Sc. in chemistry from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Heath Lukatch, Novo Ventures
Mr. Lukatch joined Novo Ventures (US) in 2006. He is chairman of the board of directors of Inogen Inc. and NeuroTherapeutics Pharma Inc. as well as a member of the board of directors of AnaptysBio Inc., Cianna Medical Inc., Elevation Pharmaceuticals Inc., FLAPCo LLC., and Panmira Pharmaceuticals LLC.
Prior to joining Novo Ventures (US) Inc., Mr. Lukatch was a Managing Director for Piper Jaffray Ventures and SightLine Partners as well as a bench scientist at Cetus, Chiron, and Roche Bioscience. While at Piper Jaffray and Sightline he was responsible for biotech venture investments and served on the boards of several biotech and medical device companies. He holds a Ph. D. in neuroscience from Stanford University and a B.A. in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkley.
Bruce Bigelow, Editor, Xconomy San Diego (Moderator)
Mr. Bigelow joins Xconomy from the The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he was a longtime business reporter covering technology, aerospace, and other subjects. He was a member of the newsroom team that was awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting, and received other awards for disclosing the extraordinary casualty rate among San Diego-based Titan Corp.’s employees in Iraq, and for “The Toymaker,” a 14-part chronicle of a San Diego startup company.
Mr. Bigelow graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a B.A. in English Literature and has a M.S.J. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Before joining the Union-Tribune in 1990, he worked for the Associated Press in Los Angeles and The Kansas City Times.
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