The Just Society Presents: First Annual Biotech Economic Forum
The Just Society presents: First Annual Biotech Economic Forum
Raising Capital: The Who, When and How
The Just Society, named after Ernest Just, the famous marine biologist is proud to present and invite you to attend our First Annual Biotech Economic Forum at the prestigious Union League Club of Chicago on September 11, 2024.. TJS is a collection of C Suite BioPharma executives focused on advancing economic, educational, political, and social pillars. We help one another and we reach behind us to build current and future pipelines for success.
This Economic Forum for members and nonmembers is a half-day program with light refreshments throughout the day, beginning at lunchtime. Doors open at 11:30am. There will be a panel of experts in capital-raising in the biotech industry. There will also be breakout sessions as part of the program, where the attendees can rotate among the groups, facilitated by a panelist and a TJS member.
Moderator:
Kirk Taylor, MD, CMO, EVP & Board Member
Kirk Taylor, MD is a global pharmaceutical executive with expertise in Phase II – IV drug development, including CNS, oncology and rare disease. As Chief Medical Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and SVP Medical Affairs, he has restructured organizations, created strategic operating plans, and shaped corporate culture. His entrepreneurial acumen assisted in leading biotech start-up companies to successful IPOs and multiple funding rounds. He is people-first focused, leading teams with respect and innovation. In recognition of his positive impact, he was awarded the 2023 PharmaVoice 100 Executives Award.
Dr. Taylor’s contributions across numerous therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, rare disease, acute macular degeneration, migraine, psychiatry, and others, are known across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. He has designed strategy and executed launch plans via advisory boards, mergers, distributor markets, payer pathways, medical field excellence, and clinical research.
Dr Taylor has completed Executive Leadership training programs at Stanford, INSEAD and Harvard Business Schools. He has a passion for global health equity and is regularly asked to present at industry-sponsored events and symposia.
Dr. Taylor received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and also studied piano at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. He completed his Doctor of Medicine from the State University of New York, Downstate, his neurology residency at Einstein College of Medicine, and a post-doc at UCSF. He taught pain management to neurology residents at Yale VA Hospital for 2 years. Dr. Taylor fulfilled Deloitte University’s Sigma Pi Phi Board Directors Academy Program. With a person commitment to excellence in corporate governance, he completed a certificate program in corporate governance from Columbia Business School and the Next Generation Board Directors program at UC Berkeley. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, serves on 3 non-profit boards, and advises one healthcare AI company.
Speakers:
Anthony Epps, JD, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
A partner in Dorsey & Whitney's Corporate Group, Anthony Epps has deep experience in M&A and complex securities transactions, including public and private offerings.
Anthony's practice focuses on corporate governance, securities transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. Anthony's corporate governance experience includes advising public companies with U.S. Exchange Act reporting and compliance, U.S. Securities Act matters and compliance with the rules and regulations of state securities commissions and self-regulatory organizations. Anthony also regularly serves as outside general counsel for a variety of private and public companies including corporations, cooperatives and limited liability companies with a focus on corporate governance, fiduciary duties of directors and officers and risk mitigation strategies. His complex securities transaction experience includes public and private offerings, at-the-market transactions, underwritten public offerings, bought deal offerings and PIPE offerings.
Anthony also advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, including representing both buyers and sellers in a variety of transactions, including de-SPACs, asset sales, joint ventures and reverse mergers. Anthony has extensive experience in counseling clients engaged in cross-border capital markets transactions using the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System (MJDS), Rule 144A, Regulation S. Anthony also provides clients with general broker-dealer regulatory advice relating to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
Rhonda Wallen, MBA, Independent Board Director & Advsior to Life Sciences Companies
Rhonda Wallen is an Independent Board Director and Advisor to life science companies, leveraging her 25 years of experience to help founders and CEOs set strategy, navigate financings and plan for growth. She is currently the founding CEO of a clinical stage biotech company (stealth) and was most recently Chief Strategy Officer / EVP of Caresyntax, a VC backed provider of a digital analytics platform for the surgical suite. Prior to this Ms. Wallen was Head of Global Corporate Development at Terumo BCT, the $1 billion biomedical division of Terumo Corporation, a multinational leader in medical technology. In this role, she successfully developed two new lines of business, and led the cross-functional evaluation and negotiation of multiple strategic transactions for blood and cell therapy technologies including the largest deal in the division’s history. Prior to joining Terumo, she served as Chief Operating Officer for Andarix Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage oncology therapeutics company, and founding CEO of Caveo Therapeutics, an early stage biotech for which she raised seed capital, launched a reagent product line and progressed preclinical candidates towards the clinic.
Ms. Wallen was formerly an investment professional with Sequel Venture Partners, a venture fund with > $400M under management. An experienced board Director, Ms. Wallen has served on public and private corporate boards and numerous Advisory boards including EKSO Bionics, A28 Therapeutics, ViuHealth and New West Genetics. Ms. Wallen holds a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University, a Master of Science in Microbiology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Rochester Simon School of Business.
Jonathan Fassberg, MBA, Co-Founder ASTR
Jonathan Fassberg is a visionary entrepreneur who recognized early in his 30-year career that small-cap biotechnology companies were underserved in an investor relations capacity. To fill this void, Mr. Fassberg founded The Trout Group and served as Chief Executive Officer. Trout served over 250 public and private companies from its six offices around the world. Trout’s clients also had challenges accessing capital, leading Mr. Fassberg to start Trout Group’s sister company, Trout Capital LLC, in 2004 to assist clients in a financial advisory role. Most recently, Mr. Fassberg co-founded astr partners, a biotech investor relations advisory, in early 2024 to address the post-COVID biotech ecosystem disconnect between issuers, investors, and the banking communities.Prior to founding Trout in 1996, Jonathan was a sell-side analyst at a healthcare-focused investment bank. Before his career on Wall Street, Jonathan spent four years at DuPont Pharma in various sales and marketing positions. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He also holds Series 7, 24, 79 and 63 securities licenses. Jonathan has been an active member of Young Presidents Organization since joining the Manhattan Chapter in 2007 and is currently serving as Chapter Chair. He also sits on the board of directors for the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies at UNC.
Chidozie Ugwumba, MBA, Managing Partner of Symbiosis
Chidozie Ugwumba serves as Managing Partner of SymBiosis, a venture capital firm focused on investments in biotherapeutics. At SymBiosis, Mr. Ugwumba leads sourcing, due diligence, and execution of investments, and serves as an advisor to SymBiosis’ portfolio companies—including as a board member of Carisma Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CARM). He has led numerous investments in therapeutics companies in the US and Europe, across disease areas including CNS, cardiac, dermatology, GI, infectious disease, and oncology, and across modalities such as precision medicine, and cell, gene, and regenerative therapy. Prior to SymBiosis, Mr. Ugwumba led the Direct and Impact Investment Group of WIT, LLC and worked on the Private Credit and Infrastructure teams at Partners Group, a global private investment manager. Mr. Ugwumba earned an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and a BA in Political Science from Amherst College.