We'll hear from early-stage to late-stage venture investors about funding
milestones for devices and biotech, and how Wall Street events impact the
*venture food chain* of valuations.
Networking session will follow.
Expected Panelists:
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Lowell Sears, Chairman & CEO of Sears Capital Management, Inc.
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Lowell E. Sears has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sears
Capital Management, Inc., a life sciences venture capital and portfolio
management company since1994. Prior to founding Sears Capital
Management, Mr. Sears was Chief Financial Officer of Amgen, Inc. from
1988 to 1994 as well its Senior Vice President responsible for the Asia-
Pacific region. Mr. Sears served as Amgen’s Treasurer and Director of
Planning from 1986 to 1988. From 1976 to 1986 Mr. Sears held senior
financial and planning positions with Atlantic Richfield Company an
integrated oil company, including several years as Chief Financial Officer of
its Ventures Division. Mr. Sears is currently a director of Neose
Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTEC), Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH),
Elitra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ – Proposed: ELIT), Integrated
Biosystems, Inc. (Private), ToxWeb, Inc. (Private), Overread, Inc. (Private),
Novalar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Private), Coapt Systems, Inc. (Private), and
Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Private) . Mr. Sears is also an investor in
and strategic advisor to a number of other private life science companies as
well as several investment funds. Mr. Sears received his BA in economics
from Claremont McKenna College and his MBA from Stanford University.
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Janet Effland, General Partner at Apax Partners.
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Janet Effland joined Apax Partners in 1988. Ms. Effland brings to the firm over 22 years of private equity investing and business experience. Her primary investment focus is in the healthcare area and includes opportunities in devices, diagnostics, and services. Previously, she was the managing director of a portfolio of US investments for CIN Investment Company, a subsidiary of British Coal Corporation. While with CIN she was president and CEO of Logisticon, Inc., which provided software for inventory control and warehouse management. Before that, she was vice president of Qume Corporation and of Courier Terminal Systems, both subsidiaries of ITT Corporation.
Ms. Effland has served as a member of the NASBIC/NVCA Venture Capital Institute's Education Committee and as a member of the Arizona Venture Capital Organization. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Instrumentation Metrics, Inc. Ms. Effland holds B.S. and J.D. degrees form Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and attended Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development. | |
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Matthew Plunkett, Ph.D., Associate, CIBC World Markets Healthcare Investment
Banking
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Dr. Plunkett joined CIBC World Markets in December 2000. His experience
includes a variety of completed transactions, including IPOs, follow-on
offerings, convertible debt, private placements, and M&A assignments. He
works frequently with smaller and early-stage companies on addressing their
financial and strategic goals. Previously he worked at Sunesis
Pharmaceuticals where he lead a team of 6 focused on the company's
"monophore" technology, and at Axys Advanced Technologies working on various
drug discovery projects. He received a BS (Honors) in Chemistry, with a
History concentration, from Harvey Mudd College, and a Ph.D in Organic
Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
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