This event has been postponed. Stay tuned for a new date!
The landscape in greater Kendall Square and MA has changed dramatically in the last decade. With the arrival of big pharma R&D centers starting with Novartis in 2002, the explosion of incubators across MA, and the migration of technology and digital media companies to Cambridge and Boston, we have seen profound and sweeping changes. From accelerating rents to massive new construction projects housing campuses for big pharma R&D, nowhere has this change been more profound than in Cambridge, and the face and fate of Kendall Square has and continues to evolve rapidly. What do these seismic evolutions augur for our future?
Come join us for a glimpse into the future of Kendall Square and hear a panel of witnesses to the past and oracles for the future discuss how these changes may impact biotech in Cambridge, especially the community of emerging biotech companies.
Speakers:
- Peter Abair, Director, Economic Development & Global Affairs, MassBio
- Steven Gullans, PhD, Managing Director, Excel Medical Ventures, and author of Evolving Ourselves
- Brad Rosenblum, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC)
- Jeffrey D. Wager, MD, Chairman & CEO, EnBiotix, Inc.
Moderators:
- Marc R. Cote, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, Accellient Partners, LLC
- John Hession, Partner, Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, PC
This Forum is presented by the Entrepreneur's University Forum Working Group.
Bios:
Peter Abair, Director, Economic Development & Global Affairs, MassBio
Peter Abair is MassBio’s Director of Economic and Global Affairs. In his position, he provides consulting services to companies looking to locate to or grow in Massachusetts, manages MassBio's global partners programs, and leads the development and publication of the Industry Snapshot - MassBio's annual economic analysis of the life sciences industry. Prior to joining MassBio, he served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in several economic development functions including Director of the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development, Massachusetts Office of Business Development, and Associate Director of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. He has served in the administrations of four governors and began his career on the Washington, D.C. staff of the late Congressman Silvio O. Conte. Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and International Relations from Boston University and a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Marc R. Cote, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, Accellient Partners, LLC
Marc is a partner and co-founder of Accellient Partners, a drug development consulting practice where he is responsible for leading the company's financial, operational and business development activities. Marc is also a co-founder and the Chief Financial Officer of Synchroneuron Inc, a clinical stage VC-backed biopharmaceutical company that is engaged in developing new therapies for tardive dyskinesia (TD).
Marc has extensive experience in helping to launch and operate both start-up and existing ventures. Prior to Accellient, he joined Aptuit Consulting in 2006 when Aptuit founded its global consulting practice. Prior to Aptuit, he was Vice President of Finance and Shared Services with Dunkin® Brands where he spent a decade in a variety of finance, accounting and shared services roles. Marc started his career in the Entrepreneurial Services Group at Ernst & Young in Boston where he spent 8 years servicing clients in a variety of industries including venture capital, biotech, high-tech and consulting.
Marc is also an active member of Boston Harbor Angels. In addition, he is a Co-Chair of Mass Bio's Entrepreneur University and a Program Committee Member of The Bioscience Network.
Marc was a licensed CPA in Massachusetts for many years and is a graduate of Bentley College, summa cum laude.
Steve Gullans, PhD, Managing Director, Excel Venture Management
Steve is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, author, and scientist. At Excel, he focuses on life science technology companies with a particular interest in disruptive platforms. Steve was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital for nearly 20 years. He published more than 130 scientific papers touching many areas of biology and medicine, lectured internationally, and co-authored numerous patents. He and Juan Enriquez recently co-authored Evolving Ourselves: How Unnatural Selection and Non-Random Mutation are Changing Life on Earth. Steve’s current and prior investments and board directorships include Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals [TTPH], Molecular Templates, Cleveland HeartLab, nanoMR, BioTrove, Biocius, Activate Networks, and RxGen, where he was also co-founder and CEO. Steve received his B.S. at Union College, Ph.D. at Duke University, and postdoctoral training at the Yale School of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the AAAS and the AHA.
John Hession, Partner, Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C.
Mr. Hession is a Partner at Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C., and a member of the Corporate, Venture Capital and Life Sciences practice groups at the firm’s Waltham office. He recently joined the firm in February of 2015, after an eight-year tenure at Cooley LLP. John was a co-founder of Cooley's Boston office, and served as Managing Partner of the Boston office for its first two years of operation, helping grow the firm from ten to seventy-plus professionals and staff. John Hession represents emerging-growth companies, principally in the life sciences, medical device, software and digital media fields, as well as angels and venture capital funds in the investment process in these areas. His practice includes both start-up and later-stage company work; equity-based compensation strategies; mergers and acquisitions, representing either buyers or sellers; corporate partnering, joint ventures, collaboration and development deals, and other strategic alliances involving technology transfers; license and distribution arrangements for medical devices and biotechnology, software and hardware companies; and venture capital or angel financings of technology companies, representing either investors or companies.
Bradley Rosenblum, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
Brad Rosenblum joined the MLSC in 2009. In his role, Brad oversees the financial and administrative functions of the MSLC, manages the MLSC’s Tax Incentive Program, and oversees the MLSC’s early-stage portfolio. Before joining the MLSC, Brad worked in a variety of finance roles for public- and venture-funded companies. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MBA from Boston University. He is a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Jeffrey D. Wager, MD, Chairman & CEO, EnBiotix, Inc.
Jeffrey Wager has 23 years of senior operating experience in the life sciences, beginning his career with a unit of the Bank of Tokyo, advising Japanese pharma companies on the design and conduct of international clinical trials and strategic alliances. He then was part of Medical Science Partners, a $100 million Harvard sponsored VC fund focused on startups spinning out of the Harvard medical system, helping to create and manage a portfolio of 30 companies.
In 2000, he formed Apeiron Partners LLC, focusing on corporate spin-outs and VC funds, where he was intimately involved in the design, launch and investment of Z-Cube (€60 million fund created by the Zambon Group in Italy) and the design/execution of six corporate spin-outs - including Targacept, Inc. (NASD:TRGT) and Artisan Pharma, Inc., the latter also as its founding CEO between 2006-2010, raising $50 million, building the entire team and implementing a 750 patient, 17 country Phase 2b/3 study ultimately leading to Artisan’s acquisition by Asahi in 2011.
Dr. Wager is a co-founder and chairman of Proterris, Inc., a therapeutic medical gases company, and an observer to the board of Biotoscana, SL, the largest private equity-backed specialty pharma company in Latin America (2014 revenues - $200 million), which he was instrumental in forming by advising United Medical, Ltda. of Sao Paulo, Brazil on its sale to Biotoscana.