Company Reverse Pitch | 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM, Wednesday, September 30

Company Reverse Pitch | 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM, Friday, October 2 

Paul is the Manager of the IBD Ventures program at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. IBD Ventures seeks to accelerate the development of products that improve the quality of life of patients with inflammatory bowel disease by investing in new product development across therapeutics, devices, diagnostics and digital health. Prior to joining the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Paul worked in commercialization of life science in consulting, venture capital, tech transfer and business development roles. Paul completed his PhD at UCSF and postdoctoral studies at Stanford.

Company Reverse Pitch | 12:15 PM – 12:45 PM, Wednesday, September 30

Steph Read is a global Vice President leading search, evaluation and execution of biotechnology M&A, late phase in-licensing, and build-to-buy investments in strategically-aligned biotechnology and platform companies (CSL Mkt cap: $135 Billion AUD).

Steph joined CSL from AstraZeneca (MedImmune), where she held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within R&D, Alliance Management, Specialty Care Sales and Marketing Leadership, and Corporate Development.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Virginia Tech, and a Master of Science in Biotechnology from The Johns Hopkins University. Steph joined the biotechnology industry in 1998, and she has learned something new, every day since.

Company Reverse Pitch | 11:40 AM – 12:10 PM Thursday, October 1

Anjali leads External Innovation Search and Evaluation in Eastern US for therapeutics and platform technologies at J&J Innovation. She is responsible for developing an external early-stage innovation pipeline aligned with the strategies of the businesses.

Prior to J&J, Anjali spent 25 years in the industry working for 20 of them in R&D at large and small companies, including The Upjohn Company, Genetics Institute/Wyeth, Critical Therapeutics, Clinquest Inc. and Flexion Therapeutics, where she held roles with increasing responsibilities in drug discovery and development and program leadership across multiple therapeutic areas, advancing programs from early discovery all the way through to regulatory approval. She then moved to Corporate Development at Shire Pharmaceuticals where she led large cross-functional due diligence teams performing integrated assessments for incoming M&A and in-licensing opportunities. She helped navigate opportunities in support of all Shire franchises and also played a key role in integration, establishing and leading alliances.

Anjali holds a PhD in Bioengineering from Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, and a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India.

Company Reverse Pitch | 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM, Thursday, October 1

Michael Flaschen leads the Headquarters Transactions Group at Merck (MSD outside of the United States and Canada). Michael’s group handles a wide range of transactions from research stage through commercialized products. Prior to Merck, Michael worked for Aduro Biotech, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson and Kirkland and Ellis. Michael has a J.D. from NYU and an undergraduate degree from Tulane University.

Company Reverse Pitch | 10:50 AM – 11:20 AM, Wednesday, September 30

Keith Mazza is currently a Senior Director on Pfizer’s Corporate Development team, focused on leading out-licensing and corporate transactions. Keith joined Pfizer in 2011 as part of the team that values Pfizer’s external licensing, partnering and M&A opportunities. Keith became the head of the external valuation group in 2016, before transitioning to his current role in early 2019.

Prior to joining Pfizer, Keith was an Associate in J.P. Morgan’s Investment Bank and an Analyst at MCG Capital, a boutique investment firm. Keith received his MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and his undergraduate Finance degree from Georgetown University.

Company Reverse Pitch | 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM, Thursday, October 1

Steve joined Taiho Oncology Inc. as Vice President, Business Development in June 2020. In this newly created role, he is leading the company’s efforts to in-license and acquire additional oncology marketed products and late-stage development therapeutic candidates for treating solid tumors and hematological malignancies. These partnered assets will be added to Taiho Oncology’s expanding portfolio of internally discovered candidates and approved products addressing the needs of cancer patients in North America.

Dr. Yoder received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Virginia and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He subsequently received a Masters of Business Administration in Health Care Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Steve has over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including work in a variety of roles in Strategic Planning, New Product Development, and Marketing at Pfizer. More recently, he served in leadership roles in Search & Evaluation at both Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene Business Development, and has been involved in completing many transactions involving therapeutic candidates and collaborations.

Steve serves on the Board of Directors of Life Sciences Pennsylvania.

Company Reverse Pitch | 10:50 AM – 11:20 AM, Friday, October 2

George Khalife is the Vice President of Capital Formation leading the TSX’s efforts across the Midwest U.S. Based out of Chicago, George works closely with innovation companies at varying stages to explore the opportunity of raising public capital as a financing option for accelerating growth. Previous to joining the TSX, George led the marketing & business development for a growing FinTech startup called owl.co and prior to that, led the business development for a boutique tech-focused M&A firm called Sampford Advisors. On the side, George co-founded an app called BookBack for students to buy and sell books more easily (which cracked the top 100 charts for free apps), as well as hosts a top 200 entrepreneurship-focused podcast called Let’s Grab Coffee which features the stories of successful founders across different industries.