Hepregen

Mort Collins - Chairman, Hepregen Corporation; General Partner, Battelle Ventures and Innovation Valley Partners
Mr. Collins is founder and general partner of Battelle Ventures. For four decades, he has demonstrated major successes in the fields of life sciences, electronic materials, communications and software. In 1968, Mr. Collins founded Data Science Ventures (DSV), a pioneering venture-capital firm that had offices in Princeton, NJ and Newport Beach, CA. From October 1968, to June 1974, he was the founder and chief executive officer of Data Science Ventures, Inc. (DSV I). He was a founder of DSV Associates (DSV II); DSV Partners III (DSV III); DSV Partners IV (DSV IV) and was the managing partner of each since their formation in 1974, 1981 and 1985 respectively. In July of 1997, Mr. Collins became a special limited partner of Cardinal Partners, the successor to the DSV series of partnerships. For 30 years as a managing partner in DSV partnerships, Mr. Collins was involved in providing venture capital and management assistance to early stage companies including Datapoint, General Automation, Tandem Computers, Datacom Systems, The Liposome Company, Apollon and Alkermes. Mr. Collins serves as a director of Inovio Biomedical Corporation (AMEX); Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ); Pharos LLC; PD-LD Inc.(Chairman) and Formula Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Collins is member of the Advisory Council to the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Delaware; a member of the Graduate School Advisory Council at Princeton University; a member of the Leadership Council of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Princeton University and a member of the Systems Biology Advisory Council at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. Mr. Collins served on the New Jersey Governor's Commission on Science and Technology; the New Jersey Governor’s Superconductivity Roundtable and is a member of the Research Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences. He chaired President Reagan’s Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and served as a technology policy advisor to President George H. W. Bush. He is a former president, director and chairman of the National Venture Capital Association. Mr. Collins was the recipient of the 1989 University of Delaware Medal of Distinction; the recipient of the 1990 New York Venture Forum Award and he received the Delaware Valley Venture Group Award in 1992. Mr. Collins earned his B.S. degree in engineering from the University of Delaware, and his M.A. degree and doctorate in engineering from Princeton University.
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Vincent R. Zurawski, Jr., Ph.D. - President and Chief Executive Officer, Hepregen Corporation
Currently, president and chief executive officer of Hepregen, Dr. Vincent R. Zurawski, Jr., a pioneer in the biotechnology industry, was a co-founder of Centocor, Inc. and its chief scientific officer for 14 years. He was founder, president and chief executive officer of Apollon, Inc., and chief executive officer of Compugen, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Compugen Ltd. He also completed a three-year term as a member of the board of directors of Ricerca Biosciences LLC, an Ohio-based contract research organization (“CRO”). Dr. Zurawski has also recently been a co-founder, past chief executive, chairman of the board of directors, and acting vice president of product development of Avraham Pharamceuticals Ltd., an Israeli company focusing on development of the multifunctional drug, ladostigil, which entered proof-of-concept clinical trials for treatment of both Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition often seen as a precursor to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Zurawski was also a founder, past chief executive, and currently chairman and chief scientific officer of Varinel, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focusing on therapeutic products aimed at treatment of: (1) bacterial infections with a focus on wound healing, (2) disorders of the nervous system, with a particular focus on neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and (3) age-related macular degeneration (“AMD”). Dr. Zurawski is also currently a member of the board of directors of DiagnoCure, Inc., a Canadian diagnostics company specializing in development of cancer diagnostic products, and which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Dr. Zurawski received his Ph.D. in 1973 from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School before embarking on his business career, for a portion of which he also held a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School.
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Joshua S. Phillips - General Partner, Catalyst Health Ventures
Mr. Phillips has led Catalyst's investments in Allegro Diagnostics, Vortex Medical, Hepregen, Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc., BioTrove, Inc., Castel, Inc., and Akula Software, Inc. He is chairman of BioTrove, Inc. and Castel, is a director of Vortex and Allegro, was past chairman of Akula and observer to Novazyme. Mr. Phillips has been a general partner at Catalyst since 2000. Prior to joining Catalyst, he was a manager at the Lucas Group, a boutique strategy consulting firm, where he led engagements in health care, life science and technology-based companies. In 1990, Mr. Phillips co-founded, managed and built a new business unit at Russ Electric, and previously held management duties at Pratt & Whitney. Mr. Phillips received a B.E. degree in electrical engineering and mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
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Leslie Williams - Founder, President & CEO, ImmusanT, Inc.
Recognized in 2006 as one of the top 100 leaders in life sciences by PharmaVOICE magazine, Leslie Williams has more than 20 years of industry experience in healthcare, management, commercial product development and marketing. In 2010 Ms. Williams founded ImmusanT, Inc. which is focused on development of immunotherapies and diagnostics initially in Celiac Disease. Prior to this Ms. Williams was president and chief executive officer of Ventaira Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Williams joined the specialty pharmaceutical company in 2003 in the dual roles of vice president of business and commercial development, and chief operating officer. She became president and chief operation officer in 2004 and under her leadership, the company became a significant player in the pulmonary-drug-delivery market and the company was sold the end of 2007. Prior to Ventaira, Ms. Williams was director of marketing for INO Therapeutics, Inc., where she played a significant role in the NDA submission for INOmax (nitric oxide) for inhalation, a drug for treating pulmonary hypertension. Among her many accomplishments she helped orchestrate the New Drug Application submission to the FDA for INOmax for inhalation. Responsible for the commercial aspects of INOmax's U.S. market introduction, from setting objectives and strategy to developing key constituency groups and expert advisory boards, as well as representing INO Therapeutics on Capitol Hill, Williams also assisted with expansion of the INO-therapy platform into the European marketplace. (The company was acquired by Ikaria Holdings in 2007 for some $670 million.) Ms. Williams’s prior pharmaceutical industry experience includes commercial positions at Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, and drug-delivery and -monitoring experience at Datex-Ohmeda (formerly Ohmeda, Inc.). She was a venture partner at Battelle Ventures where she sourced and evaluated deals and assisted early-stage technology companies with strategy, management, business development and M&A. She currently serves on the Boards of Hepregen Corporation, CDI Bioscience and The Capital Network (TCN) and is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Life Science Leader. She serves as a mentor in the Boston University Kindle Program as well as Propel Careers. Ms. Williams holds an MBA from Washington University, John Olin School of Business, and a B.S. degree with honors in nursing from the University of Iowa. Before entering industry, she was a critical-care nurse at Duke University, Medical College of Virginia and at the University of Iowa.
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Robert G. Wilkins - Vice President, Strategic Development, Battelle Ventures
Bob Wilkins joined Battelle in February 2012 as a part-time employee with responsibility for commercialization activities within the Health & Life Sciences Global Business Unit. In August 2012, he became a full-time employee, and in January 2013 he gained expanded responsibilities for the management of Battelle’s investment strategy and activities, IP commercialization, and deal negotiation in support of alternative business models such as risk / value sharing, as well as support of Battelle’s external Venture Capital investments as a member of the Battelle Ventures Advisory Board, and a member of the Board of Directors of Hepregen, a Battelle Ventures portfolio company. Prior to joining Battelle, Bob had consulted on life-sciences deals to Battelle Ventures, and run a successful practice as a marketing and business development consultant. He has been a venture partner at Battelle Ventures, CEO of a Battelle Ventures portfolio company, Endovalve Inc., and a member of the Board of Directors of NellOne Inc., formerly a Battelle Ventures portfolio company. He is a former anesthesiologist and critical care physician, with 10 years of clinical practice and over two decades of international healthcare industry experience in product development, marketing and business development. After leaving medical practice in 1987, Bob served as medical director of Hausmann/Vifor, a Swiss pharmaceutical company in Geneva. Four years later he joined Abbott Laboratories as medical director in the Hospital Products Division, with key roles in the development of new drugs and medical devices. In 1996 he became director of marketing for the HealthSystems Division, leading a team responsible for GPO contracting, Abbott brand management, and marketing of pharmaceutical, device, nutritional and diagnostic products to the top seventy US health systems. Leaving Abbott in 1999 to join Baxter Healthcare’s anesthesia group as director of business development, and then, in late 2000, becoming chief scientific officer and vice president of marketing of Physiometrix, a start-up medical device company, Bob subsequently has been a consultant to venture capital organizations, as well as to a wide range of pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
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Brett Bosley - Vice President, Growth Capital Fund & Technology Commercialization, Battelle Ventures
Brett Bosley manages Battelle’s corporate Growth Capital Fund, a $50+MM commitment to R&D and outside investments that contribute to Battelle’s growth. In this capacity he advises the COO on investment decisions and on-going management of the portfolio, supports business units in assessing and managing transactions, and is a primary interface to Battelle Ventures. Brett also supports technology commercialization for Battelle’s Global Laboratory Operations, where he is responsible for expanding engagement between industry and the national laboratories managed or co-managed by Battelle, increasing the commercialization and deployment of innovation, and leveraging relationships with affiliated venture funds. Brett also has management responsibility for Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice, which offers applied economics management consulting for clients around the world. Previously, Brett held management positions in the chemical & life sciences industry, most recently as the director of operations for Siemens Molecular Imaging Biomarker Research. He earlier served as the general manager of Callery Chemical, a pharmaceutical reagent manufacturer, where he doubled new product revenue and led the company’s sale to BASF in 2003. He has been involved in leading roles on the company side in M&A and venture capital transactions totaling more than $100MM. Brett served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He holds an MBA in finance from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in computer science from National University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Sustainable Energy (which operates the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for DOE), the Battelle Ventures Advisory Board, and the Research Advisory Board of the University of Missouri at Columbia.
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