March 6, 2008
Duke University
Fuqua School of Business
Durham, NC
Speaker Bios
James F. Buck
Vice President, Marketing & Business Development
InnerPulse, Inc.
Jim joined Research Triangle Park based InnerPulse in 2006 as Vice-President, Marketing and Business Development with greater than 15 years of experience in the medical device industry including more than a decade in the cardiac rhythm management (CRM) sector. Jim most recently served as Vice-President, Marketing and Business Development for Closure Medical Corporation, a medical device developer and manufacturer located in Raleigh, N.C. There, he was a key member of the management team through the sale of the business in 2005 year to Johnson & Johnson. Before joining Closure, he spent 11 years at St. Jude Medical where he held roles of increasing responsibility in electrophysiology product management and CRM sales, sales management, business development and strategic marketing. Jim holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Indiana University and a master's degree in management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Kevin Connors
General Partner
Spray Venture Partners
Kevin Connors is an accomplished entrepreneur and venture investor. He has co-founded seven healthcare technology companies, and has had interim CEO roles in nine. These companies have focused on developing proprietary technology to address large un-met medical needs, such as emphysema, low back pain, cerebral aneurysm, and bladder dysfunction. Prior to founding Spray Venture Partners in 1996, Kevin was the founding CEO of Vesica Medical, a company focused on the surgical treatment of female urinary incontinence. Under this leadership, Vesica realized product sales within 18 months of formation and was acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in 1995. Prior to Vesica, Kevin led medical device investment activity at DSV Partners in Newport Beach, California.
Kevin is on the Board of Directors of the New England Venture Capital Association and MassMEDIC, the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council. He has served on the Board of Directors of Vesica Medical, Inc. (acquired by Boston Scientific), Masimo Corp., Pilot Cardiovascular (acquired by CR Bard), Circe Biomedical (acquired by ICN Pharmaceuticals), Gamera Bioscience (acquired by Tecan AG), and Endonetics (acquired by Medtronic). He currently serves on the board of Intrinsic Orthopedics, Facet Solutions, Leptos Biomedical, Solace Therapeutics, Highgate Orthopedics, and Cascade Ophthalmics. Kevin received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
H. Richard Davis
Chief Technology Officer
Tryton Medical, Inc.
Mr. Richard Davis has over 14 years of medical device experience, primarily in the areas of general management, product development, clinical research, and operations. Throughout his career he has developed several coronary and peripheral stent designs from concept to clinical evaluation to regulatory approval and sales.
Prior to joining Tryton, Richard held positions at Cordis a Johnson and Johnson company, and Orbus Medical Technologies. During his eight years at Orbus Medical Technologies, Inc. he founded and directed its European operations including the design and formation of manufacturing facilities, sales and marketing, regulatory affairs, and clinical research groups. While at Cordis he led a team composed of representatives from clinical research, regulatory affairs, product development and manufacturing. During his tenure he was responsible for transferring technology from plants in New Jersey and Miami to Roden, the Netherlands.
Richard holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Florida International University.
Geoffrey Erickson, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Humacyte, Inc.
Dr. Erickson joined Humacyte as President and CEO in September 2006. Prior to Humacyte, Dr. Erickson was a Principal with Pappas Ventures, a life-science focused venture capital firm that manages $250 million. Prior to and while at Pappas he was instrumental in many life science company financing transactions as well as designing several startup companies. Dr. Erickson earned his PhD in the Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering Departments at Duke University, where he also currently holds an Assistant Adjunct Professorship in the Department of Surgery.
John P. Funkhouser
President and CEO
nContact Surgical, Inc.
Mr. Funkhouser is a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 20 years specializing in building corporate value by applying strategic vision and incorporating significant financial experience and team oriented operational principles. Mr. Funkhouser previously served as President and CEO of three venture-backed companies including Pharmanetics, Inc., Coeur Laboratories, and Advanced Environmental Technology, Inc. Before beginning an operating career, he was a General Partner of Hillcrest Group, a boutique merchant bank, where he served as lead investor and an active board member of numerous venture-backed companies. Mr. Funkhouser obtained an MBA at Colgate Darden Graduate School, University Of Virginia; and a Bachelor of Arts at Princeton University.
Garheng Kong, M.D., Ph.D.
General Partner
Intersouth Partners
Garheng Kong, General Partner, joined Intersouth Partners in 2000. He has board involvement with most of Intersouth’s life science companies. Garheng has full-cycle investing experience, successfully sourcing, syndicating, managing and exiting investments. He has also served as interim CEO for two Intersouth portfolio companies. Prior to Intersouth, Garheng worked at GlaxoWellcome and McKinsey & Company.
Garheng received his M.D., Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, and M.B.A. from Duke University—graduating at the top of his medical and business school classes. He also holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. He is active in the community and currently serves on the board of directors of the North Carolina Medical Device Organization, the SEBIO organization, the Corporate Chaplains of America and has served on the Duke University Medical Center Institutional Review Board. Garheng is also on faculty at the Duke School of Business as a Senior Scholar.
R. Frederick McCoy
Vice Chairman
Synecor, LLC
Fred McCoy is Vice Chairman of Synecor, LLC (www.synecor.com). Synecor was founded in the year 2000. It has become a successful business accelerator focused on creating highly proprietary, disruptive technologies in the largest medical device and combination drug-device markets. In addition to his duties with Synecor, Mr. McCoy is active in business, academic, and civic pursuits. A native of Laurinburg, North Carolina, Mr. McCoy was graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979. He was graduated with a degree of Master of Management from the Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1981.
Mr. McCoy began his business career with Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. There he worked in a series of assignments of increasing responsibility in finance in the corporate, domestic, international, pharmaceutical, and agricultural businesses of the Company. During part of this early period, he also served as a pharmaceutical sales representative in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1988, Mr. McCoy became Vice President of Finance of Hybritech Incorporated, a Lilly subsidiary, in San Diego, California. In 1991, he became Chief Financial Officer of Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., a Lilly subsidiary, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Mr. McCoy entered general management in 1994 as General Manager, Northwest Operations, in Seattle, Washington. Later in 1994, Guidant Corporation was formed out of the medical technology enterprises of Lilly. In 1995, Mr. McCoy became Vice President of United States Operations – West. In 1997, he moved to Tokyo, Japan as President, Guidant Japan and Asia Pacific Operations. In May of 2000, Mr. McCoy became President, Guidant Cardiac Rhythm Management, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he served until his retirement in March 2006 pending the sale of Guidant.
Mr. McCoy is a member and past chairman of the Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board of Northwestern University. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Andrews Presbyterian College.
David Milne
Managing Partner
SV Life Sciences
David joined SV Life Sciences in 2005 with twenty years of operating experience in several leading medical device corporations. His primary investment focus is the medical device sector where he has made six investments since joining the firm. David currently serves on the boards of AqueSys, Abdominis, CardioMind, EBR Systems, Entellus, OsteoLign, Sadra Medical and Spinal Kinetics. He also serves as an advisor to The Innovation Factory, an Atlanta-based medical device incubator, and to Intersect Partners, a west coast-based technology accelerator. Prior to SV Life Sciences, David spent twelve years at Boston Scientific Corporation. Since 1999, he held the position of Vice President of Corporate Business Development and was responsible for over 50 transactions totaling nearly $2 billion consisting of acquisitions, equity investments and development partnerships. In this role he was a member of the Board of Directors of eight early stage medical devices companies including Cameron Health, NorthStar Neuroscience, CryoVascular Therapeutics and 3F Therapeutics. Prior responsibilities at Boston Scientific included executive positions in several technology and market development groups in both the U.S. and as an expatriate in Europe. He has also held positions in Corporate Planning, Product Management and Sales with Becton Dickinson, Inc. and Parker Laboratories.
Don Munoz
Managing Director, Head of Medical Technology Investment Banking
Leerink Swann
Don joined Leerink Swann in 2005 to lead the Firm’s medical technology investment banking practice. Prior to joining Leerink Swann, Don spent 10 years at Deutsche Bank, BT Alex. Brown, and Alex. Brown & Sons in the health care investment banking group. Before attending business school, Don was a financial analyst in the investment banking department of Kidder, Peabody & Co. During his career, Don has completed over 80 public and private equity offerings, high yield, investment-grade and bank debt transactions, and buy-side and sell-side mergers and acquisitions across all sectors of health care.
Don received his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, where he was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, and his B.A. from Dartmouth College.
Barry S. Myers, M.D., Ph.D., MBA
Anderson-Rupp Professor
Senior Associate Dean for Industrial Partnerships and Research Commercialization
Director, Duke University Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization
Dr. Myers has been a member of the Duke faculty in Biomedical Engineering since 1991. He is Senior Associate Dean for Industrial Partnerships and Research Commercialization in the Pratt School of Engineering where he facilitates technology transfer and industrial interaction, including serving as Project Director for $500,000/year Coulter Translational Research Partnership. He is Director of Duke University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization which is dedicated to creating applied, interdisciplinary classes and co-curricular activities that link the principles of management and education with faculty research innovation to promote research commercialization on campus. Dr. Myers has run a biomechanics consulting firm for 13 years and is an Executive-in-Residence at Pappas Ventures, a bioventure capital firm that invests in early stage biotechnology, pharma, drug delivery, and medical device firms.
Dr. Myers research examines the biomechanics of head impact neck injury with the goal of injury prevention. He is considered by many as the preeminent researcher in his field worldwide, having over 100 manuscripts and publications on the subject. Among Dr. Myers many honors are the Stapp Award of Recognition, and the Isbrandt Award for automotive safety from the Society of Automotive Engineers. He is the six-time winner of the Stapp Award for research in impact biomechanics, more than any other individual, and also the Bertil Aldman award for impact biomechanics research. Dr. Myers has worked with all major organizations concerned with safety in the United States including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. Because of his breadth of experience in injury prevention, Dr. Myers was appointed to the position of Senior Scientific Advisor to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control for two years. He has also consulted with most major automobile manufactures and automotive racing organizations worldwide. Dr. Myers is also a highly regarded educator. He is a Distinguished Professor at Duke University, having received the Bass Chair in recognition of his accomplishments in research and teaching. He is the faculty advisor to four student best graduate student paper competition winners at national meetings. He was responsible for the revision of the Pratt School of Engineering undergraduate curriculum to be implemented in 2004. He has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
John J. Smith, M.D., J.D.
Partner
Hogan & Hartson LLP
John focuses primarily on assisting medical device companies in successfully addressing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory issues. A former associate professor at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, John has extensive regulatory experience both in representing his clients at Hogan & Hartson and as the founding Director of the Regulatory Affairs Program at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT), a nonprofit consortium of the Harvard Medical Institutions and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dedicated to medical product development. He has also served as a consultant to the Radiological Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. In addition to his legal background, John has broad medical practice experience as a board certified, fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologist in both the academic and private practice settings, providing clinical care and taking part in clinical trials.
John has written numerous articles on the regulatory issues surrounding new medical technology in both the medical and legal literature, and has been an invited speaker in a variety of industry, medical, academic, and government settings. He is also active with a number of professional and nonprofit organizations, including the Radiological Society of North America, where he chairs the Committee on Resolutions and Bylaws and the American College of Radiology, where he is the former chair of the Safety Committee.
John’s representative experience includes assisting a company in drafting an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for an implantable motion preserving spinal device; assisting in the preparation of premarket submissions for both diagnostic and therapeutic radiology products for a variety of companies and organizations, ranging from start-ups to major corporations; assisting a company in successfully obtaining an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval for a novel, “first in class” dental therapy device following an initial IDE disapproval letter; reviewing the medical and scientific accuracy of claims made by a company’s competitor in promotional materials and formulating possible regulatory options; assisting a company in drafting the clinical section of its PMA for a “first in class” implantable orthopedic device; and representing multiple clients in successful supervisor appeals at the Center for Device’s and Radiological Health.
Richard West
Chief Executive Officer
Advanced Liquid Logic, Inc.
Rich is CEO of Advanced Liquid Logic, his third early stage company as CEO. Advanced Liquid Logic is a fast-growing Duke technology spinout exploiting a novel microfluidics technology that the company will apply to medical diagnostics and other markets.
Prior to joining Advanced Liquid Logic, Mr. West was founder and CEO of TriVirix, a medical equipment contract manufacturer. Mr. West managed the growth of TriVirix from inception in 1998 to over $70M in revenue, winning #1 in the 2004 Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50 in North Carolina. At TriVirix, Mr. West raised over $40M in private capital and completed three acquisitions.
After earning an engineering degree from Duke University, Mr. West spent fifteen years in the aerospace industry in program, sales, marketing, and engineering management, including four years as a commissioned officer in the US Air Force. In 1996 he joined Tecstar as a general manager of their electronic systems division and left there to found TriVirix.Mr. West has an engineering degree from Duke University, an MBA from the University of West Florida and has completed all requirements except dissertation for a Ph.D. in management from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University. Mr. West serves on the Board for the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and is past Board Chairman for both Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abuse, a non-profit that serves recovering substance abusers, and NCMD, the North Carolina medical device trade association.
Tim Willis
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kolis Scientific, Inc.
Tim Willis is President, CEO & Co-Founder of Kolis Scientific. Tim has over 25 years of medical device industry experience. Tim is an entrepreneur and inventor with fourteen patents and has been responsible for the development and launch 40+ products that today represent over half billion in annual sales. He has co-founded or helped establish 5 medical device companies and one consulting business. He has served roles in senior management, R&D, and corporate and business development at several leading healthcare corporations.
Tim is a scientist and engineer who sit on the Board of Directors of Kolis Scientific, Cascade Ophthalmics, Microsurgical Technology, Life Branch Institute and MAP International. He is a Member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Association of Research in Vision and Optics, and Licensing Executive Society and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.