Preparing the Board for M&A and Managing an M&A process – Synthoryx
Chapter Co-Chair Carol Gallagher will moderate a panel discussion on how growth company boards can prepare for the M&A process. They will discuss the process by which local LaJolla-based company Synthorx was acquired for $2.5bln by French drugmaker Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) in December 2019, after having been in Series B $10mln capital-raising mode as recently as 2016. Laura Shawver, former CEO of Synthoryx, will give her perspective of how to work with a board for a successful exit. Vickie Capps will add her perspective as a Board Member of Synthoryx as an investor from Silverback Therapeutics. Ken Rollins, Partner at Cooley, will speak from the legal advisor perspective on the general topic of Board preparation for this type of M&A deal.
Speakers:
Vicki Capps
Vickie Capps is known for her exceptionally strong skill set consisting of executive leadership and mentoring, global strategic business development, corporate finance and accounting, capital markets and investor relations, operations, business integration/restructuring and corporate governance.
Vickie is currently a member of the Senior Advisory Board of Consonance Capital Partners, a healthcare focused private equity firm. She is also a member of the board of directors and the audit committee chair of each of NuVasive, Inc., a public medical device company (Nasdaq:NUVA), Otonomy, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company (Nasdaq:OTIC) and Amedisys, Inc., a public home health and hospice company (Nasdaq:AMED). Vickie is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Silverback Therapeutics, Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company, and OmniGuide, Inc., a private medical device company. She previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Synthorx, Inc. (Nasdaq), prior to its sale to Sanofi in January 2020, Enclara Pharmacia (Private), prior to its sale to Humana in January 2020, Connecture, Inc. (Nasdaq), prior to its being taken private by Francisco Partners in April 2018, RF Surgical Systems (Private) prior to its acquisition by Medtronic in August 2015 and SenoRx (Nasdaq), prior to its acquisition by C. R. Bard, Inc. in July 2010. She is also a member of the board of directors of the San Diego State University Research Foundation.
Vickie has had a distinguished career in finance and executive leadership. After she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting from San Diego State University, she began her career with Ernst & Young LLP and served 10 years as a senior audit and accounting professional. Her subsequent work experience included CFO positions at several multinational corporations. Ms. Capps is a California Certified Public Accountant and was recognized as a CFO of the Year honoree by the San Diego Business Journal in 2009 and 2010.
Carol G. Gallagher, Pharm.D.
Carol Gallagher joined New Enterprise Associates as a partner in October, 2014 and has focused on making investments in early-stage biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining NEA, Dr. Gallagher had a twenty-five-year career as an operator in commercial, drug development and business development roles in both large and small biopharma companies. From 2008-2011, she was the CEO of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Gilead in 2011 and their lead program was approved for treatment of patients with select blood cancers in 2014 in both the US and EU. Starting in 2011 as Executive Chairman of AnaptysBio, Dr. Gallagher has provided independent board services to life science companies. She was Chairman when AnaptysBio went public in 2017. She was also an independent director at Aragon Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Johnson and Johnson in 2013. She previously served as an independent director at eFFECTOR Therapeutics. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Millendo Therapeutics (MLND), and as a director at Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA), Turning Point Therapeutics (TPTX), Annexon (ANNX), Metacrine, PIONYR Immunotherapeutics, QPEX Biopharmaceuticals, and Chromacode. She has been closely involved in taking companies public and in mergers and acquisitions. In her operating roles and as an independent board member, she has been involved in the development of three cancer therapies that are FDA-approved and benefiting patients.
Laura Shawver
Dr. Shawver is an experienced Biotech executive with more than 25 years of experience in the development of drugs for cancer and other serious diseases. Since April of 2020, she is President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Silverback Therapeutics™, focused on the ImmunoTAC™ platform which allows for systemic administration of drugs that are tissue directed and locally active. From November 2017 – February 2020, Dr. Shawver was President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Synthorx, Inc, acquired by Sanofi in January 2020 for $2.5B. Prior to Synthorx, she was CEO and Director for Cleave Biosciences from 2011 – 2017 and previously, Entrepreneur in Residence for 5AM Ventures from 2010 – 2011, CEO and Director of Phenomix from 2002 – 2010, President of SUGEN Inc (acquired by Pharmacia) from 2000 after holding various positions since 1992, and a scientist at Berlex Biosciences, formerly known as Triton Biosciences, from 1989 – 1992. Dr. Shawver is the Founder of The Clearity Foundation, a nonprofit organization helping women with ovarian cancer to improve their treatment options. She received her PhD in Pharmacology and a BS degree in Microbiology, both from the University of Iowa.
Ken Rollins
Cooley
Thank you to our 2020 SD WCD Sponsors!