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"M&A-o-rama! -- New Developments in Public Company M&A versus "Pirate"
Equity, Leveraged Buy-outs, Asset Stripping & Value Miscreation!"

Tuesday, January 16, 2007
6:00-8:00 p.m.

Sponsored by:

TBA

SPEAKERS:
DUANE J. ROTH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CONNECT
DAVID F. HALE, CHAIRMAN, HALE BIOPHARMA VENTURES LLC
STEPHEN W. KALDOR, Ph.D., PRESIDENT & CSO, TAKEDA SAN DIEGO
Moderator:
DAVID PALELLA, PRESIDENT, BIOSCIENCE VENTURES, INC. and CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, THE PALELLA FAMILY FOUNDATION

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
2006 witnessed a Cambrian Explosion of M&A deals and new debt-based M&A strategies spawned by an ocean of cheap liquidity courtesy of central banks round-the-clock printing of fiat currencies and relatively low worldwide interest rates. Public company, equity-based M&A was also rampant with a bevy of new deals announced almost every Monday during October - December. M&A activity for 2006 totaled almost US$ 4 trillion, exceeding the record dot-com boom all-you-can eat M&A binge of the year 2000. Novel or mega-deals occurred in various industries including semiconductors, casinos, natural resources, oil & gas, biotechnology, internet technologies and software.

Notable public-equity or public all-cash deals included Google's acquisition of YouTube, Gilead's ingestion of Myogen, Eli Lilly's buy of ICOS and Ericsson's acquisition of RedBack Networks. Interesting "going private" M&A deals employing super-sized buckets of almost-free debt included take-outs of Linear Technology, Harrah's Entertainment, Kinder-Morgan Inc., W.L. Ross & Co., HCA and dozens more.

So whether or not the IPO window stays open, will 2007 really be the over-the-top Year of the Pig for M&A that everyone expects? And what's in store for M&A in the San Diego area? How will private San Diego companies realize liquidity for their investors, and how will public companies maximize their stock prices before someone else does it for them? More importantly, will M&A create value and jobs in San Diego, or destroy them? Join our cabal of pan-industry glitterati with decades of M&A expertise to learn when we can expect the first management-led buy-out of a biotech company in San Diego, and when IBM might acquire QualComm and relocate the company to Armonk, NY!

After a long holiday idyll, get recharged and reconnected with your LES colleagues at this kick-off meeting of our 2007 programming schedule.

DATE:
Tuesday, January 16, 2007

TIME:
6:00 p.m. – 6:50 Registration, Networking, Cocktails and Appetizers
6:50 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Chapter Business
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Panel Discussion

LOCATION:
Marriott San Diego La Jolla, 4240 La Jolla Village Drive

COST:
Pre-Register by 12 noon on Monday, January 15

$35 Members by Monday, January 15, $45 at the door (cash or check only)
$40 Non-Members by Monday, January 15, $50 at the door (cash or check only)

$20 Member Student Rate by Monday, January 15, $20 at the door (cash or check only)
$25 Non-Member Student Rate by Monday, January 15, $25 at the door (cash or check only)

REGISTRATION OPTIONS:
You have the option of registering online and paying either by credit card OR check

Pre-registration not only guarantees you a seat, but it also saves you $10.

LES Members, click here to register online with your credit card;

Non-Members, click here to register with your credit card;

LES Student Members, click here to register with your credit card;

Non-Member Students, click here to register with your credit card;

Seating is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis. Please note that we will still need to receive your reservation by Friday, January 12, to guarantee your registration. The address to mail your check to is:

Chris Steinhardt
c/o Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
550 West C Street, Suite 1200
San Diego, CA 92101
619-235-8550 619-235-0176 Fax
e-mail: csteinhardt@kmob.com

For additional information, please contact:

NOTE:   This presentation will qualify for MCLE credit

PANELISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Duane J. Roth – Chief Executive Officer – CONNECT.
Duane J. Roth is Chief Executive Officer of CONNECT, a globally recognized, non-profit organization fostering entrepreneurship in the San Diego region by catalyzing, accelerating, and supporting the growth of the most promising technology and life sciences businesses. Focused on assisting start-up companies in the San Diego region, CONNECT has been directly involved with over 1000 companies since its inception in 1985. Prior to joining CONNECT; Mr. Roth founded Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. where he still serves as Chairman of the Board. Prior to founding Alliance, Mr. Roth held senior management positions at Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth operating companies. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors and executive committees of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the California Healthcare Institute (CHI), and BIOCOM (past Chair). Mr. Roth serves on a number of advisory committees and boards of the University of California, including the President’s Board on Science and Innovation, the UCSD Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center (past Chair), the San Diego Science and Technology Council, the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the UCSD Rady School of Management, the Preuss Charter School (Chair), and the UC San Diego Foundation Board (past Chair). Mr. Roth is active in the San Diego community, serving on the board of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (past Chair), the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Club of San Diego (past Chair), the San Diego State University College of Business (past Chair), San Diego State University Sciences & Engineering Deans' Advisory Board, and as co-Chair of the Regional Housing Working Group. Mr. Roth is a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California Commission For Jobs and Economic Growth and a member of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). He is a graduate of Iowa Wesleyan College, where he serves as a trustee.

David F. Hale – Chairman – Hale Biopharma Ventures LLC
David Hale is a biopharmaceutical serial entrepreneur who has been involved in the start-up or development of over 15 biopharmaceutical companies. After sales, marketing and general management positions with J&J and Becton Dickinson & Co., he joined Hybritech in 1982 as COO, President and later CEO. He joined Gensia as a start-up as Chairman, President & CEO, was co-founder and Chairman of Viagene, Inc. and founding President & CEO of CancerVax Corporation. He is a co-founder of Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Verus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cadence Pharmaceuticals and Zogenix, Inc. He currently serves as Chairman of Somaxon, Metabasis Therapeutics, Santarus, Inc. Micromet, Inc. and SkinMedica, Inc. and serves on the board of Verus and Conatus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also is a co-founder and serves on the boards of BIOCOM and the California Healthcare Institute and is on the boards of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Rady Children’s Hospital and the Burnham Institute.

Stephen W. Kaldor, Ph.D. – President & CSO – Takeda San Diego
Dr. Kaldor is the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Takeda San Diego, Inc., the US Discovery Research Center for Takeda Pharmaceuticals.  He instigated and led the March 2005 $270MM acquisition of Syrrx by Takeda that resulted in the creation of Takeda San Diego, Inc.
 
Dr. Kaldor joined Syrrx, a privately held structure-based drug discovery company, in 2002 as Chief Scientific Officer.  He was promoted to the Syrrx Board of Directors as President and CSO in 2003, and ran all aspects of the company for two years prior to its acquisition by Takeda.  Dr. Kaldor was instrumental in establishing strategic partnerships with multiple companies including PPD and Roche, and also built Syrrx into a highly productive metabolic diseases and oncology R&D operation.  SYR322, an oral diabetes drug candidate discovered by Syrrx, is currently in Phase III clinical trials.

Prior to joining Syrrx, Dr. Kaldor gained over 12 years of drug discovery and development experience at Eli Lilly and Company as both a researcher and Director.   He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard University and his B.A. from Columbia University.  Dr. Kaldor is the co-inventor of multiple compounds that have advanced into the clinic including ViraceptTM, a marketed HIV protease inhibitor, and is the recipient of various honors including the 1999 PhRMA Discoverer’s Award.

David Palella – President – BioScience Ventures, Inc.
David Palella is President of BioScience Ventures, Inc., a San Diego-based consulting firm founded in 1991, specializing in global strategic alliances, business development and M&A advisory in the biopharmaceutical field. David has extensive business expertise in the areas of therapeutic antibodies & proteins, oncology, autoimmune & infectious diseases, and specialty pharmaceuticals. He is also a private investor and holds stock positions, warrants or options in several private American biotech companies.

Past and current clients of BioScience Ventures include ICOS Corp.; Takeda Chemical Industries; Biosite; Diversa; Maxygen; Avid Bioservices; Prometheus Laboratories; Myriad Genetics; Karo Bio AB; SangStat; EPIcyte; Structural Bioinformatics; CombiChem; Eisai Co.; Hisamitsu; Mitsubishi Chemical; Nippon Kayaku; Sumitomo Chemical; and Teijin.

David has spoken at biotech conferences around the world on competitive and technology trends in the therapeutic antibody/protein, oncology and specialty pharma areas, including in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, Germany, Japan, and at many events in the U.S.

David received an MBA, BS and BA from Arizona State University and an MS in Japanese Business Studies (MSJBS) from Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii.