Have you ever wondered how biotech startups get their funding or how they identify monetization strategies for their products? This panel discussion event will focus on the role of investment banks and venture capital groups in getting scientific research funded and out in the public. Our speakers will discuss how investment banks identify promising scientific advances, evaluate strategies, and harness the power of capital to bring ideas to life. We will hear from life sciences graduates who have successfully made a transition into the world of investment banking and are now changing the face of biotech business in Canada.

The Science to Business Network (www.s2bn.org) was founded 10 years ago to break down silos between universities, industry, government and the non-profit sector and to foster a culture of collaboration, partnership and mutual understanding. Importantly, the S2BN has been focused on building a network of innovative and creative individuals within and around STEM disciplines. Through panel discussions, workshops, mentoring programs, a podcast and other collaborative initiatives, the S2BN now has 9 chapters across Canada led by more than 70 grassroots volunteers whose activities now reach more than 2500 people a year.

Objectives

Introduce students and early career professionals to the roles investment banks and venture capital firms play for the biotechnology industry
Identify key qualifications for candidates interested in transitioning into the investment banking and venture capital industry careers
Provide information on how a scientific project is evaluated based on the investment banking criteria

Speaker Information

Evelyn Pau, PhD
Vice President, Investment Banking and Recruiting Lead
Bloom Burton

Evelyn Pau, Vice President, Investment Banking and Recruiting Lead joined Bloom Burton & Co. as an Analyst in November 2012. At Bloom Burton, her responsibilities include monetization planning, strategy consulting, and scientific, clinical and medical due diligence for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare companies. Evelyn also heads Bloom Burton’s recruiting and talent management efforts as the Recruiting Lead.
Prior to joining Bloom Burton, Evelyn was a business development analyst at Tornado Medical Systems (now Tornado Spectral Systems) and a research fellow at SECOR Consulting (now KPMG). Evelyn completed her PhD in Immunology at the University of Toronto, specializing in genetics and autoimmunity, and her Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours in Microbiology and Immunology at Western University.
Currently, Evelyn serves on the Board of Directors of the McMaster Innovation Park.

Bharat Srinivasa, PhD
Principal
Amplitude Ventures

Bharat Srinivasa is a co-founder and principal at Amplitude where he is involved in all aspects of deal flow including proving leadership in sourcing, diligence, and negotiation. Prior to Amplitude, he was on the investment team at the BDC Healthcare Fund, where he was involved in taking multiple companies public. Prior to his VC career, Bharat was a consultant in forecasting and valuation practice at Foster Rosenblatt, an international life science consulting firm for biotech and pharma companies where he was responsible for providing business intelligence and commercial analytics and pricing & market access analysis. Bharat has a PhD in Experimental Medicine and Masters of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University.

Suman Rao, PhD
Associate
Lumira Ventures

Suman comes from a strong life science background, with special expertise in oncology and developing multi-targeted strategies to treat advanced cancers. Suman joined Lumira in 2021 as an Associate and focuses on conducting scientific and technical diligence of investment opportunities. She remains extremely passionate about understanding drivers of complex diseases and through her work at Lumira Ventures, hopes to bring novel therapies to patients by promoting cutting-edge technologies and medicines.
Prior to joining Lumira Ventures, Suman worked in healthcare consulting at L.E.K. Consulting in Boston as a Life Sciences Specialist. During her time at L.E.K., she provided strategic advice on growth opportunities, pipeline expansion, potential M&A partnerships and financial modeling. Before joining L.E.K., Suman spent 4 years doing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. During this time, she worked with a multidisciplinary team to develop therapies to treat advanced cancers.

Paras Sharma, MSc
Associate
Genesys Capital

Paras came to the Genesys team from adMare Bioinnovations, where he was responsible for proactive identification of new opportunities, deal sourcing, financial valuations and company creation. Prior to his time at adMare, he served as a Management Consultant providing primary strategic insights to big pharma, and as a Venture Manager at the CDL.
Mr. Sharma has also held various scientific roles in early drug discovery group at Eisai Inc. and in clinical biomarker group at Alexion Pharma. He spent his early career in academic research at Abramson Cancer Center at UPenn.
He holds a Bachelor of Technology from Amity University, a Master of Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Sauder School of Business in University of British Columbia.