Who Will Survive the Biotech VC Downturn? The Young and the Proven

Amir Nashat
General Partner, Polaris Venture Partners
Age: 39
Avila Therapeutics (acquired by Celgene)
Adnexus Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb)
Athenix (acquired by Bayer)

Bob Nelsen [Updated 12/10/12]
Co-founder and managing director, ARCH Venture Partners
Age: 49
deCode Genetics (acquired by Amgen) [Added: 12/10/12]
Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]])
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]])
Aviron (acquired by MedImmune)
Array Biopharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARRY]])
Ikaria (exit achieved through private financing/dividend payment)
Caliper Life Sciences (acquired by PerkinElmer)
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KYTH]])
Xenoport (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XNPT]])
Omeros (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OMER]])
Trubion Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Emergent BioSolutions)
Adolor (acquired by Cubist Pharmaceuticals)
GenVec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GNVC]])
Genomica (acquired by Exelixis)
Idun Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer)

Brendan O’ Leary [Added:11:40 am ET]
General Partner, Prism VentureWorks
Age: 40
BioRexis Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer)
Serica (acquired by Allergan)
Atritech (acquired by Boston Scientific)
Trius Therapeutics (Nasdaq: [[ticker:TSRX]])

Adele Oliva
Partner, Quaker Partners
Age: 45
Prometheus Laboratories (acquired by Nestle)
Ascent Healthcare Solutions (acquired by Stryker)
ESP Pharma (acquired by PDL Biopharma)
Esprit Pharma (acquired by Allergan)

Deepa Pakianathan [Updated:3:10 pm ET]
General Partner, Delphi Ventures
Age: 47
Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]])
Proteolix (acquired by Onyx Pharmaceuticals)
Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen)
Salmedix (acquired by Cephalon)
KAI Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Amgen)
Alexza Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALXA]])

Bryan Roberts
Partner, Venrock Associates
Age: 45
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRWD]])
Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]])
AthenaHealth (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATHN]])
Xenoport (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XNPT]])
Ikaria (shareholder dividend payment)
Sirna Therapeutics (acquired by Merck)
Corderyte (acquired by 3M)
Zeltiq Aesthetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZLTQ]])
Ensure Medical (acquired by Johnson & Johnson)

Bijan Salehizadeh
Co-founder and managing director, NaviMed Capital Advisors
Age: 39
Hyperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HPTX]])
AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVEO]])
Barrx Medical (acquired by Covidien)
Conor Medsystems (acquired by Johnson & Johnson)

Camille Samuels*Samuels plans to stay in venture capital, but half time vs. full-time is still to be determined.
Managing director, Versant Ventures
Age: 41
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KYTH]])
Novacardia (acquired by Merck)
ParAllele Bioscience (acquired by Affymetrix)

David Schnell
Co-founder and managing director, Prospect Venture Partners
Age: 52
Gloucester Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene)
Rinat Neurosciences (acquired by Pfizer)
Amira Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb)
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KYTH]])
Trubion Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Emergent BioSolutions)
Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBIX]])

Andy Schwab [Added:4:20 pm ET]
Co-founder and Managing Partner, 5AM Ventures
Age: 41
Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen)
Panomics (acquired by Affymetrix)
Ikaria (shareholder dividend)
Synosia (acquired by Biotie)

Jonathan Silverstein [Added: 11:15 am ET]
Partner, OrbiMed Advisors
Age: 45
Adiana (acquired by Cytic)
Bioenvision (acquired by Genzyme)
Cerexa (acquired by Forest)
Enobia (acquired by Alexion)
Given Imaging ((NASDAQ: [[ticker:GIVN]])
Insulet (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PODD]])
Intercept (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INCP]])
LifeCell (acquired by Kinetic Concepts)
NxStage (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NXTM]])
Peninsula Pharmaceuticals (acquired by JNJ)
SuperDimension (acquired by Covidien)

Risa Stack
Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Age: 43
Trius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TSRX]])
Pacific Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PACB]])
Corthera (acquired by Novartis)

Jamie Topper
General partner, Frazier Healthcare Ventures
Age: 50
Calistoga Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Gilead Sciences)
Alnara Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly)
CoTherix (acquired by Actelion)

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.