You are invited to attend:

Life Beyond NSIV: Milestones, Lessons Learned & Words of Wisdom from Our Graduates

Thursday, November 13, 2014, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm 100 Cummings Center, Beverly — Conference Room 221-E  

We are delighted to bring back two NSIV graduates, Joel Berniac of Akrivis Technologies and Scott Sneddon of Sharp Edge Labs, for a panel discussion on life on the other side of the incubator. Moderator Harry McCoy – Chairman of North Shore InnoVentures and President & CEO of Thorne Diagnostics – will set the stage as he teases out their stories while fielding questions from the audience. Now’s your chance to ask those burning questions and get practical advice on making the transition.

About the Panelists:

Joel Berniac is Co-founder and CEO of Akrivis Technologies, a biopharmaceutical startup located in Salem, MA. Akrivis is engaged in the early diagnosis and treatment of serious and life-threatening diseases from the applications of its patented Z-TECT(TM) technology platform. Prior to founding the company, Joel was Associate Director of Business Development at Paratek Pharmaceuticals (Boston), where he oversaw the preclinical research portfolio and out-licensing activities for rheumatoid arthritis. He began his career as a medicinal chemist at Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Joel holds an MBA from Northeastern University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. He also graduated from the French Engineering School ESCIL (now CPE Lyon) in France.

Scott Sneddon is CEO & President of Sharp Edge Labs, Inc., which is headquartered in Pittsburgh. The company develops next-generation biosensors for cellular biology research and high-throughput screening based on Fluorogenic Activating Proteins (FAP). Scott has more than 18 years’ experience in the drug discovery industry, having held leadership positions at Pfizer and Genzyme. He has worked as an attorney handling venture financing, licensing and ongoing strategic operation for over a dozen startup and growth-phase companies in the biotechnology sector. He is also a registered patent attorney. Scott holds a Ph.D. in chemistry & biophysics from Carnegie-Mellon University and a J.D. from Columbia University Law School.

Harry McCoy is Chairman of North Shore InnoVentures and President & CEO of Thorne Diagnostics, a molecular diagnostics company in Beverly, MA. Harry is a former academic who has founded and run private and public Life Sciences (drugs and diagnostics) companies for 30 years. He is also currently Chairman of Alterix (a drug delivery company) and Attogen (a drug discovery company). Harry was Founder of MEDTOX Scientific, which was acquired by LabCorp for $241 million in 2012. He was also Director of Apptec, a venture-backed biopharmaceutical manufacturing firm that was purchased by WuXi PharmaTech. He holds a B.A. in biology from the University of California, San Diego; a Pharm.D. from the University of California, San Francisco; and a post-doctoral fellowship from the University of Minnesota.