Dr. Ferenc Darvas
Chemist, researcher, inventor and President of ThalesNano Nanotechnology Inc.

Dr. Darvas developed the first industrialized solution- phase combinatorial synthesis technology (CMT), which was realized by ComGenex, the first European combinatorial chemistry corporation in 1992. In the mid-90's Dr. Darvas focused to high-throughput ADME methodologies in combinatorial design, then to introduce combinatorial methodologies into chemical genomics, and, recently, to use micro- and nanoscale flow reaction technologies for combinatorial synthesis and lead optimization.

Dr. Darvas received his first degree in organic chemistry, another in computer science, and his PhD. in the use of artificial intelligence in drug design. Dr. Darvas is co-founder of the International Society for QSAR, of the Society for Biomolecular Screening (SBS), and of the Hungarian Chapter of the American Chemical Society. Dr Darvas is also the originator and one of the founders of the Hungarian Biotechnology Association. He is also the founder of ComGenex and the founder and the President of ThalesNano Inc.

In 2005 ThalesNano Inc. has won the American R&D 100 Award, otherwise known as the "Innovation Oscar" and also the Hungarian Industry Innovation Prize.

Dr. Darvas is the author of around 100 publications and a number of patents. He has been awarded with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) research prize (1978), Prominent Entrepreneur prize of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce in New York (1995) and the Gabor Denes prize (2001).

Károly Nikolich, Ph.D.
CEO, Amnestix Inc.

Károly Nikolich has been the US partner and advisor of dievini Hopp investments since 2007, supporting the portfolio companies in strategic activities. He has also served as CEO of Amnestix, Inc, and as board and SAB member of several biotech companies. Before joining dievini, he was executive director of the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University.

Károly co-founded several biotech companies, including AGY Therapeutics with Bob Swanson in 1998. He started his career in the biotech industry as a scientist at Genentech 25 years ago where he initiated and built the company's first neuroscience research program. Later, he was Vice President of Research at Lynx Therapeutics (acquired by Solexa/Illumina). Károly is also Consulting Professor at Stanford Univeristy Medical School and was formerly Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California. As a scientist he co-authored 125 publications. He has been an investment advisor to several public and private venture funds.

Károly is a graduate of Eotvos University in Budapest, Hungary, and conducted postdoctoral studies at Tulane University in New Orleans and at the University of California San Francisco.

Elemer Piros, Ph.D.
Senior Biotechnology Analyst, Rodman & Renshaw

Peviously, Dr. Piros was a buyside biotechnology analyst at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. From 1990 to 2000, Dr. Piros conducted academic research in the field of neuroscience, focusing on understanding the molecular mechanism of communication in the nervous system. He has published his findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Piros earned degrees in mathematics and in biology and a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of California at Los Angeles. He then completed post-doctoral training at Cornell University Medical College in New York.

Dr. Piros has been named as the #1 stock-picker in Biotechnology in The Wall Street Journal's annual "Best on the Street" survey in 2007. In 2008, the Financial Times ranked Dr. Piros amongst the top three earnings estimators in the Pharmaceutical industry.

Currently, Dr. Piros research universe includes emerging biotechnology companies that develop products addressing the nervous system and cancer.

Dr. Drew Senyei
M.D., entrepreneur, Managing Director at Enterprise Partners Venture Capital

Drew Senyei focuses on investments in pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices and consumer healthcare. He has served on over 25 public and private boards including Adeza Biomedical, NuVasive, Corixa Corp., Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Nanogen, Inc., and Discovery Partners. He currently sits on the boards of Enterprise portfolio companies including: Anaborex, Ascenta Therapeutics, Celladon, Ceula, Complete Genomics, Genoptix, Ophthonix, and TargeGen.

Prior to joining Enterprise Partners in 1987, he was a physician and entrepreneur. While still a medical student at Northwestern University, he developed a drug delivery device and licensed it to Eli Lilly. Subsequently he joined Lilly as consultant while completing his internship at the University of California Irvine. Dr. Senyei holds a B.S. from Occidental College and an M.D. from Northwestern University. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Irvine, and holds 20 patents in healthcare related products and services including the first and only biochemical test that predicts preterm delivery. He also founded Equity in Education at The Bishops School to encourage entrepreneurs to donate stock for educational programs. He is a member of Northwestern University's board of trustees, he is chairman of the board of UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering and is a member of the board of advisors for UCSD's School of Medicine. Dr. Senyei is on San Diego's BIOCOM board of directors and also serves as president of the San Diego Opera. In January, 2006, he was named one of the Top 100 VC's in Forbes Magazine's 2006 Annual Midas List.

S. George Simon
President & CEO, MediProPharma, Inc.

Mr. Simon has over 20 years of worldwide business development, licensing and product development experience with numerous biotechnology, drug delivery and medical device companies. Currently, he is President & CEO of MediProPharma, Inc., a Salt Lake City-based drug development company.

Previously, Mr. Simon was Executive Vice President at Myriad Genetics, Inc. where he was responsible for business development and licensing. During his seven year tenure, he negotiated numerous collaborative research, license, joint venture agreements and acquisitions. In addition, Mr. Simon was the principle negotiator and deal architect for the largest Series A financing in the biotech industry - raising $82 million in joint venture with Hitachi and Oracle.

Prior to working with Myriad Genetics, Mr. Simon was Vice President of Business Development at MorphoGen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focusing on the commercial development of adult-derived pluripotent stem cells. Additional corporate experience includes working with Angstrom Pharmaceuticals, VivoRx (Abraxis BioSciences), VivoMetrics, and Maret Pharmaceuticals.

Along with his extensive corporate experience, Mr. Simon spent approximately nine years advising foreign governments on investment and trade relations with the United States. He spent seven years as a Commercial Officer at the Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles assisting in the economic development and commercialization of the Canadian biotechnology industry. In this capacity, he worked closely with universities, start-ups, major pharmaceutical and regulatory agencies. Mr. Simon was the Founder and Editor of the U.S. Biotechnology Market Newsletter and established the Canada-Orange County Biotechnology Forum. Previously, he worked as the Marketing Officer at the New Zealand Consulate in Los Angeles.

Mr. Simon is a long-standing member and Chair Emeritus of the Healthcare Committee of the Licensing Executives Society. Mr. Simon graduated from California State University, Long Beach and received his B.S. in Finance and a minor in Business Economics. He has also successfully completed the International Business Management Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.