John R. Donovan

Alios BioPharma, Inc. operates as a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company which develops novel antiviral therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases. It also develops proprietary chemical libraries of novel nucleosides, nucleoside analogs and non-nucleosides as potential therapeutics for viral infections including RSV, influenza, rhinovirus and emerging viral diseases. The firm offers VX-135, a uridine nucleotide analog for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The company was founded by Leonid N. Beigelman, Lawrence M. Blatt and John R. Donovan in 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

InterMune, Inc. operates as a biotechnology company that researches, develops and commercializes therapies in pulmonology and orphan fibrotic diseases. It focuses on therapies for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and fatal lung disease. The firms research programs are focused on the discovery of targeted, small-molecule therapeutics and biomarkers to treat and monitor serious pulmonary and fibrotic diseases. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.

CoMentis, Inc. focuses on developing drugs to treat various central nervous system disorders. Its research and development spectrum include BACE inhibitors and modulators of the a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (NAChR). The company was founded by John P. Cooke and Muralitharan Kengatharan in 2006 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Banc of America Securities (BAS) is the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). The firm provides both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursues a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with investment banking advice and services. They provide high-yield debt underwriting and leveraged finance, in addition to industry coverage groups such as healthcare, media and telecom, financial institutions, real estate and gaming. BAS also does a significant amount of work for Financial Sponsors, or private equity firms, often financing leveraged transactions. Following the strategy of Goldman Sachs, the firm lacks a standalone mergers and acquisitions department, instead employing mergers and acquisitions senior bankers throughout the industry coverage groups. The firm is registered as a broker/dealer with the SEC, is a member of the NYSE, and the NASD. The use of Banc in the BAS's name is indicative of the fact that the company is not a bank, and their deposits and other holdings are not insured by the FDIC.

Arch Oncology, Inc. develops drugs for life-threatening disorders. Its products include anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody, CD47 antisense oligonucleotide, and a small molecule CD47 inhibitor. The company was founded by William A. Frazier and Jeffrey S. Isenberg in 2006 and is headquartered in Brisbane, CA.

Tolerion, Inc. operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm. It develops and commercializes therapeutics. The firm provides TOL-3034 and TOL-3052 to treat myasthenia gravis and neuromyelitis optica. The company was founded by Lawrence J. Steinman and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.