Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador and founder or Bioquark, interviews Fred Frank, Founder and Chair of Evolution Life Science Partners, an investment bank focused on the needs of life sciences and healthcare companies.
Ira Pastor comments:
On several recent shows we’ve been discussing some of the novel and alternative funding pools that have been emerging in and around the biotech space, specifically related to some of the unmet medical needs of which we have been focusing on, on the ideaXme show, particularly related to the age-tech and longevity biotech fronts.
We have had guests join us from both the $125 Million Healthy Ageing Challenge program of UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) and the $30 Million Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine. We have also talked to folks at the XPRIZE Foundation, specifically related to their upcoming inducement prize contest for therapeutics for the diseases of aging.
However, today we are going to get back to basics; “Back to the street” as they say, to Wall Street, where the majority of the big action and big deals occur.
Fred Frank Is One of the First Investment Bankers in Biotechnology
I’m honored to be joined this morning by Mr. Fred Frank.
Mr. Frank is an investment banker, and with more than 50 years of experience on Wall Street, is widely considered to be one of the first investment bankers to have ever specialized in the areas of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and health care services.
Routinely listed as one of the top contributors to the world of biotechnology, Mr. Frank has served in a variety of roles over the years including, but not limited to, Vice Chairman at Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital, and the Peter J. Solomon Company.
He is credited as lead underwriter for over 125 IPOs, and as a negotiator in over 75 mergers and acquisitions, including the mega Bristol-Myers Squibb merger, and the Hoffmann-La Roche acquisition of Genentech.
He was around doing deals when companies like Genentech and Cetus (which eventually became Chiron) were tiny startups, so has really seen the evolution of this business from the very beginning.
Mr. Frank’s Work Contributes to Life Sciences and Healthcare Companies
Mr. Frank is currently the founder and chair of Evolution Life Science Partners, an investment bank focused on the needs of life sciences and healthcare companies, including capital raising, licensing/partnering, and M&A, and it’s partners have executed hundreds of deals with an aggregate value in excess of $125 Billion.
Along with his wife Ms. Mary Tanner, another major bio/health investment banking force on Wall Street, Mr. Frank is Trustee of the Tanner Frank Foundation of New York City which is involved in a variety of charitable giving activities.
Mr. Frank has won numerous awards over the years including The Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award which recognizes “outstanding contributions by a leader who provides products or services vital to the continuing growth and development of the chemical and molecular sciences community”, the Albert Einstein Award from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the Top 100 living contributors to biotechnology by the Reed Elsevier organization.
On this show we will hear from Mr. Frank:
About his background, how he became interested in investment banking, in biotech/healthcare M&A deals, the early days of recombinant DNA technology development and his realization of what a game-changing opportunity it was for the industry in the 1970s. His views on the current big pharma / biotech M&A balance dynamics in 2020. His views on the “Unicorn” biotech phenomena, a term used in the venture capital industry to describe privately held startup companies with a value of over $1 billion. Finally, we’ll hear his views on the current state of the biotech venture capital industry, as well as the longevity/anti-aging biotech segment.
Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio.
Follow Ira Pastor on Twitter: @IraSamuelPastor
If you liked this interview, be sure to check out our interview with Dr. Roey Tzezana, lead researcher at XPRIZE!
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