IN-DEPTH TECHNICAL & INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE
CONSOLIDATED IN-MARKETS
TRACK RECORD IN HEALTHCARE TRANSACTIONS
GABRIELA CEZAR
CEO & PRINCIPAL PARTNER
Gabby Cezar founded Panarea Partners in October 2015 with leading US investors to deliver business growth & investments to healthcare and life sciences in Latin America & Africa.
She has 10+ years of exclusive focus in growth markets and a remarkable track record in R&D and commercial transactions in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa, with US$500MM in investments across multiple projects and programs she created and delivered to Latin America between 2009 and 20015.
From 2012 until October 2015, Dr. Cezar served as Senior Director and Head of Pfizer ERDI (External Research & Development Innovation) in Latin America and South Africa.
She is also the co-founder and former Chief Scientific Officer of Stemina Biomarker Discovery, in Madison, WI, which commercializes stem cell metabolomics and biomarkers based on her intellectual property at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Stemina is currently advancing the largest US-based clinical trial for a candidate metabolomics-based autism diagnostic.
She was a former senior scientist in Pfizer´s Global Research and Development in Groton, CT, USA, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA), where she was awarded NIH (National Institutes of Health) investments for her research programs in stem cell biology and neurodevelopmental disorders. From 2008-March 2012, as Managing Director Latin America of Burrill & Company, a US-based venture capital firm, Gabby led the fund raising and development of a US$120MM life sciences-focused venture capital fund in Brazil, where Pfizer Ventures is one of the investors, along with leading regional institutional (BNDES, FINEP, FUNCEF, Investe Rio, Desenvolve SP, CAF, IADB-Fumin) and strategic private investors (Thermo Fisher Scientific, former Life Technologies).
Dr. Cezar has been recognized with important global life sciences industry awards, namely a W.E. Upjohn Award and Pfizer Worldwide Innovation Award in 2013, "Top 40 Under 40" from InBusiness magazine, and was named by Forbes Magazine as “one of twelve stem cell revolutionaries” in 2008. She received a Veterinary Medicine degree from UFMS (Brazil), MS from Universidade de Brasilia (Brazil), MS from The University of Edinburgh (Scotland) and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA).
FRED CRAVES
PARTNER
Fred Craves, PhD, is the Founder of Bay City Capital. Since launching the firm in 1997, Fred has built Bay City Capital to become one of the world’s premier life science investment firms investing in nearly 100 companies and raising more than $1.6 billion.
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As a leader in healthcare venture capital, Dr. Craves brings both scientific skills and deep operational expertise to the companies in which he invests. This allows him to source outstanding investment opportunities and to support exceptional management teams in creating value. He has been associated with some of the most significant exits in the biopharmaceutical industry including Reliant Pharmaceuticals, a company he founded then sold to GlaxoSmithKline in 2007 in the single largest all-cash transaction for a venture-backed biotech company at that time.
He has served as Executive Vice President of Schering Berlin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Berlex Biosciences, Founding Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Codon, and co-founder of Creative Biomolecules.
Dr. Craves has been named to the Forbes Midas List, which recognizes the most successful investors in the venture capital asset class across both the technology and healthcare industries. He currently serves on the Boards of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Reset Therapeutics and Dermira. Previous investments and board participation, in addition to Reliant, include Medarex, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, and Ion Torrent. Dr. Craves serves as a member of The J. David Gladstone Institutes’ Advisory Council and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He earned a BS in Biology from Georgetown University and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California, San Francisco.
SHELLEY DES ETAGES-WONG
ASSOCIATE PARTNER
Dr. Shelley Ann des Etages-Wong has over ten years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector where she specialized in using genomic approaches in the identification and validation of drug targets and biomarkers across multiple therapeutic areas.
Dr. des Etages-Wong also engaged in due diligence evaluation of technologies and played a key role in Pfizer collaborations and transactions with academic and industry partners.
Her efforts included associations with Affymetrix Inc., Gene Logic, Ingenuity, Gene News and Gene Expression Inc. among others.
She is a recipient of both the Pfizer Achievement and People Leader Awards. Dr. des Etages-Wong holds a certificate in Drug Development from Temple University School of Pharmacy and a doctorate in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Rutgers University.
TIM OPLER
SENIOR ADVISOR
Tim is a Partner and Co-Founder of Torreya Partners, a premier US boutique healthcare investment banking firm launched in 2007, after a career working in large investment banks and being an academic researcher in finance. Tim takes pride in providing rigorous long-term advice to companies. He has completed more than 150 life sciences financing, licensing and M&A transactions with a value in excess of $100 billion. Tim was previously VP of Strategy at FibroGen; a Managing Director in Healthcare Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston and a finance professor at Ohio State University. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from UCLA and a B.A. from Florida State University.
CAROLINA GEBRIN
Administrative and Project Manager
Carolina holds a degree in Architecture and Urbanism, and from 2010 to 2017 was a partner at Def Projetos (formerly De Fournier Associados), one of the largest urban planning offices in Brazil, with a portfolio of more than 190 million m² of urbanized area, in addition to in medium and large architectural projects in the country and abroad.
Since 2018, she joined Panarea Partners' team and was responsible for the bidding processes and management of the Latam Medical Cannabis Hub at Parque de las Ciencias in Montevideo - Uruguay, developed by Panarea Partners. Carolina worked for two years directly with leading international companies in the medical cannabis sector and gained consistent knowledge of the systems, equipment, infrastructure and flows of medical cannabis laboratories. Carolina works in the administrative and project management of the company.
CARLA PICCINATO
DIRECTOR OF SCIENTIFIC & MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Carla has nearly 20 years of scientific experience in Life Sciences and Healthcare. Her research experience ranges from basic molecular and cellular physiology to applied clinical research in both Animal and Human areas, with emphasis in strategic thinking to manage data, studies and projects. She has a vast understanding in Reproductive Endocrinology, with deep knowledge in synthesis, action, and metabolism of hormones.
She received a veterinarian degree from UFMG (Minas Gerais, Brazil), holds a Master´s degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Reproduction (UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil) and has a PhD in Endocrinology Reproductive Physiology (University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA).
Carla has worked as a Senior Researcher at Tortuga Cia Zootecnia, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, elaborating and supervising projects, as well as developing protocols for drug approval according to Regulations.
Afterwards, Dr. Piccinato extended her research formation in a post-doctoral training at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology | Medical School of University of São Paulo (USP-Ribeirão Preto, Brazil), in collaboration with Albert Einstein Israeli Hospital (HIAE, São Paulo, Brazil), where she performed as a Research Scientist (and Professor of Graduate School level) for more than 10 years.
Carla also served as a Member of the Ethical Committee for Animal Care and Use for more than 6 years, has participated in several conferences and published in many renowned scientific journals. Furthermore, she is a reviewer of international Journals, an advisor in scientific matters for private companies and also works as a IP technical expert.
AUDREY PERONDI
LEGAL & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD
Audrey holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Fundação Dom Cabral, (São Paulo/SP) and a law degree from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, PUC-RJ.
She has solid experience in corporate law with an emphasis on M&A, having worked in one of the largest law firms in Latin America, from 2015 to 2017. She also has experience in Intelectual Property and Civil Law.
Audrey joined Panarea Partners in 2020 and ever since she has been specializing in regulatory affairs and sanitary legislation in Brazil and global. In 2021, she was elected an Effective Member of the BRCANN (Brazilian cannabinoid industry association) Ethics Board. She now is an active member of the regulatory advocacy community in Brazil.
DANIEL DEWOLF
PARTNER AT MINTZ LEVIN
GENERAL COUNSEL
Daniel is Co-chair of the firm's Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Practice. In addition to his active legal practice, he is an adjunct professor of law at the NYU Law School and he has a wealth of experience in private equity and venture capital, having co-founded Dawntreader Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based in New York.
Daniel's practice focuses on representing emerging technology companies, venture capital, private equity, sports and entertainment, corporate governance, and general corporate law. Before joining Mintz Levin, Daniel was head of venture capital funds and a managing director of SoundView Technology Group, Inc. (formerly Wit Capital), a technology-focused investment bank. Prior to joining SoundView, he was head of the corporate and new media and e-law practice groups at one of the leading New York firms representing early stage and technology companies.
Daniel has more than 30 years of corporate transactional experience, both as a lawyer and as a businessman, and has been an advisor to many emerging and developmental stage companies. He is a board member of several technology companies and a managing director of Dawntreader Ventures.
Additionally, Daniel is an author of a leading treatise on venture capital called Venture Capital: Forms and Analysis (Law Journal Press, 2007).