Norton Rose Fulbright hosts major forums on healthcare private equity and M&A and for women in life sciences

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright’s New York office recently hosted two events focused on the life sciences and healthcare industry. The first was a conference on healthcare M&A and private equity co-hosted with Ernst & Young LLP, while the second was a summit for women in the life sciences.

The healthcare M&A and private equity conference was held on October 10, 2018. In the keynote address, Dan Diamond, author of POLITICO Pulse, the website’s morning briefing on healthcare politics and policy, discussed how events in Washington, DC are likely to shape upcoming healthcare policies.

Panelists on the “What’s hot and what’s not” panel, moderated by New York partner Warren Nimetz, discussed what private equity firms do to bring value to their investments and which life science and healthcare sectors will be attractive to investors in the future. Other panelists included Dan Shoenholz, the conference co-chair from EY-Parthenon; Harry Eichelberger, founder of Archimedes Health Investors; Paul Hepper, director at Harris Williams; and Maureen Spivack, a senior healthcare industry partner at New State Capital Partners.

On another panel, members discussed convergence in M&A transactions, and how different business models among healthcare service providers can be combined to create value. Panelists included Nathan Bays, managing director of Cain Brothers & Company, a healthcare investment bank; Brett Hickmann, executive director of Optum, a health services and innovation company; and Daniel Pang, vice president of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm.

Other panelists included J. Brendan Mullen, the executive vice president of the American College of Cardiology, and numerous members of the Ernst & Young LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright teams. Those in attendance included top members of private equity firms, investment bankers and healthcare service providers.

The Women’s Life Sciences Summit, held on the following day, was attended by women leaders from major pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies and featured panel discussions on legal and regulatory issues facing the industry, such as digital health, government investigations, and data privacy, as well as diversity and unconscious bias.

One of the most lively panels was a discussion on how women can break the cycle of underrepresentation at the highest corporate levels. Members of the panel discussed the gender disparity in senior management and general counsel roles at life sciences companies and law firms and how women in these organizations can work proactively to develop the attributes of leadership that will better equip them to break through to the top.

These panelists, including Robin Adelstein, US Head of Antitrust and Competition at Norton Rose Fulbright, Carolann Edwards, the firm’s Global Director of Learning and Organizational Development, and Christina Ackermann, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Bausch Health Companies, discussed statistics and current developments and shared personal opinions and anecdotes.

In all, 13 women lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright spoke at the event. Attending panel discussions were other top women leaders of the firm’s life sciences and healthcare team, including Stacey Martinez, Global Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare, Debbi Johnstone, US Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare, and Yvonne Puig, US Life Sciences and Healthcare Chief Integration Officer.

Popular among attendees of the women’s life sciences summit and the healthcare M&A and private equity conference was a private tour of the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) works by female artists. A MoMA docent led the tour and tied the history of female representation in art to the progress of social movements.