Managers

Louis Cannon, MD FACC, FACP, FACA, FCCP, Sr. Managing Member.

Dr. Cannon is an Interventional Cardiologist and President of the Cardiac and Vascular Research Center of Northern Michigan, the Founder of the BioStar PE Funds and has recently been honored as one of “America’s Top Cardiologists: 2006.” Dr. Cannon has over 125 medical publications and holds two United States patents. Dr. Cannon has served on the advisory boards for such Fortune 500 companies as Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific, and Guidant as well as developing medical companies involved in stent development, radiation technology, ultra sound technology and medical data storage. Dr. Cannon has participated in the start up and subsequent development of a multitude of developing bio-technological, or emerging health care companies and was recently appointed the National Co-Principal Investigator for a forthcoming cardiovascular study. Dr. Cannon currently is Chairman of the Board of AorTx, Inc., a company developing an aortic heart valve for both transapical and percutaneous delivery. Dr. Cannon sits on the scientific advisory board of AorTx, Inc., Setagon, Inc, Bioabsorpable Therapeutics, Inc., and Devax, Inc, a Bio-Star I portfolio company that recently filed for an initial public offering.

Renee Masi, Managing Member.

Ms. Masi manages the investment development, due diligence, and management of the BioStar Funds. Ms. Masi has over 17 years of experience in the venture capital industry where she focused most recently on life science investing. Ms. Masi has served on the boards of several private companies and currently is a director for SynergEyes, Inc., and Vascular Precision. Prior to joining BioStar Ventures, Ms. Masi was a Partner with Windward Ventures, a firm focused on southern California early stage companies, where Ms. Masi was responsible for the firm’s life science investing strategy. Ms. Masi was an advisor to Ventures Medical, a seed stage fund affiliated with the Texas Medical Center. In 1990 Ms. Masi opened the Boston office for Technology Funding, a $250 million venture capital fund based in San Mateo, California. Ms. Masi began her career as an investment banker in the health care finance group of Merrill Lynch. Ms. Masi holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business.

Steven L. Almany, MD, FACC, Managing Member.

Dr. Almany is the Vice Chief of Cardiology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. He is an interventional cardiologist and a partner of the Michigan Heart Group. Dr. Almany has been the Principle Investigator for many clinical trials and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of many medical companies which include Accumed/Innovante, Onset and Sadra. Dr. Almany is a clinical consultant for the Abernathy Group and Longitude Capital. He also has served as a Scientific Advisor to Pequot Capital. Dr. Almany holds two US patents and has authored numerous publications as well as chapters in frequently cited important medical journals and books.

Medical Venture Partners and Advisors

Dr. Steven Almany will serve as the Chairman of the Fund’s Scientific Advisory Board. This Advisory Board comprises eight world-renowned physicians who are the thought leaders in their respective fields. They were selected based on their ability to provide expertise to the General Partner regarding the medical and economic value, marketability, potential acceptance, and clinical safety and effectiveness of technologies considered for investment. They run several of the busiest and leading catheterization labs and cardiology research centers, respectively, in the United States. These include those affiliated with premier institutions such as Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Texas, Swedish Medical Center and Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak, Michigan. These individuals work closely with their peers throughout the world and also are well connected to the clinicians of similar stature in neurology, orthopedics, and gastroenterology. Both Dr. Steve Almany and Dr. Louis Cannon are joined by Dr. Steven Bailey, who is an internationally recognized interventional cardiologist and has been active in planning and conducting interventional research on new devices including the Palmaz-Schatz stent, Rotoblator, and Angiojet. Dr. Peter Fitzgerald has led or participated in over 60 clinical trials, serves on the Medical Device Advisory Panel at the FDA and has been principle/founder of six medical device companies in the San Francisco Bay area. Dr. Mark Reisman is the Director, CV Research and Education and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at the Swedish Medical Center and serves on several scientific advisory for medical start-ups in the cardiology field. Dr. Frank Shannon is a cardiovascular surgeon who has authored numerous publications in cardiovascular and general surgery as well as a clinical reviewer for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Gregg W. Stone is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and Chairman of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, directs the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting, and has served as the national or international principle investigator for more than 25 multicenter randomized trials, with particular expertise in drug-eluting stents, vulnerable plaque, acute coronary syndromes, myocardial infarction, antithrombotic and antiplatelet agents, contrast nephropathy, transcatheter valve therapies and new device development. Dr. Steve Yakubov is an interventional cardiologist, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Marion General Hospital and Medical Director of the MidWest Cardiology Research Foundation, and has been involved with over 75 active clinical trials involving interventional cardiology, peripheral vascular medicine and electrophysiology. These physicians are thought leaders for their peers and contribute significant expertise and access to the BioStar investment process.

Business Advisory Committee

Chris Miller, will serve as the non-voting Chairman of the Fund’s Business Advisory Board. Mr. Miller is joined by a group of individuals that were selected because of their strong financial, investment, and operational expertise and will be responsible for periodically reviewing the valuation of the Fund as well as addressing any conflict of interest issues. Mr. Miller is joined by Juliet Bakker, Managing General Partner and Founder of Longitude Capital and Dr. David Brophy, Director of the University of Michigan Business School Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity.