Biopharma
Innovation in therapeutics has advanced at unprecedented levels. The successful development of novel medicines to treat significant unmet medical needs is driving keen corporate and investor engagement in the sector.
Contact UsOverview
Investors and clients value SVB Securities’ unique ability to assess the growth potential of innovative biopharma companies.
Team
Our leading team of professionals leverages their knowledge, experience and singular healthcare focus to help our clients define and achieve their strategic, capital markets and investment objectives.
Related Banking Team
Biotech

Dan Dubin, M.D.
Vice Chairman, Global Co-Head of Investment Banking and Global Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking
Dan Dubin, M.D., is the Vice Chairman, Global Co-Head of Investment Banking and Global Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at SVB Securities and sits on the firm’s executive committee.
For over 25 years, Dr. Dubin has advised life sciences companies and investors and has executed numerous public offering, private placement, partnership, and M&A transactions for clients. In 1996, he co-founded MEDACorp, a provider of insights on the commercial potential of biotherapeutics and medical devices to healthcare companies and investors. In 2001, Dr. Dubin merged MEDACorp into SVB Securities and joined its Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He has served as a science and strategy board member for Stiefel/GSK, director of Living Proof, director of Olivo Lab, and Chairman of MetaWorks which was sold to UBC in 2005.
Dr. Dubin is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School and completed both an internship in Medicine and a residency in Dermatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He was an Instructor in Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and held a staff appointment at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he was the Ambulatory Medical Director of Clinical Dermatology and a member of the Clinical Executive Committee. He has published over 30 manuscripts in peer reviewed publications and performed a NIH training fellowship at the Harvard Skin Disease Research Center.

Gabriel Cavazos
Senior Managing Director, Biotechnology
Gabe Cavazos is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities.
Mr. Cavazos joined SVB Securities in 2008 from J.P. Morgan where he was a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions group in the New York office. He covers East Coast and European biopharma companies and has 10+ years of transaction experience, including more than 80 transactions across M&A advisory, equity and equity linked financings. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Mr. Cavazos spent eight years in the pharmaceutical industry at Merck and Pfizer.
Mr. Cavazos earned his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. from The University of Michigan.

Jon Civitarese
Senior Managing Director, Biopharma
Jon Civitarese is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities.
Mr. Civitarese was one of the firm’s earliest employees when he joined SVB Securities in 1995, providing advisory services to high-net-worth individuals in the Private Client Group prior to moving to Investment Banking. Since 1999, his activities have included advising public and private life science companies on strategic initiatives and equity capital financing as part of SVB Securities’s investment banking team. In addition to his primary banking responsibilities, Mr. Civitarese has also served as a senior member of the Capital Markets team since 2001.
Mr Civitarese began his career by serving in the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier, and later graduated from the University of Maine.

Murphy Gallagher
Senior Managing Director, Biopharma
Murphy Gallagher is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities covering the Biopharma sector. Mr. Gallagher focuses on biopharma companies in western North America and Asia.
Prior to joining the firm in 2009, Mr. Gallagher was a member of the Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Merrill Lynch in San Francisco. He has expertise in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory assignments.
Mr. Gallagher earned a B.A. from Georgetown University

Anurag Jindal, M.D.
Senior Managing Director, Biopharma
Dr. Anurag Jindal is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities covering the biopharma sector. He has over two decades of experience in the biopharma industry, as an investment banker, a consultant, and in strategic roles at a major pharmaceutical company.
Prior to joining SVB Securities in 2021, Dr. Jindal was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Bank of America where he focused on strategic advisory and capital markets transactions for public and private companies in the biotech sector. Previously to his work at Bank of America, Dr. Jindal was the Deputy Head of Pharma M&A and in the Pharma Strategy Group at Novartis in Switzerland and in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at JP Morgan in both New York and San Francisco. He started his career as a Pharmaceutical Analyst at Health IQ in Los Angeles.
Dr. Jindal holds a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.D. from the University of Southern California.

Mairin Rooney
Senior Managing Director, Biotechnology
Mairin Rooney is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities. Ms. Rooney brings over a decade of healthcare investment banking experience.
Ms. Rooney joined SVB Securities from Goldman Sachs where she served as Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking group focused on biopharma and biotech clients. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Ms. Rooney was a biopharma investment banker with Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. She also held previous healthcare-focused roles in academic, government and not-for-profit settings.
Ms. Rooney holds a BS in Biochemical Engineering from the College of Engineering at the University of California, Davis and MBAs from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia Business School at Columbia University.
Specialty Pharma & Generics

Mike Drendel
Senior Managing Director, Specialty Pharmaceuticals
Mike Drendel is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities.
Mr. Drendel brings over 20 years of investment banking experience. Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Mr. Drendel worked at Lazard as a Managing Director advising specialty pharmaceuticals companies in M&A transactions. Prior to Lazard, Mr. Drendel worked in the healthcare investment banking group at Wells Fargo Securities on a variety of advisory and corporate finance transactions. Mr. Drendel’s deal experience includes sellside M&A and buyside M&A for both private and public companies, debt and private equity recapitalizations, and equity and equity-linked capital markets transactions.
Mr. Drendel earned his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and his bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Byron Webster
Senior Managing Director, Specialty Pharmaceuticals
Byron Webster is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at SVB Securities and is focused on the Specialty Pharmaceuticals sector. Mr. Webster has over 13 years of experience advising pharmaceutical companies on M&A, private and public financing assignments.
Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Mr. Webster worked Lazard where he was a Vice President in the Healthcare Group. Prior to Lazard, Mr. Webster began his career at Wells Fargo Securities.
Mr. Webster earned a B.A. summa cum laude from Wake Forest University.
Related Research Team

Geoffrey Porges, MBBS
Director of Therapeutics Research, Diversified Biopharma
Dr. Porges is Senior Managing Director, Director of Therapeutics Research and a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Diversified Biopharmaceutical stocks. He brings to the firm over 25 years of expertise in advisory, executive and investment roles in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Dr. Porges established biotechnology research coverage at Sanford C. Bernstein where he became one of the most respected independent analysts of the industry. Before that, Dr. Porges served as Director of Life Sciences and Chief Operating Officer at BTG PLC and previously served in a variety of positions at Merck & Co, including Head of Worldwide Marketing in the Vaccine Division at Merck & Co.
Dr. Porges has been consistently ranked as one of Wall Street’s most influential biotechnology analysts. He is a frequent media contributor regarding investment opportunities, and risks, in the biopharmaceutical sector and his research covers the gamut from breakthrough scientific advances and early development programs to industry structure, strategy and valuation.
Dr. Porges earned his medical degree from the University of Sydney and trained in pediatric and internal medicine in Australia. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

Andrew Berens, M.D.
Senior Managing Director, Targeted Oncology
Andrew Berens, M.D., is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Targeted Oncology.
Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Dr. Berens was an Executive Director and Senior Biotechnology Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley focusing on mid and small cap biotechnology companies. Dr. Berens practiced as an emergency medicine physician for a decade before starting his career in equity research. He also worked in the pharma industry at Ikaria Pharmaceuticals, where he was a Senior Director in business development, leading search and development efforts.
In 2017 he was named a Runner Up in Institutional Investor’s 2017 All–America Research Team for Biotechnology/Mid- & Small-Cap.
Dr. Berens earned M.B.A. degrees from Columbia Business School and London Business School, his M.D. from Emory University, and an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Tulane University.

Jonathan Chang, Ph.D., CFA
Senior Managing Director, Emerging Oncology
Jonathan Chang, Ph.D., CFA, is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Emerging Oncology. Dr. Chang has been an important contributor to the firm’s biotechnology research product and insights.
Dr. Chang joined the firm in 2013 as an Associate supporting the firm’s senior oncology biotechnology research team and in 2016 he assumed research coverage of several important emerging biotechnology companies.
In 2018, Dr. Chang was named a Rising Star in Institutional Investor’s 2018 All-America Research Team for Biotechnology/Mid- & Small-Cap.
Dr. Chang earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Cornell University, a M.A. in Biotechnology from Columbia University, and a Honors B.Sc. in Genes, Genetics, and Biotechnology from the University of Toronto. Dr. Chang is a CFA charterholder.

Mani Foroohar, M.D.
Senior Managing Director, Genetic Medicines
Mani Foroohar, M.D., is a Senior Research Analyst within our Therapeutics team focusing on Genetic Medicines.
Dr. Foroohar joins SVB Securities from Aptigon Capital, a Citadel Company, where he most recently was a Therapeutics Analyst focused on U.S. and EU biotechnology, major pharmaceuticals and specialty pharmaceuticals sectors. Prior to Aptigon, Dr. Foroohar was an Analyst at Green Owl Capital Management and an Assistant Vice President of Equity Research at Barclays. In 2013, Dr. Foroohar co-founded Cellanyx Diagnostics, a company developing a proprietary live tumor cell, phenotypic platform for precision risk stratification in cancer to inform clinical treatment decision making.
Dr. Foroohar holds an M.D. from Stanford, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellow in the Department of Genetics, M.B.A. from Columbia, and a B.S. from UCLA.

Marc Goodman
Senior Managing Director, Neuroscience
Marc Goodman is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Neuroscience and Ophthalmology.
Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Mr. Goodman was most recently a Managing Director and U.S. Healthcare Analyst at UBS Investment Bank where he focused on large-cap and specialty pharmaceuticals sectors. Prior to UBS, Mr. Goodman covered specialty pharmaceuticals and generics sectors for over 15 years as a Managing Director at Crédit Suisse AG and as an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Goodman has been ranked by Institutional Investor as a top analyst in Specialty Pharmaceuticals for well over a decade and has also expanded his coverage and interests into global and emerging biopharmaceutical companies in recent years.
Mr. Goodman earned his M.B.A. from The Ohio State University and his B.A. in Economics from Tufts University.

Daina Graybosch, Ph.D.
Senior Managing Director, Immuno-Oncology
Daina Graybosch, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Immuno-Oncology.
Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Dr. Graybosch worked at McKinsey & Company as a Senior Expert and Head of Mckinsey’s Center for Asset Optimization, as well as the U.S. Head of the McKinsey Cancer Center. In these roles, Dr. Graybosch developed several McKinsey solutions that bring data and advanced analytics to pharmaceutical development decisions. In her 11 years at McKinsey, Dr. Graybosch developed a rich understanding of oncology through her work with companies across the value chain, including Pharmaceutical, Diagnostic, Academic Medical Center, and Genomic/Data.
Dr. Graybosch earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Harvard University and dual B.S. degrees in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Utah.

Roanna Ruiz, Ph.D.
Director, Infectious Disease, Endocrine & Cardiovascular Disorders
Roanna Ruiz, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Infectious Disease, Endocrine and Cardiovascular Disorders (IDECV). Dr. Ruiz excels in quality of research, depth of insights and understanding, and the service provided to the firm’s internal and external clients. Prior to covering the IDECV sectors, Dr. Ruiz was a core member of SVB Securities’s Neuroscience team helping to deliver science-forward and deep-dive fundamental research to clients.
Dr. Ruiz joined the firm in 2018 after holding equity research roles at UBS and H.C. Wainwright. Previously, Dr. Ruiz spent two years in pharmaceutical industry consulting at IQVIA working on M&A, product launch strategy, and pricing & reimbursement projects.
Dr. Ruiz earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University, and a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University.

Joseph P. Schwartz
Senior Managing Director, Rare Diseases
Joseph Schwartz is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Rare Diseases.
Prior to joining the firm in 2003, Mr. Schwartz provided economic and strategic consulting services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with Charles River Associates. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schwartz held equity research positions at SG Cowen, State Street Research, and J.P. Morgan, where he analyzed the fundamental performance drivers of investments in the health care, retail, consumer, media, and entertainment sectors.
Mr. Schwartz was named #1 Stock Picker for Pharmaceuticals in the 2011 FT/StarMine Analyst Awards. In 2010, he earned the Wall Street Journal’s #1 ranking for biotech stock picking as part of its “Best on the Street” analysts survey, which topped his #2 ranking in the Journal’s 2008 “Best on the Street” rankings.
Mr. Schwartz earned an M.B.A. from Babson College and a B.A. in Economics from Colby College.

Thomas J. Smith
Senior Managing Director, Immunology and Metabolism
Thomas J. Smith is a Senior Research Analyst at SVB Securities covering Immunology and Metabolism. Prior to covering the Immunology and Metabolism sector, Mr. Smith was a key member of SVB Securities’s Targeted Oncology team helping to deliver in-depth fundamental research to clients.
Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Mr. Smith was most recently a Vice President and Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley, covering leading and emerging biopharmaceutical companies across numerous therapeutic areas, including oncology, NASH, and lead coverage of women’s health companies. Prior to that, Mr. Smith worked at FBR Capital Markets on the biotechnology team, responsible for coverage of large, mid-, and small cap companies. Mr. Smith began his career at Bloomberg where he held roles of increasing responsibility, including coverage of the biotech and specialty pharmaceutical sectors for Bloomberg Intelligence.
Mr. Smith earned his B.S. in Finance and Psychology from The College of New Jersey.