[January 27, 2014]

SoCalBio Elects Veteran Life Sciences Investor Joseph A. Boystak to Board of Directors

The Southern California Biomedical Council (SoCalBio) has elected life sciences investor Joseph (Joe) A. Boystak to its board of directors. The election was held during SoCalBio's board meeting on January 23rd.

"Joe brings decades of experience in corporate finance and life sciences investing, and he knows how to help guide SoCalBio's efforts to improve how local emerging companies access sources of funding," said Robert Greenberg, MD, PhD, SoCalBio Board Chairman and President & CEO of Sylmar-based Second Sight (News - Alert) Products Corporation.

Upon his election, Mr. Boystak said, "I am delighted to join the SoCalBio board and to help the organization expand its role as an advocate and conduit for everything necessary to accelerate growth of the L.A. region's biomedical industry. I look forward to working with SoCalBio to improve access to capital resources, including novel and innovative funding opportunities."

Mr. Boystak currently serves as Partner at New York and Santa Monica-based Poliwogg Holdings, Inc. (www.poliwogg.com) - an innovative financial firm that provides new pathways for accredited investors to invest in early stage health and life science companies.

He also serves as President and CEO of Brightwaters Capital, LLC, an investmentfirm based in Los Angeles that focuses on life sciences, medical devices, diagnostics, health care and materials science. He is also Managing Director and CEO of Hudson | Brightwaters (a division of Hudson Capital Advisors, LLC, a registered broker dealer), a boutique merchant bank also based in Los Angeles.

Mr. Boystak is a founder or director of several life science industry firms including Exosome Diagnostics, Bruin Biometrics, Bessor / Brightwaters Pharma, GenoSpace, TrendShift, InSight Health Corp, PapiVax, and Medical eXcellence (MedX). He also serves on the Health Advisory Board at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg (News - Alert) School of Public Health (where he Chairs the Committee for Innovation & Commercialization), and is a member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Governors.

Previously, Mr. Boystak spent more than 25 years as a senior investment banker with several major Wall Street firms specializing in life sciences and health care. He served as founding Managing Director of the Global Life Science Group at Jefferies & Co., as well as Global Head of Health Care at Tucker Anthony Sutro and Security Pacific Merchant Bank, and Vice President of Dean Witter Reynolds.

Mr. Boystak earned a BA from Boston University and a Master of Health Science degree from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"Joe's passion for innovation, drive to support entrepreneurship, and unwavering commitment to grow the bioscience industry in our region make him a very valuable addition to our board," said SoCalBio President & CEO Ahmed Enany. "He exemplifies SoCalBio's core values, and we're thrilled to have an opportunity to work with him closely on strengthening the L.A. region's healthcare investing eco-system."

About the Southern California Biomedical Council (SoCalBio):

SoCalBio is a nonprofit, member-supported trade association that promotes life-science research, development, manufacturing, job creation and overall economic growth in the six counties of the Greater Los Angeles region (Los Angeles, Orange (News - Alert), Ventura, Santa Barbara, Riverside and San Bernardino). The Council's programs help local firms gain access to capital, potential partners and business support services. The annual SoCalBio Investor & Partnership Conference has grown to become the region's premiere showcase for emerging life-science companies and technologies. SoCalBio also promotes technology transfer and workforce training, while informing policy makers and the public at-large about the benefits of the region's life-science industry. SoCalBio is open to membership by firms and organizations engaged in life-science technology development and commercialization. More information is available at www.socalbio.org.

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