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Life Science Therapeutics Pitch Day

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Morrison Foerster was pleased to host its latest Pitch Day at MBC BioLabs on October 16, 2025, bringing together innovative...

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Morrison Foerster was pleased to host its latest Pitch Day at <a href="https://mbcbiolabs.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19768046539&gbraid=0AAAAApY1JSFIdmWRd9W5_ysTqjGhkP6KW&gclid=CjwKCAjwgeLHBhBuEiwAL5gNEToqdZlAvqtqNtQiqLSZykTqrngarA9l1xV6OIYWY3plN8UT0qR6bRoCw8kQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">MBC BioLabs</a> on October 16, 2025, bringing together innovative startups and leading venture capitalists for an evening dedicated to innovation in life science therapeutics. The program featured six emerging companies who presented their ventures to a panel of investors.The event provided a platform for startups to gain exposure and feedback from seasoned investors, fostering connections that could lead to future funding and collaboration opportunities.We’d like to thank our six pitching companies, chosen from among 50+ applicants:<ol><li><a href="https://www.deciduoustx.com/" target="_blank">Deciduous Therapeutics</a></li><li><a href="https://forta.bio/" target="_blank">Forta Bio</a></li><li><a href="https://www.mana.bio/" target="_blank">Mana.bio</a></li><li><a href="https://www.qumtherapeutics.com/" target="_blank">QUM Therapeutics</a></li><li><a href="https://resolutescience.com/" target="_blank">Resolute Science</a></li><li><a href="https://switchbacktx.com/" target="_blank">Switchback Therapeutics</a></li></ol>And our panel of investors from: <a href="https://www.aditumbio.com/" target="_blank">Aditum Bio</a>, <a href="https://www.missionbiocapital.com/" target="_blank">Mission BioCapital</a>, <a href="https://novoholdings.dk/" target="_blank">Novo Ventures</a>.Thank you again to all the founders, investors, and attendees who helped bring Pitch Day to life. Your participation and energy are what continue to make Pitch Day a vital platform for innovation and community-building.<span class="embedded-entry redactor-component inline-entry" type="entry" data-sys-entry-uid="blt4bf94e03efaa2c54" data-sys-entry-locale="en-us" data-sys-content-type-uid="image_content" sys-style-type="inline"><img class="dangerously-set-container__img-undefined" src="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/images/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt375c6c679042644c/68ffd226d46279cb00048c9a/251016-life-science-therapeutics-1.jpg?format=auto&amp;quality=60&amp;v=3" alt="Life Science Therapeutics - Group 1"><span class="embedded-entry redactor-component inline-entry" type="entry" data-sys-entry-uid="blt9a97abc9527a91a7" data-sys-entry-locale="en-us" data-sys-content-type-uid="image_content" sys-style-type="inline"><img class="dangerously-set-container__img-undefined" src="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/images/blt5775cc69c999c255/bltf398601cd61c4e5c/68ffd286ad4ba27a8b1fafd2/251016-life-science-therapeutics-2.jpg?format=auto&amp;quality=60&amp;v=2" alt="Life Sciences Therapeutics - Group 2"><span class="embedded-entry redactor-component inline-entry" type="entry" data-sys-entry-uid="blte52b9c67949d954e" data-sys-entry-locale="en-us" data-sys-content-type-uid="image_content" sys-style-type="inline"><img class="dangerously-set-container__img-undefined" src="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/images/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt8df78361f9f4eed4/68ffd2e6772cdc62068b762a/251016-life-science-therapeutics-4.jpg?format=auto&amp;quality=60&amp;v=2" alt="Life Science Therapeutics - Group 4"><span class="embedded-entry redactor-component inline-entry" type="entry" data-sys-entry-uid="blt5023f4ea7bbcec9b" data-sys-entry-locale="en-us" data-sys-content-type-uid="image_content" sys-style-type="inline"><img class="dangerously-set-container__img-undefined" src="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/images/blt5775cc69c999c255/blt05cc4f2b04e74625/68ffde9dfe50b56d89d3948c/251016-life-science-therapeutics-5.jpg?format=auto&amp;quality=60&amp;v=2" alt="Life Science and Therapeutics - Group 5"><hr>

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Anita Choi has decades of experience providing strategic advice to companies and investors in the <a href="/capabilities/life-sciences-healthcare" target="_self" dir="ltr">Life Sciences</a> and <a href="/capabilities/food-agriculture" target="_self">Food + Agriculture</a> industries. She has helped start-up companies build IP portfolios around their core technologies, and counseled them on issues related to patents versus trade secrets. She has worked with larger, more established companies to manage global patent portfolios in a way that integrates IP with their business models. Combining her legal and business expertise enables her to navigate complex challenges that require complex solutions hence why she is so often called upon by clients to help with assessing, building and strengthening patent portfolios.  She has also counseled investors in IP due diligence, identifying critical issues that may affect valuation and risk assessment in deals.Anita is part of the <a href="/life-sciences-healthcare-leadership" target="_self">Life Sciences + Healthcare Leadership Team</a>, as well as the Food + Agriculture Leadership Team within the firm. She co-leads the firm’s Chemistry Subgroup within the patent practice, which covers both the Pharmaceuticals and Materials sector within the chemistry space. She also co-leads the firm’s Food + Agriculture patent practice. Anita’s clients praise her ability to quickly gain a deep understanding of their technology and business, which allows her to think critically, creatively and practically in patent portfolio management.Anita is recognized as a key lawyer by The Legal 500 US for patent prosecution. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Chemistry and was named to the Order of the Coif. During law school, Anita also completed her M.B.A. at the Wharton School of Business.Anita is co-editor of our <a href="https://lifesciences.mofo.com/" target="_blank" dir="ltr">MoFo Life Sciences Blog</a>.Life SciencesAnita gained a solid technical background across disciplines during her time studying at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), where she received her Bachelor of Science with honors. She spent several years working at Pfizer, developing small molecule compounds for use in oncology therapies. She has performed research at CalTech involving unnatural amino acids, and at MIT involving fluorescent zinc sensors, both for use in developing neuroscience applications.Anita has counseled clients in a wide variety of life science technologies, including small-molecule pharmaceuticals, cannabinoids, nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical and cosmetic uses, pharmaceutical formulations, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health.Food and AgTechAnita has advised businesses in developing IP strategies for soil and crop technologies, sustainable farming, alternative protein sources, fermentation technologies, extraction technologies, new categories of food and beverage products, and food packaging.The breadth of technologies that Anita works with also enables her to provide IP advice at the intersection of multiple technical disciplines. For example, Anita’s practice is also well positioned at the convergence of data analytics in the Life Sciences and Agriculture industries.ChemistryAnita also has technical expertise in chemistry outside of Life Sciences, such as in the Materials space, including Cleantech. She has developed IP strategies for biobased materials, polymer chemistry, composite materials, catalyst-based technologies, industrial processing, batteries, and carbon capture technologies.IP Due DiligenceAnita is skillful with investor-side and company-side patent due diligence. She supports many of the firm’s corporate deals, advising on ownership and patent portfolio risks and conducting patentability and freedom-to-operate assessments. She also supports her own clients undergoing IP due diligence by investors.IP Litigation SupportAnita also works closely with the IP Litigation Group to formulate strategies for infringement contentions, validity/invalidity contentions, and claim construction positions. She actively supports the patent litigators in pre-litigation diligence matters to evaluate the strength of patents and patent portfolios.Pro BonoAnita has an active pro bono practice and has been awarded the State Bar of California's Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services for many consecutive years. She regularly represents families seeking legal guardianship. She also assists numerous non-profit organizations in developing and securing patent protection for their core technologies.

Anita Choi

Partner

Chris represents venture capital investors, private equity firms, and emerging and established companies in corporate finance matters, including investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions.Recognized as a top-tier advisor in the technology sector, Chris was recently named one of the Dealmakers of the Year by The American Lawyer and Most Innovative Lawyers in Science and Technology by The Financial Times, among other Rising Star/Top 40 Under 40 honors by Venture Capital Journal, Daily Journal, and San Francisco Business Times.Chris has significant experience advising on complex deals involving high-growth, venture-backed technology companies. He regularly advises on capital raising, partnership and exit transactions for startups and investment fund transactions, buyouts, and divestitures for private equity sponsors.Before rejoining Morrison Foerster, Chris served as lead negotiator at a global investment firm, executing cross-border investment and M&A transactions. Leveraging that experience as a battle-tested dealmaker, Chris provides clients with creative, business-forward, and solutions-oriented advice.Chris is on the leadership committee of the ABA’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Committee, regularly speaking and writing about investment- and M&A-related topics and trends. At NYU School of Law, Chris was a Lederman Fellow in Law & Economics and on the executive board of the NYU Journal of Law & Business. He majored in business economics as an undergraduate at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Christopher McKinnon

John Rafferty focuses his practice on representing emerging growth companies in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters. John's practice includes private financings, public financings, mergers, tender offers, and strategic and financial investments.John advises emerging growth companies backed by venture capital and private equity firms on all corporate, transactional and financing matters. He also advises early and late-stage investors in capital raising transactions. John's practice also includes extensive experience in preferred stock financings, debt financings, and secondary offerings.John led the launch of MoFo’s <a href="https://scaleup.mofo.com/" target="_blank">ScaleUp website</a> which is focused on providing resources to start-up companies, entrepreneurs, and early-stage investors.John also regularly counsels boards of directors of public companies on corporate governance issues, fiduciary duty matters (both generally and in the M&A context), compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws, and compliance with the listing standards of NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange.John's transactional and counseling background has involved matters for clients in a broad range of industries, including technology and Internet-based businesses; life sciences and healthcare; communications and media; and retail.

John Rafferty

Jim Ryan is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Emerging Company + Venture Capital Group based in Palo Alto. He advises high-growth technology and life sciences companies, venture capital and growth funds, and corporate venture capital and other strategic investors.Jim’s work includes navigating domestic and cross-border venture capital and growth financings, secondaries and tender offers, recapitalizations, joint ventures, carve-outs and spinoffs, and mergers and acquisitions. He has particular experience in large complex financings and has advised companies and investors on dozens of venture capital and growth financings in which $100 million to over $1 billion were raised along with dozens more in the $25 million to $100 million range.His clients span a variety of technologies and industries including artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous and other software-defined vehicles, industrial tech, cloud computing and data center hardware and software, fintech and digital assets, SaaS, biotech, and medical devices.Beyond transactions, Jim writes and speaks on practical issues that shape venture capital-backed companies and boardrooms. He serves as the startup columnist for The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law and is the lead editor of MoFo’s “<a href="https://scaleup.mofo.com/guidance">Ask a MoFo</a>” series, where he translates board governance, deal mechanics, and venture structures into actionable guidance for founders and investors.Jim was recognized as a 2026 Rising Star by Venture Capital Journal.He earned his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, where he served on the Santa Clara Law Review and published articles on cloud computing regulation. He received a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Jim Ryan

Alfredo Silva is a key member of the firm’s Social Enterprise + Impact Investing Group and the Emerging Companies + Venture Capital practice. He advises companies and investors—particularly in life sciences, agtech, and fintech—on a wide range of corporate and securities matters, with a strong focus on venture capital, growth equity and corporate venture capital financings. Alfredo brings particular expertise in complex restructuring and recapitalization transactions. He also advises both impact-first and return-first investors on building mission lock into their strategies, works with clients to form Delaware public benefit corporations and structure for-profit/non-profit “hybrid” entities that can attract both philanthropic and traditional capital, and on a pro bono basis advises nonprofits and small businesses on formation, structuring and governance matters.In his private company practice, Mr. Silva has served as company or investor counsel in early- and late-stage financings, minority strategic investments and impact investments in over a hundred private companies, including representation of SoftBank and SoftBank Vision Fund in financings with a combined value of over $2 billion, Temasek in its $800 million minority investment in Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, and Visa Ventures in strategic fintech investments around the world.In his public company practice, Alfredo counsels issuers on strategic transactions, such as the stock-for-stock merger of Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. with Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp, as well as corporate governance and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and stock exchange listing standards, including advising on cutting-edge issues with respect to ESG disclosures and materiality assessments.In addition, Mr. Silva works extensively with nonprofit organizations, providing advice on fiduciary issues, entity formation, structuring and other corporate matters, and assists small businesses pro bono. He incorporated and continues to advise Illuminate, the nonprofit producer of The Bay Lights, a 25,000 LED sculpture on the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, in structuring, corporate governance, and project management matters. Mr. Silva currently chairs the audit committees of the boards of directors of Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, a nonprofit founded by three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and The New York Times bestselling author Ayesha Curry to unleash the potential of every child, and San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which for nearly 30 years has been pursuing a future where health justice is achieved for all people living with or at risk for HIV, both of which Mr. Silva has previously advised as corporate counsel.Alfredo is recognized by The Recorder as a 2013 Lawyer on the Fast Track, in 2014 was the inaugural recipient of the firm’s Kathi Pugh Award for Pro Bono Service, is a 2017 Lawyers Committee for Legal Diversity Fellow, and was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2023 National Public Service Award.

Life Science Therapeutics Pitch Day

16 Oct 2025 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM PDT