Biocom California Appoints New Board Members

Biocom California has appointed three new board members: Ken Rollins, partner at Cooley; Susan Krumplitsch, partner at DLA Piper; and Nick Tait, principal and practice leader at Marsh & McLennan Agency. Current board member Ranjeet Banerjee, CEO of Cold Chain Technologies, is now the board’s vice chair of DE&I.
 
“As the California life science community continues to evolve and grow, we choose passionate leaders with deep knowledge of the industry to help us meet the needs of our member companies across the state,” Biocom President/CEO Joe Panetta said. “I’m confident our newest board members will provide valuable insight and guidance, ensuring Biocom California will continue to foster and accelerate innovation within the life science ecosystem.”
 
Rollins is a partner at Cooley, representing emerging and late-stage private and public companies, as well as venture capital firms in a wide range of corporate and securities matters. In the last five years, he has helped life science, medtech, and technology clients achieve an aggregate of more than $6 billion in successful exit transactions. In addition to serving as head of Cooley’s San Diego business department, he serves on the non-profit boards of startup incubator EvoNexus and the Clearity Foundation, which strives to improve treatment options for patients with ovarian cancer.
 
Krumplitsch is a partner at DLA Piper, representing life science companies in intellectual property disputes, with an emphasis on Hatch-Waxman (ANDA), Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) and trade secret litigation. Her clients include biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies, and she regularly appears in U.S. federal courts and in post-grant review proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Krumplitsch also advises clients on complex patent strategy and is a frequent publisher and speaker on intellectual property issues surrounding the life science industry’s increasing adoption of artificial intelligence technology.
 
Tait serves as principal and life science practice group leader at Marsh and McLennan Agency. His team works with pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical device, medical technology, and biotech companies with more than 1,400 life science and 150 technology clients serviced nationwide. Previously, he began his insurance career in London at Chubb Insurance before moving to San Diego in 2006 to join Barney & Barney (now Marsh and McLennan Agency). Tait has been an advocate for Biocom California and the life science community for more than a decade.
 
Biocom California is the leader and advocate for California’s life science sector, working on behalf of more than 1,700 members to drive public policy, build a network of industry leaders, create access to capital, introduce cutting-edge STEM education programs, and create robust value-driven purchasing programs. Founded in 1995 in San Diego, Biocom California provides a public voice to research institutions and companies that fuel the local and statewide economy. In addition to its San Diego headquarters, Biocom California operates core offices in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, with satellite offices in Sacramento, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo. Its membership benefits apply to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, genomics, and diagnostics companies of all sizes, as well as to research universities and institutes, clinical research organizations, investors, and service providers.