Steven B. Gerber

Wedbush Securities, Inc. is a full-service investment bank and brokerage firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm was founded in 1955 as Wedbush Morgan Securities, Inc. They are a subsidiary of Wedbush Financial Services LLC, which is owned by Wedbush, Inc. Wedbush Securities provides a wide range of securities brokerage, wealth management, and investment banking services to private and institutional clients. Their research focuses on providing coverage of small and mid-sized companies in the following industries: (1) consumer products and services (2) technology (3) entertainment and media (4) life sciences and (5) industrial growth and clean technology.

Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (Broker) (Oppenheimer-Broker) is the global full-service brokerage division of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., an investment boutique headquartered in New York City with additional offices nationwide. Founded in 1975, the firm is owned directly by Viner Finance Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: OPY). Oppenheimer-Broker offers a full array of brokerage services to retail, institutional, and corporate clients.

Conor Medsystems LLC develops vascular drug delivery technologies. Its products include controlled vascular drug delivery technologies and novel stent that are used in the treatment of coronary artery disease and delivery of a broad spectrum of therapeutic agents. The company was founded by John F. Shanley in 1999 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.

Charles River Laboratories Cell Solutions, Inc. engages in the provision of bioresearch products and services for customer's research and cell therapy protocols. It offers human derived primary blood cells and tissues for biomedical research, supported cell therapy clinical trials and commercialization with apheresis collections, and provides a range of consulting services in standard operating procedure development, personnel training, and quality and regulatory compliance. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Northridge, CA.

iTherX is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for Hepatitis C. This is a disease that affects almost 3% of the world's population, and is the major cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver failure and primary liver cancer. Currently there is only a single mode of therapy and less than 5% of patients can be successfully treated. The company continues to carry out focused research in their areas of expertise to provide sustainability of product pipelines. In an era of managed care and increased regulatory scrutiny, it is easy to yield to the temptation of producing 'me too drugs'. However, they think that innovation in the development of pharmaceutical products is important because it is the only way to improve the outcomes for patients. As such, they also think that innovation can ensure the financial returns that investors in health care deserve for the risks that they take. Their innovative approach is evident in their pipeline of Hepatitis C drug candidates. As new and better treatments are being sought, most companies involved in this effort are targeting the enzymes responsible for viral replication: polymerases and proteases. While these are important targets, there is a great deal of duplication of effort in these initiatives. At iTherX, they are pioneering the development of a novel class of HCV antivirals by targeting the steps involved in the entry of the hepatitis C virus into liver cells. Their Host Cell Receptor Target Program engenders small molecule compounds that target a liver cell membrane protein, SR-B1, which recognize and dock the virus. Their lead compound, ITX5061, has extensive safety data in over 250 patients, and shows picomolar potency in inhibiting HCV infection in vitro. They plan to initiate a Phase 2a clinical trial in HCV patients in Q2 of 2009. They have also used medicinal chemistry to develop back-up compounds for this program, and a clinical candidate has been selected for development. Another innovative program is novel cell receptor, which develops antagonists (including biologics) against a novel liver cell membrane protein required for infectivity of the virus.

Nuclear Pharmacy Services provides healthcare services. The company compounds, dispenses and distributes radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging; markets and distributes imaging cold kits, isotopes and medical references. The company offers its service in different parts of the United States. The company is located in Dublin, OH.