Our Business

Phase 1two3 was created out of the realization that biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies in need of consultants have to keep a roster of individual contacts.  Phase 1two3 was created in 2008 to fill that need and provide a single point of contact for your consulting needs.  The intent is to offer to the industry the services of executives with proven track records to make your business more successful. In addition to  its two  partners, Phase 1two3 has associates that add to its capabilities. 

Who We Are

Richard Daifuku MD, PhD

Partner 

After receiving his MS from the Harvard School of Public Health, Richard got his MD/PhD (epidemiology) from the University of Washington.  He then trained at UCLA in internal medicine and infectious disease.  Richard then started an 18 year career in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry.  He has had experience in multiple corporate roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Scientific Officer.  Clinical development experience includes research with gene therapy, and Phase I to III with proteins and small molecules; primarily but not exclusively in the subspecialties of oncology and infectious diseases.  He has extensive preclinical experience and has been involved in multiple IND filings.  Discovery experience in the field of small molecules has lead to multiple issued and pending patents.  He is the inventor of a drug in Phase II for the treatment of HIV, and of a DNA methyl transferase inhibitor that has shown potent in vitro activity.  Richard has been a company founder and  has been a consultant to pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies, as well as performing due diligence for a large venture capital firm.  Most recently, Richard has joined Covalence Capital Management as a partner.  The Covalence Biomedical Event Fund performs short term investments based on evaluations of likely outcomes of significant events for biopharmaceutical firms, e.g., NDAs.

Neile Grayson, PhD

Partner 

Neile earned her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at the Medical College of Virginia, and started her career as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health.  She later moved to industry, where over the past 16 years, she held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in research, business and corporate development and portfolio planning.  Her background includes experience at large and small pharmaceutical companies, and she has represented the interests of both in hands-on negotiation.  Neile's strengths include strategic planning, licensing, performing due diligence and alliance management. She also co-led an effort to  establish a start-up company, which was successfully  negotiated through final term sheet stage.  Most recently, she executed a key development and commercialization agreement worth up to $230M.  Neile also has extensive experience in developing new technologies for application in oncology, cardiology and analgesia.  Locally, Neile is a member of the program committee for WBBA's Invest Northwest.

Giovanni Ferrara

Associate

Giovanni began his career in healthcare as a pharmacist at a private cancer treatment centre in Toronto focusing on experimental therapies.  He received his MBA in Finance and International Business and MSc in Physiology (nuclear receptors and transcriptional regulation) at McGill University.  Giovanni was a General Partner and Managing Director of Burrill & Company.  Prior to this, he was Manager at GeneChem Management, Inc., a healthcare venture capital firm, where he led several syndicated investments in Canada and the US.  He has spent the past decade starting companies and investing in established companies.  He also held operating positions in portfolio companies (including CEO of recently acquired Targanta Therapeutics) where he was successful in sourcing, pursuing and closing business development transactions.  He's also served on a number of boards of directors as well as the Board of Trustees of the Molecular Sciences Institute.  He currently serves on the Advisory Board of ITI Life Sciences. Prior to joining the venture capital industry, Giovanni was a financial analyst at investment management company Letko, Brosseau & Associates.

Nancy Kercher

Affiliate

Nancy has a BS in chemistry and an MBA from Western Michigan University.  She has 25 years experience in Regulatory Affairs, including such companies as Upjohn, later Chugai-Upjohn, Abbott Laboratories and most recently Immunex.  At Chugai-Upjohn, Nancy was responsible for the regulatory activities associated with G-CSF and erythropoietin.  At Immunex she was Director of Regulatory Affairs and oversaw approval of Enbrel (etanercept) in rheumatoid arthritis, Leukine (GM-CSF) in acute myelogenous leukemia, allogeneic bone marrow transplant and peripheral blood stem cell transplant, and Novantrone (mitoxantrone) for the treatment of prostate cancer and multiple sclerosis.  She was the first to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for paclitaxel.  Nancy subsequently created Strategic Biotechnology Consultants.  She has experience in working with the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD).  Areas of expertise include but are not limited to asthma, oncology, rheumatology, neurology, psychiatry and immunology.