Founder, Senior Partner, MD Becker Partners
Michael D. Becker, founder and senior partner at MD Becker Partners LLC, has more than 15-years of experience as a serial entrepreneur, C-level industry executive, drug developer, Wall Street securities analyst and registered financial advisor. He is also an online communications pioneer, popular blogger, and a sought-after speaker at industry events.
Before establishing MD Becker Partners in 2008, he served as president, chief executive officer, and member of the Board of Directors for several publicly-traded biotechnology companies including commercial-stage Cytogen Corporation (acquired by EUSA Pharma) and development-stage VioQuest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Mr. Becker held positions of increasing responsibility prior to being appointed President and CEO of Cytogen in 2002, including Vice President of Business Development, Industry Relations, Investor Relations and Chief Executive Officer of AxCell Biosciences, a subsidiary of Cytogen focused on signal transduction pathways. During his tenure at Cytogen, Mr. Becker raised in excess of $130 million in new capital through both public offerings and private placements and in-licensed Caphosol©, a topical oral agent and prescription medical device for the treatment of oral mucositis and xerostomia.
Prior to joining Cytogen, Mr. Becker was with Wayne Hummer Investments LLC, a Chicago-based regional brokerage firm, where he held senior positions as a biotechnology securities analyst, financial advisor and portfolio manager. He was also the founder and Executive Editor of Beck on Biotech, a monthly biotechnology investment newsletter published from July 1998 through March 2001. Mr. Becker was previously with Kidder, Peabody & Co., Gruntal & Co., L.L.C., and Kemper Securities. He has previously held the following financial licenses: Series 7 (Registered Representative), Series 16 (Securities Analyst), Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent) and Series 65 (Registered Investment Advisor).
Mr. Becker plays an active leadership role as an advocate for the biotechnology industry. He is past Chairman and member of the board of trustees with BioNJ, which is New Jersey’s trade association for biotechnology companies, and is currently a member of BioNJ and the Pharmaceutical Consulting Consortium, Inc. (PCCI). Mr. Becker placed as a biotechnology/life sciences finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in both 2004 and 2005 and was listed in BusinessWeek’s “CEO’s 40 and Under” article in December 2006. He attended DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
