Past Events

, Moderator: Mr. Chun Chiu, Founding President, TAITA-SV

 Evening Banquet: 5:30-9:30 pm, (Admission: $30/member, $35/non-member)

–        Keynote Speech by Dr. Chi-Huey Wong, President, Academia Sinica

"Academia Sinica and Taiwan's Innovations"

–       Entertainment and door prizes

Plus exhibits & immense networking opportunities

Advertising opportunity:  Promote your Business, Products and R&D Portfolios by participating in TAITA-SV's exhibition and advertising in the Annual Conference Program as well as its Proceedings.  

Registration information:

Sam Chow, President of TAITA-SV, 510.668.0881 x 12, schow@biokeyinc.com

Peter Hsu, Chair, 2009 Annual Conference, 408.828.1492, peteryhsu@yahoo.com

                                                                                                                                 

APRIL EVENT                                                                                                   

"Transforming medical technology into consumer electronics - a NeuroSky story". 

Date/Time:        Thursday, April. 30, 2009, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM 
Place:               Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mountain View, CA 94041      
                        Fenwick and West LLP    (Parking @ Bryant St.)

Registration:      $5 for members, $10 for non-members, foods with soft drinks provided. 
RSVP:              lyu786@yahoo.com

Speaker :   Stanley  Yang,  CEO of NeuroSky

Stanley Yang became Chief Executive Officer of f NeuroSky, Inc., a bio-sensor company in Silicon Valley, California, since 2005.  NeuroSky has developed a revolutionary non-invasive neural communication sensor that converts brainwaves and other bio-signals into electronic signals for communication and control of electronic devices, consoles, and computers. 
Prior to NeuroSky, Mr. Yang served as Sr. Vice President of Business Development and
CFO at Sage-N Research, Inc., developing super computing systems for proteomics applications.  In 1997, Mr. Yang co-founded and served as President & CEO of Triscend Corporation, a configurable system-on-chip IC company.  Triscend was acquired by Xilinx, Inc. in March of 2004.  Prior to Triscend Mr. Yang spent 11 years working at Xilinx, Inc. in various engineering and management positions.    
 

Abstract: 

Biosensor was originally designed for the detection of signal emitted from biological
activity.  The bio-signal measurement technology, however, has been transformed from
medical devices to consumer electronics with applications in entertainment, educational learning, sports training, consumer healthcare products, automotive, safety and wellness applications.  This presentation will give a brief synopsis of Neurosky Inc, using its Brain-Computer Interface technologies to penetrate wide varieties of consumer applications.  Many consumer electronic giants around the world have adopted NeuroSky's ThinkGear technology.  In 2009, a series of products will be launched into the market.  Stanley Yang, CEO of NeuroSky, will also talk about the challenges they faced along the way, and  how
NeuroSky resolved financial issues, technical problems, growing pain, and upkeep
corporate responsibilities. 

                                                                                                                                   

MARCH EVENT                                                                                                     

Most investors' portfolios shrank to some degree this year, but not all the same.  Although many portfolios took a direct hit, some investors were able to soften the blow.  What makes the difference?  The obvious is being able to gauge the market, see the storming coming, and take precautionary measures to limit risk.

The textbook theory on "sound investing strategy" emphasizes two elements: diversification and investing for the long term.  The theory says if you do these two things, you can ignore short term fluctuations and achieve long term result.  But while the long term prospect of the market has not changed, this year's market demonstrated it's not easy ignoring the short term fluctuations.

And worse yet, the big fluctuations appear to be here to stay, if not further expand.  The trend certainly suggests so. 

20 years ago, stock indices' normal daily fluctuation was less than 1% -- anything above indicated there was notable event that day.  10 years ago, with internet revolution in full swing, daily fluctuations of 3% to 5% became the norm.  This past year, we have seen numerous trading days with daily swings of 10%!  Stock market's characteristics have changed in the past 20 years. 

Even for the truest believers of diversification and long term investing theories, some new measure is needed to control today's market risk and soften market's impact.

Our speakers today have developed an investment strategy designed to deal with today's new market paradigm.  The "Core++" strategy, a modification of the traditional "Core+" concept incorporating time-tested investment principles with market timing, stock selection, and sector rotation, has proven useful in the bear market cycle of 2008.  It could be just what's needed to face the turbulent year of 2009.

Speaker: Howard Chen

Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer

Howard Chen is a stock market veteran with 20 years of experience in the US stock market. As the Chief Investment Officer of Parah Capital, Howard has the responsibility of leading the internal research team to monitor, analyze, and forecast the market on a daily basis, and formulating the firm's investment strategy.

Prior to forming Parah Capital Management, LLC, Howard spent 18 years at Charles Schwab's Global Asia Pacific Services Division, where he rose to the position of Vice President supervising all of the Division's Investment Advisory business and active trading service. During his tenure, Schwab's Investment Advisory assets grew to over $20 billion.
Howard has a long history of involvement in Schwab's investor education effort. His responsibilities at Schwab included going around the nation to hold investment seminars for Schwab clients. Howard is also regularly invited by Chinese-language TV programs and radio programs to comment on major economic events.

Howard is also an active contributor to community charitable work. He is a board member of Berkeley YMCA, and volunteer at American Cancer Society.
He holds an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Speaker: Robert Hsiao

Asset Manager & World Journal Financial Columnist

Robert has been in financial industry for over 19 years, with experiences in all major areas of the industry: investment banking, retail brokerage, and online brokerage.

Robert is best known to the Chinese-American investing communities with his weekly financial column in World Journal. Started in 1997, it is the newspaper's longest-running financial column and is frequently the headlined article. Through his column Robert offers educational information on personal finance and investment advice, and comments on economic events relevant to investors.

Prior to his return to financial services industry in 2007, Robert was a partner at TY Lin and YC Yang International in Beijing, China, where he took part in various investment projects ranging from real estate to television media. He has the unique credential of having lived and worked in the hottest market of our time, seeing all its opportunities and challenges from the inside.

While at Charles Schwab's Global Asia Pacific Services during the 90's, he made significant contributions to the democratization of investing within the Chinese-American community by leading and managing ground-breaking projects such as the industry's first Chinese telephone trading system (1993), industry's first Chinese online trading website (1998), and industry's first Chinese-language market news ticker (2000). He also edited the Chinese edition of Mr. Charles Schwab's book, "Guide to Financial Independence".

Prior to Schwab Robert was with Josephthal, Lyon, & Ross, a New York investment banking firm specializing in taking small- and medium-sized companies public.

Originally from Taiwan, Robert came to the US in 1982 and is a graduate of University of California at Berkeley.

                                                                                                                                 

JANUARY SEMINAR                                                                                          

Augmented Social Cognition:
Using Web2.0 technology to enhance the ability of groups
to remember, think, and reason

Date/Time:        1/29,  Thursday, 6:30 PM to 9:00PM
Place:               Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mountain View, CA 94041
                        (Parking @ Bryant St.)
Registration:      $5 for members, $10 for non-members, finger foods with soft drinks provided.
RSVP:              Catherine Fang  ( catherine.fang@smithbarney.com)

Ed. Chi:

                                                                                                                                     

DECEMBER SEMINAR                                                                                          

Raising Capital From Taiwan Stock Market
– An Alternative To Nasdaq

Date/Time:        Thursday, December 18, 2008, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Place:               Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mountain View, CA 94041
                        (Parking @ Bryant St.)
Registration:      $5 for members, $10 for non-members, finger foods with soft drinks provided.
RSVP:              Jane Ho (janeho@chinatrustusa.com) 
                        (408) – 828-0730 (cell)

Over the last several years, the IPO market in the United States has practically disappeared to many industry sectors.  As IPO market is one of the major exit channels for many venture or institutions investors, businesses start looking to outside of United States.  Taiwan, the long tradition tech-focused Formosa, has more tech related public traded companies than many other capital markets like Hong Kong.  Is Taiwan OTC or TWSE a good alternative to tech companies other than Nasdaq?

In December, we will invite two professions, Sharon Chen, Senior Vice President of Chinatrust Securities Co. Ltd, and Adam Lin, attorney of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP to share the opportunities and regulatory requirements of IPO in Taiwan. 

 

Sharon Chen, Senior Vice President of Chinatrust Securities Co. Ltd.
Sharon has over 18 years of experience in investment banks and venture capitalists.  During her career tenure, she contributed to the case of overseas IPO of China Steel, to assist Acer to list GDR on London Stock Exchange and Siliconware Precision to issue ADR.  Her representative IPO cases included Powerchip Semiconductor, Gigabyte, Quanta Storage, ProMOS Technologies, Wintek, Kinpo, and BenQ.  In addition to help technology companies seeking equity from public capital market, Sharon also provided financial advisory to companies on M&A deals, such as the combination of Newa Insurance and Tokio Marine Newa Insurance, the combination of AVC and Taiwan Da-Long (the project of Mitsubishi technology transfer), and the hostile merge case of Pacific Property Insurance.

Prior to join Chinatrust Securities Co. Ltd. as Senior VP and dept head, Sharon held senior positions on leading commercial and investment banks in Taiwan including Chinatrust Commercial Banking, China Development Industrial Bank, Nomura Securities and Capital Securities.  Sharon received her MBA from California State University, Riverside and is Ph.D candidate at NTUST.

Adam Lin, attorney of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
After working as an engineer in HsinChu Science Park and co-founded two startups in the Silicon Valley, Mr. Lin embarked on a career in corporate law counseling entrepreneurs on business and legal issues for their new ventures, advising established corporations in their corporate governance, securities compliance and M&A transactions as well as representing VC firms in their investments in companies both in the Silicon Valley and abroad. 

During his tenure at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Mr. Lin represented Acer in its $710 million acquisition of Gateway in 2007, one of the largest acquisitions by a Taiwanese company in the U.S.  Mr. Lin’s company clients with Taiwanese affiliations include:  Azalea Networks (Wireless Mesh), Sigma Resources & Technologies, Inc. (software testing outsourcing), Anchiva Systems, Inc. (network securities), Applied Wireless Identifications Group, Inc. (RFID technology), Integrated Memory Logics, Inc. (analog and mixed signal IC’s) and Microfabrica Inc. (medical devices).  In addition, Mr. Lin represented VC firms, such as InnoBridge Capital Management, WK Technology Fund and Industrial Technology Investment Corporation (the investment arm of ITRI) in the investments in their portfolio companies.  Mr. Lin also regularly advises China-focused Cayman Islands companies, such as SINA Corporation, and VC firms, such as Gobi Partners, and represented Spansion, Inc. in its $900 million IPO and debt offering.

Mr. Lin received his Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, Master of Science in engineering from Stanford University and Juris Doctor in law from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.  Adam is also fluent in both Taiwanese and Mandarin with conversational skills in Japanese.

                                                                                                                                     

NOVEMBER SEMINAR                                                                                          

A Success Story of Green Hotels
成功的環保飯店
By
Mr. Wen-I Chang 張文毅先生
President, Atman Hospitality Group, Inc.

Silicon Valley Taiwanese American Industrial Technology Association
North American Taiwanese Engineers Association –Silicon Valley Chapter
Taiwanese American Energy and Environment Special Interest Group
Jointly present an Energy and Environment Seminar

Time:    Thursday, November 20, 2008.  6:30 – 9:00 pm
             6:30 pm            Registration and Networking
             7:00 pm            Speech by Mr. Chang   

Place: Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mountain View, CA 94041 (Parking @ Bryant St)Cost:$5 for TAITA and NATEA members, $10 others (Pizza and drink served).
Reservation:Send an e-mail or call to leave names (English and 漢字) and phone numbers.
Gilbert Hwang (黃嘉博), HwangJ@asme.org, or 408-246-5410.
 

   Wen-I Chang is a new age thinker and a green hotel developer.  He emigrated from Taiwan, where he grew up in an environment that nurture one’s union with nature. His passionate pursing for sustainability results in the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Green Hotel ever built in the US, GAIA Napa Valley Hotel & Spa.  Two other LEED Gold or Silver projects have also been developed. 

   On top of LEED, he has innovated a message package aiming to transform people’s consciousness through hotel development and operation.  Over 250 media worldwide has recognized his good intent.  Through his creative writing and translation, Mr. Chang has published books, including “One Flew Over Himalaya”, “The Global Brain Awakens”, “Art and Physics” and “Hotel Investment and Development”. 

   Mr. Chang has been invited to speak at many hotel and green building trade group meetings, he delivered keynote speech “Art, Physics and Eastern Mysticism” at the 4^th International Symposium of Science and Art sponsored by Shanghai Science Association.  His hotel projects were reported recently in Taiwan News Weekly (財經文化週刊) and a 30-minute special at Shan-Lih TV (三立電視)

   Mr. Chang lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Additional Information about Atman Hospitality Group can be found in www.AtmanHospitalityGroup.com  and www.GaiaNapaValleyHotel.com.  

 What are Green Buildings?  (Editor’s notes)

   Green Buildings minimize negative impact to the environment in their construction, operation and maintenance.  Therefore, green buildings minimize use of non-renewable energy and other resources, constructed with earth-friendly materials, landscaped with native plants, and exist harmoniously with the surrounding.  Green buildings do not compromise on comfort. 

                                                                                                                                     

NOVEMBER EVENT                                                                                               

Dinner, Speech and Book Signing

前國科會副主委, 謝清志博士 專題演講及新書發表

Dr. Ching-Jyh Shieh
Former Deputy Minister of Taiwan National Science Council (NSC)

Reflections of Major Technical Accomplishments in Taiwan
回顧台灣 現代工程 成功史蹟

Time: Sunday, November 9, 2008. 5:30 – 9:00 pm
         5:45 pm Registration and Networking
         6:15 pm Dinner
         7:00 pm Speech by Dr. Shieh
         8:15 pm Q&A, Book Signing

Place: Royal Garden, 翠苑餐廳, 3170 De La Cruz Blvd. # 131, Santa Clara, CA 95054
          (408 492-1818. The restaurant is located in the Oxford Business Park, just East of the
          US101-Trimble-DeLaCruz interchange near SJC. Take the Trimble (not De La Cruz) exit,
          and make the first available left turn to stay on De La Cruz. Enter the first parking lot on
          the left. )

Cost: $15 (dinner and program); $5 (program only); Book will be available for purchase.

Space is limited. Higher cost may apply without a reservation.

Reservation: Send an e-mail to Gilbert Hwang (黃嘉博) at HwangJ@asme.org
                   Or call 408-246-5410. Leave names (English and 漢字) and phone numbers.

After a successful career in Aerospace Corp. in Southern California, Dr. Shieh returned to Taiwan to assume several government positions: overseeing the development of Formosa Satellites, Southern Taiwan Industrial Park, and initiating programs for recruiting overseas talents. He was a Deputy Minister of National Science Council between 2000 and 2006. He resigned from the post of Deputy Minister after being prosecuted for favoring a higher price proposal for the High Speed Rail Vibration Damping System in the Southern Taiwan Industry Park. The official group decision was based on expert assessment, and the lower priced option could offer only limited effectiveness. Dr. Shieh and other governmental co-defendants were acquitted by the judges during the first trial. However, the prosecutor has appealed to a higher court. Dr. Shieh was not allowed to leave Taiwan during the first trial. This is his first trip home to California during the past 3 years. He just completed a memoir 生命振動 (humming and shattering as my life vibrates), which will be unveiled at this dinner meeting. We may learn from him the distinction between “Go to the lowest bidder” and “You get what you paid for.”

Additional Information about Dr. Shieh can be found in

www.SupportChing.com and www.wretch.cc/blog/chinshieh/.

This event is jointly presented by:

North American Taiwanese Engineers Association –Silicon Valley Chapter, Silicon Valley
Taiwanese American Industrial Technology Association, Taiwanese American for
InterCulture, North America Taiwanese Professors Association – Northern California
Chapter, Worldwide Taiwanese Science and Technology Association and North American

Taiwanese Engineers Association –Headquarters.

                                                                                                                                     

NOVEMBER SEMINAR                                                                                          

    IP and Regulation in Medical Device Development

     Presented by NATEA-SV, Sponsored by NSC, Co-sponsored by ITRI & TAITA-SV

This year's US-Taiwan High-Tech Forum (UTHF) aims to promote the innovation in medical devices and has a theme on Intellectual Property and Government Regulation in Medical Devices Development. The objective of this conference is to promote the importance of overcoming legal and regulatory bottlenecks in the development of medical devices.

This conference provides an overview of medical device Intellectual Property (IP) and government regulations as well as discussion in the most recent legal and regulatory issues. Topics covered include an overview of IP protection, freedom to operate, registration requirements, new medical device regulations, and strategies for how to expedite the registration process. Topics also include an overview of cardiovascular devices clinical development programs.

For further details and registration: http://www.uthf.org

                                                                                                                                     

OCTOBER SEMINAR                                                                                              

     Date/Time: October 30, 2008, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

     Place: Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mt. View, CA 94041 (Parking @Bryant St)

     Registration: $5 member, $10 non-member, Bonus: Pizza with soft drinks provided

     RSVP: By 10/28/08, Debra Kuo (dkuo@cjintl.com)

Financial Crisis Forum

- Stuck in the economic crisis?  - Where do we go from here? - 

TAITA is honored to invite three distinguished financial professionals to give us some guidance about how to cope with the economic turmoil.  Please join us!

Tony Lee
Senior Vice President - Wealth Management
Portfolio Management Director

Tony Lee graduated from National Taiwan University and received a MBA Degree from Indiana University. He began his career in the investment business in 1988 and became a Vice President of investment at Merrill Lynch in 1994, and joined Smith Barney in 1999 as a Senior Vice President Portfolio Management Director. Tony concentrate his practice on investment
management consulting, and serve a diverse clientele that includes retirement plans, endowments, foundations, corporate cash management, employee stock option, stock purchase plan, entrepreneurial and professional individual investors.

Jane Ho
SVP & Regional Manager, C&I/CRE
Chinatrust Bank (U.S.A.)

Jane joined Chinatrust Bank (U.S.A.) as a Sr. VP in 2006 to establish a new commercial lending team in addition to supervise the commercial real estate team in Silicon Valley.  Aside from building a new team, she assists in evaluating Bank’s cash management programs to better fit into corporate clients needs, as well as drafting business plan/loan policies for lending to technology companies.  Prior to joining Chinatrust Bank, Jane had spent 11 years at General Bank (merged to Cathay Bank in 2003), from a management trainee to FVP & Team Leader, Corporate Lending, and had been an instrumental success to General Bank’s success in the Northern California. 

Jane has a Bachelor’s degree in History from National Chung-Hsing University and an MBA (Finance) from San Francisco State University.  She also attended Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle, Washington in 2002.  Jane is currently a Board of Director of Taiwanese American Industrial Technology Association (TAITA).

Julia Hsiao
J.D., LL.M.
New York Life Agent

Julia Hsiao has been involved in the insurance and financial services business in the Silicon Valley, CA area since 1997. She’s been a qualifying member of Million Dollar Round Table* for seven consecutive years. Julia is one of the leading producers in the Silicon Valley area. She provides insurance to companies and insurance and financial products to individuals. She also has extensive knowledge in the areas of estate conservation and wealth accumulation. 

Julia has a Law degree from National Taiwan University, a J.D. from Lincoln Law School, and LL.M. from School of Law, Master Degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University.  Throughout her career Julia has earned numerous awards and recognitions. 

                                                                                                                                     

SEPTEMBER SEMINAR                                                                                        

Date/Time: September 24, 2008, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Place: Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mt. View, CA 94041(Parking @Bryant St)

Registration: $5 member, $10 non-member, Bonus: Pizza with soft drinks provided

RSVP: By 9/24/08, Tom Chang ( tomchang.cti@gmail.com)
 

Two Secret Weapons in the Marketing Mix:
Market Research and Marketing Communications

By Roger H. Grace, President  Roger Grace Associates, Naples Florida

     The classical marketing mix i.e. elements of the marketing program, addresses the “Four P’s” i.e. product, place, price and promotion.  However, and  especially in the case of high technology, organizations are focused into the product (primarily because the management is technical by nature) and do not pay adequate and ample attention to the other aspects of marketing necessary in order to maximize the organization’s success.  In addition, many products are developed “in a vacuum”, driven by the unfounded opinions of the engineers who manage the company and not on the needs of the marketplace or to the sensitivity of market pricing dynamics.

     It has been my experience as a high tech marketing consultant for over 25 years that organizations who embrace all four “P’s” are the ones who become the most successful because they introduce successful products/services.  It has been shown by many market studies (ref. 1) that companies that do their homework when developing and introducing new products are the ones that are the most successful. These organizations have a thorough understanding of the unfulfilled needs of the market vis-à-vis product features, specifications and price points as well as the applications and buying influencers.

     The seminar will address market research and product/company promotion a.k.a. Marketing Communications. We will review the various vehicles currently available to marketers to conduct market research in order to better understand the market needs and  the competitive landscape.  We will assess their advantages and disadvantages, their relative costs and where they can be employed to achieve optimum results.

     Product promotion will be addressed by addressing the topic of “Marketing Communications” or MARCOM.  MARCOM has been highly underutilized since is it is not well understood and tends not to be as quantitative and as directly accountable to suit the requirements of most scientifically trained people. We will address some of the more popular vehicles of the MARCOM mix including advertising, public relations, trade shows, web activities.  Pros and cons of each approach will be addressed.

About the Speaker:

Roger H. Grace
President of Roger Grace Associates
Co-founder and Past President of Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization Education Foundation (MANCEF)

 Roger H. Grace is president of Roger Grace Associates, a Naples Florida-based consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing and strategic communications for high technology clients, which he founded in 1982.  He is a co-founder and Past President of the Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization Education Foundation (MANCEF).  His background includes over 40 years in electronic circuit design, applications, and manufacturing engineering; project management; product marketing; and technology consulting.

     Mr. Grace has specialized in sensors for over 30 years with a focus on microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology.  He has authored over 70 technical papers; organized, chaired, and spoken at numerous international professional conferences.  He has been quoted or has contributed articles to many publications including the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, EETimes, Small Times, Electronic Design ,Sensors Magazine and MST News (Germany).   Mr. Grace has been a member of the editorial advisory boards of Sensors Magazine, R&D Magazine’s Micro/Nano Newsletter, A2C2, NASA Nanotech Briefs, Small Times, and ECN.  He serves on the advisory board of Northeastern University's School of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, Nanomanufacturing Research Institute and National Council and is a recipient of the Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award for 2003 for Northeastern’s College of Engineering. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

     Mr. Grace served as visiting lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley from 1990 to 2003.  His educational background includes a BSEE and MSEE (as a Raytheon Company fellow) from Northeastern University, and the MBA program at U.C. Berkeley.

                                                                                                                                     

AUGUST SEMINAR                                                                                                 

Date/Time: August 28, 2008, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Place: Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mt. View, CA 94041(Parking @Bryant St)

Registration: $5 member, $10 non-member, Bonus: Pizza with soft drinks provided

RSVP: (chun_p_chiu@yahoo.com)

GCT Semiconductors-A Case Study in Patience, Humility, and Grace
($100 M Long and Winding Road)
 

     No other industry in history has invested more money, time, and resources than the Semiconductor industry.  The level of innovation and growth has been nothing short of amazing.  Imagine the potential impact if similar resources were unleashed on another industry such as alternative energy.  As the world's technologies continue to advance, the Semiconductor industry is too advancing at an incredible rate.  One of the greatest growth stories in this industry has been the delivery of broadband wireless in mobile devices.  Over three billion mobile handsets will now have capabilities beyond just talk and text messaging, changing the way we do business and empowering the poor in developing nations.  However, during these times of increased competition and economic uncertainty, more time, money, and luck are required to create and sustain a successful semiconductor start-up.  One such story that has succeeded through the ups and downs of this amazing industry is a small Silicon Valley start-up, GCT Semiconductor Inc.  GCT is a story of a start-up that has tested the patience of many, enriched us all with humility, and helped us better understand Grace.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Paul Kim
Managing Partner, Parakletos Ventures, LLC
Chairman of the Board and Founding Investor of GCT Semiconductor, Inc,

     Dr. Paul Kim is Managing Partner of the venture capital firm Parakletos Ventures, LLC and is Chairman of the Board and Founding Investor of GCT Semiconductor, Inc, the world’s leading RF/Multimedia Company in the mobile space.  Additionally Dr. Kim has investments in the US, China, India and Korea.  Among several of his significant investments, Dr. Kim was Founding Investor in Silicon Image (NSDQ:SIMG) the sixth most successful IPO on NASDAQ in 1999, and an early investor in both Wumart (HKSE: 8277.HK) which went public on the GEM in Hong Kong and Techwell (NSDQ: TWLL) which went public on NASDAQ in 2006. Before starting Parakletos, Dr. Kim served as Executive Vice President of Korea Technology Investment Corporation a Venture Capital firm and was Managing Partner for their US operation, KTIC, America.  Previous to his work in venture capital, Dr. Kim practiced law, founding the Kim Law Firm representing US & Asian technology companies in Silicon Valley.
 

TAITA-SV JULY SEMINAR

Date/Time: July 30, 2008, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Place: Silicon Valley Center, 801 California St., Mt. View, CA 94041(Parking @Bryant St)

Registration: $5 member, $10 non-member, Bonus: Pizza with soft drinks provided

RSVP: By 7/28/08, John Lin<jclin1228@yahoo.com>

Maximizing Clinical Success, Faster, with Re-Positioned Marketed Drugs and Optimized Novel Drug Candidates

Jay J. Wu, Ph.D.

President & CEO

VM Discovery

Speaker Bio

Jay is President and CEO, Founder of VM Discovery, Inc., an innovative biotech company focused on inventing, developing and commercializing re-positioned marketed drugs (“old” drugs of novel uses in new indications with patent protection) and novel optimized small molecule drug candidates to treat pain and cancer. He has spent over 18 years in managing and developing simulation and molecular modeling in chemical and biological systems and drug design, optimization and development, and so far at least two molecules he invented have been entered in Phase II human clinical trials for treatments of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. He is first inventor or sole inventor for more than 10 US or international patents or patent applications. Before founding VM Discovery, Inc., he was founding Director, computational modeling at Camitro Corporation (acquired by ArQule), responsible for R&D of drug design, optimization and predictive models for the drug-like properties, where he had managed and developed more than half of then (2 years old) Camitro’s products at the time of $103M acquisition by ArQule. He previously held positions, as Director, Manager of molecular modeling at NaviCyte, Inc., (acquired by) Trega Biosciences, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Lion Biosciences AG), where he was principal developer for the design and commercialization of the company’s solely core drug simulation product, iDEA, for physiological modeling and prediction of oral drug absorption in humans; at Simulations Plus, Inc. where he designed and developed one of two core products of the company, which are now still widely used in pharmaceutical companies worldwide; at University of California, Davis, where he conducted research on the nucleocapsid protein of type-1 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1); and at University of Zurich, Switzerland. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Konstanz, Germany, and M.S. and B.S. from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Dr. Wu currently has also an appointment as Adjunct Professor, Pharmaceutics and Medicinal Chemistry at University of the Pacific, California.
Abstract

The current pharmaceutical industry is entering a crisis period.  As many billion-dollar drugs come off patent in the next few years, the industry’s spending spree on research and development funded by the successful drugs of the last decade has failed to create a sufficient number of new drugs to fuel the industry growth. The industry has a growing demand to improve productivity and to reduce fixed costs to fill the dry pipeline and to improve revenue growth. The shift from internal discovery of new drugs, to in-licensing high quality drug candidates, has been recently evidenced by large number of deals and increased deal values of both preclinical and clinical compound licenses. This is further exemplified by the most recent “virtual lab” approach from the big Pharma, e.g. Merck & Co. For the biotech like VM Discovery, which has a portfolio of re-positioned drugs and novel optimized drug candidates with high entry barriers, this growing demand creates a tremendous business opportunity.

VM Discovery, Inc. (“VMD”), headquartered in Silicon Valley, is a private biotech company focused on development and commercialization of re-positioned marketed drugs (novel uses of “old” drugs in new indications with patent protection) and novel small organic molecule drug candidates to treat pain and cancer. VMD’s drug candidates are all invented in-house and are against difficult but clinically validated or most-sought-after drug targets (e.g. ion channels and protein-protein interactions) associated with large unmet medical needs and sustainable values with high barriers to entry. It has strong pipeline and solid intellectual property protection of differentiated drug candidates in development, outstanding operational efficiency, proven high success-rate and fast cycle-time in inventing and developing optimized drug candidates with its disruptive product engine, the “VMOptimizer^SM”. For example, one molecule VMD designed for an US-based biopharmaceutical client, VMD-30283 has been able to enter combined Phase I/II human clinical trials within 18 months as first-in-class drug to treat heart attack.

VMD re-positioned marketed drugs and optimized novel drug candidates as well as proven disruptive product engine, makes it possible for its development partners at drug companies to produce superior medicines in a shorter time with fewer resources for a sustainable pipeline. Its business model is balanced with long-term high upside potential and short-term term economic return, i.e. selectively clinical developing its re-positioned marketed drugs (in US and China), while out-licensing or partnering other novel drug candidates in various development stages. This business model allows both scalability and profitability with higher and faster ROI (return on investment).

JUNE SEMINAR 

 We welcome you and the Silicon Valley community back for another exciting year of seminars! Starting in June, our series kicks off with a return to the roots of TAITA’s mission with

INNOVATIONS AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES:
BACK TO THE BASICS

Dr. Keelung Hong, Ph.D. will speak on his company, TLC, and how the small start-up has been able to develop 4 drug candidates in the pipeline during the short time frame of 5 years. One drug will be in the Japanese market, one is currently in Phase I trial in the US, one is a generic and one is undergoing Phase II in Taiwan. See below for Dr. Hong’s bio.

Whether or not you are a member of the pharmaceutical community, Dr. Hong’s insight and experiences are sure enlighten any hopeful entrepreneur or innovator. Feel free to invite any friends or colleagues to this event. See you there!

  Time: June 25。6:30-9pm

Keelung Hong, Ph. D.

A native of rural Taichung, Dr. Hong was educated at Taiwan Cheng Kung University, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of California at Berkeley. From the last he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. He went on to do postdoctoral research at Stanford University and was a research scientist at the University of California, San Francisco for twenty years. He has published over one hundred research papers and two books on Taiwanese society and Taiwanese culture.

Dr. Hong is a pioneer in explicating the structure and function of biomembranes and the effects of long-term exposure to general anesthetics. His longstanding interest in improving cancer therapy has led a series of breakthroughs in drug carrier technology for improving drug and gene delivery. This work has led to a number of patents. After being a consultant to several biotech companies, Dr. Hong founded Taiwan Liposome Company in Taiwan and its subsidiary, TLC Biopharmaceuticals in United States. He currently serves as Chairman & CEO.

TAITA- sv 2008 Annual Conference

矽谷台美產業科技協會2008年會暨研討會

May 3, 2008, Saturday

DoubleTree Hotel

2050 Gateway Place, San Jose, CA 95110

a)  Brief introduction of SEMI, particularly as it relates to FPD,

b)  A brief review of the FPD industry as it relates to SEMI members and their customers,

c)  How the two associations (SEMI and TAITA) can collaborate in future.