Washington, DC (June 20, 2006) – FOCUS Enterprises, Inc., a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, and corporate finance services announced that James (Jim) Hawkins, PhD has joined the firm as a Partner. He will be based in the firm’s national headquarters in Washington, DC.
Marshall Graham, Chairman of FOCUS said, “Jim has a tremendous amount of transaction experience in biotechnology and in healthcare in general, sectors that have been underserved by our firm. We look forward to Jim making a tremendous contribution to the Washington office and on a national basis.”
Dr. Hawkins has been involved in all strategic and operational aspects of founding, growing, and exiting emerging businesses in the biotechnology sector. He has been involved in a variety of business development and financial transactions including the acquisition of Vega Biotechnologies, Inc. and the sale of Genetic MediSyn Corp. Jim was also instrumental in raising equity capital for Synthecell Corporation, NeuroTrophic Bioscience Inc. and debt capital for Synthecell Corporation.
Prior to joining FOCUS, Dr. Hawkins was the President and CEO of Synthecell Corporation, a company providing the specialty design and manufacture of nucleic acids and peptides to major international research institutions and pharmaceutical houses for research and clinical diagnostics applications. In conjunction with managing this company, Dr. Hawkins served as President and CEO of Genetic MediSyn Corporation, a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery of genetically targeted therapeutics based on antisense technology.
Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Hawkins has also served as CEO of three additional companies: Bio-Tech Imaging, Inc., a company focused on cell-based diagnostics and the treatment of HIV infection; SensorChem Corp., a scientific instrument company that developed a platform technology for the characterization of intermolecular interactions; and NeuroTrophic Bioscience Inc., a drug discovery company involved in the advancement of therapies for neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Hawkins has also co-founded and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Antisense Research and Development.
Dr. Hawkins received his baccalaureate degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, and his doctorate in molecular biology from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He conducted post-doctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and subsequently served as an Assistant Professor at the Hébèrt School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, also in Bethesda, Maryland.
About FOCUS Enterprises, Inc.
FOCUS Enterprises, Inc. provides a range of middle market investment banking services across the U.S. with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and corporate finance. FOCUS is headquartered in Washington, DC, with regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. FOCUS specializes in transactions for entities with $5 – 300 million in revenues, serving entrepreneurs, corporate owners, and various types of investors. All 20-plus FOCUS partners are seasoned operating and financial executives with extensive transaction experience.
