Frank D. Stonebanks, Founder and Managing Partner

Twenty-five years of executive operational and investment experience in biotech, pharma, med tech, drug delivery & HCIT, including executive management, fund and deal structuring, negotiating, domestic & global marketing, L&A, finance, sales, venture capital investing & senior advisory. Mr. Stonebanks is a seasoned investor and operator, having been an LP, GP, 2x founder and 4x company CEO.

Mr. Stonebanks is currently Founder and Managing Partner of Blackcomb Advisors, as well as a Special Advisor and LP to Wavemaker 360 Health, the leading seed stage, health tech VC in the United States. 

Mr. Stonebanks is also currently a Strategic Advisor to the Candian Trade Commission, assisting Canadian companies that desire to expand to the United States. He is a sought-after health policy advisor both in the United States and Canada.  

Mr. Stonebanks was previously Co-CEO, Chairman and CEO and Board Member at Renibus Therapeutics, where he raised >$120 mm in funding, hired the executive team, re-branded and led the Company from early Phase 2 to enrolling in a pivotal, FDA Breakthrough Designated Phase 3 trial in cardiovascular outcomes, in less than 2 years.  

Mr. Stonebanks was previously a Senior Advisor at NovaQuest Capital Management. NovaQuest is a $3 billion private equity fund specializing in large risk sharing deals with biopharma. 

Mr. Stonebanks also donates part of his time as an EIR (Executive in Residence) at the University of California San Diego (UCSD); his expertise and guidance help UCSD develop commercialization strategies, expand the connectivity between the school and the external innovation ecosystem, innovate new business models, judge business plan competitions, and guide the creation of new companies around campus innovations. 

Mr. Stonebanks was previously a Venture Partner at Lumira Capital Management, one of Canada’s leading healthcare venture capital firms.

Mr. Stonebanks was previously Founder, President, CEO, General Partner and Board Member of Triphase LP, a biotech focused fund and operating company, where he raised $75 mm of non-dilutive cash, signed a $1 billion partnership with Celgene Corporation in a 3 product Option deal, and acquired 2 biopharma products in an asset purchase and global licensing deal. Celgene announced Nov. 18, 2016 it exercised its Option to purchase the lead asset from the partnership.

Mr. Stonebanks previously served as the Chief Commercial Officer for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), where he was part of the Senior Management Team responsible for corporate partnering, managing their investment fund, and monetizing the institute’s intellectual property. He completed 7 equity and convertible debt investments, including 3 new co spinouts (one of which was Triphase) and one asset sale to a strategic investor for $300 mm.

Previously Mr. Stonebanks was CEO and Board Member of Cynvec, an early stage biotech company focused on cancer, where he raised > $20 mm and advanced the NYU technology to IND filing.

Prior to becoming Cynvec’s CEO, Mr. Stonebanks was a Senior Advisor for IBM, leading their global healthcare & life science M&A efforts and advising the company on its healthcare and life science strategy, which included the $4.9 billion acquisition of Cognos. Mr. Stonebanks co-managed their $500 mm venture fund, an LP in more than 30 venture capital firms globally and led their direct minority equity investment program.

Prior to IBM Mr. Stonebanks was Vice President and GM at Centocor and Johnson & Johnson, where he was head of global biologics marketing for oncology and infectious diseases, a VP at JJDC, J&J’s corporate venture arm, and also Co-Founder of J&J Internal Ventures, a JJDC subsidiary and precursor to J&J Global Innovation (JLABS) that focused on creating value around internal IP; he was also Founder, CEO and Board Member of the Macroflux® Corporation (became Zosano Pharma), a J&J corporate spinoff, that raised $90 mm in equity and debt financing via private equity investment. He also advised J&J on the $2.9 billion acquisition of Scios.

Mr. Stonebanks has completed more than two dozen deals in the public and private sector ranging in size from $2 mm to $5B, facilitated the acceleration of new products and led domestic and global launches and commercial strategy for the last 23 years across multiple therapeutic areas, holding senior posts at Hoechst Marion Roussel, Rhone Poulenc Rorer (Aventis), Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (licensing), Johnson & Johnson, IBM and the OICR in the areas executive leadership, mergers and acquisitions, venture investing, business & corporate development, domestic and global marketing, general management and senior advisory.

Mr. Stonebanks completed his undergraduate degree in Exercise Sciences at the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada and his M.B.A. in Pharmaceutical Marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Mr. Stonebanks also holds a diploma from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration (Dartmouth) in Pharmaceutical Marketing.

Mr. Stonebanks also volunteers his time as an Adviser and lecturer to the Rady Graduate Business School at UCSD, and previously the Milken Foundation Scholars Program, where he was a mentor to promising young students.