Inside the Life Sciences Industry Public Company Playbook: Strategies, Risks & Realities
Inside From IPO ambitions to public company survival—join leading life sciences industry voices for insights into the forces shaping today’s market.
Feb
18
2026
Date: February 18, 2026
Time: 10:30AM - 3:00PM (PST)
Location: Mintz San Diego Office
Mintz is hosting a high-impact half-day seminar in our San Diego office, focused on helping companies navigate the evolving public markets. The event will deliver strategic, actionable insights for companies across a wide range of industries looking to go public—or stay public—in today’s complex environment.
Panel 1: Getting Public: Cracking the Code of Capital Markets
IPOs, Reverse Mergers and Follow-On Offerings in Today’s Market
Panel Highlights:
- IPO Pulse Check: What’s hot, what’s not, and what’s next in the public offering landscape
- Reverse Mergers Reimagined: Strategic pathways to public status without the traditional IPO
- Follow-On Offerings: Timing, tactics, and trends for raising additional capital
- Market Sentiment and Deal Flow
Moderator:
- Adam Lenain, Member, Mintz
Panelists:
- William Hicks, Co-chair, Life Sciences Practice, Mintz
- Vlad Ivanov, Managing Director, Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Lucid Capital Markets
- Stefan Loren, PhD, Managing Director Healthcare Investment Banking, Oppenheimer
- Jamie Mason, Practice Leader, Assurance, BDO
Panel 2: Being Public in the New Normal: Surviving Hostile Markets and Regulators
Short Attacks, SEC Trends and Nasdaq Realities
Panel Highlights:
- Strategies to counter short selling and reputational risk
- SEC Enforcement Trends: What’s drawing scrutiny and how to stay ahead
- Nasdaq Compliance Challenges: Common pitfalls and proactive solutions
- Warrant Accounting: Navigating evolving standards and investor expectations
- Digital Asset Treasury Strategies
Moderator:
- Scott Stanton, Managing Member, San Diego, Mintz
Panelists:
- Melanie Levy, Member, Mintz
- Katherine Roberson Petty, Senior Vice President, Donohoe Advisory Associates LLC
- Brian Taggart, Assurance Partner, BDO
Speakers
Adam C. Lenain
Moderator
Adam C. Lenain counsels Mintz clients at all stages of the corporate life cycle. He advises venture-funded companies, guiding them on equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, complex commercial transactions, licensing and collaborations, and general corporate issues.
William C. Hicks
Panelist
William C. Hicks is Co-chair of the Life Sciences Practice Group at Mintz. He has extensive experience representing issuers, investors, and investment banks in structuring and executing IPOs, cross-over investments, alternative public offerings, including APOs, reverse mergers and Form 10 transactions, follow-on public offerings, CMPOs, registered directs, PIPEs, and private placements. His clients include hedge funds, venture capital firms, and private equity firms in customized investments in public companies, including structured PIPEs and registered directs. Bill also represents public companies in public and private financings, SEC compliance, corporate governance, and general counseling.
Scott M. Stanton
Moderator
Scott A. Stanton is a Mintz corporate attorney with experience in mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. He represents companies, boards of directors, and board committees in technology, life sciences, and other sectors.
Melanie Ruthrauff Levy
Panelist
Melanie Ruthrauff Levy is a Mintz attorney who counsels venture and private equity funds and public and private companies in corporate governance, public company reporting, and transactional matters. She represents issuers and financing sources in the life sciences, health care, and tech fields.