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SutroVax Announces Closing of $64M via Series B Financing

Post author:Nanadmin
Post published:21.03.2017
Post category:Latest News older News

Announces achievement of pre-clinical proof-of-concept with lead program: Potential best-in-class pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Advancing lead into IND-enabling development to obtain clinical proof-of-concept Foster City, CA, March 21, 2017 – SutroVax,…

Continue ReadingSutroVax Announces Closing of $64M via Series B Financing

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Name

Mischa Travers

POSITION

US Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel

Mischa Travers is the US Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Pivotal Life Sciences. He joined Pivotal in 2022 and brings over 20 years’ experience in finance, legal, and operating roles across a range of organizations. Prior to Pivotal, he was Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel at Cequence Security, a venture-backed cybersecurity software company. Prior to that, Mr. Travers was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell where he advised technology and life sciences companies on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance, strategic partnerships, and SEC reporting and compliance issues; a derivatives trader and merger arbitrageur at Cutler Group, LP; and an investment banker focusing on the software industry at Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Travers holds a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School and a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Name

Shiva Amiri

POSITION

PhD VP, Head of AI and Data Intelligence

Shiva is the VP, Head of AI and Data Intelligence at Pivotal Bioventures where she is focused on building out a data science function for a growing international venture group. She was formerly the Director of Data Technology and Infrastructure at 23andMe where she built technology for the drug discovery and consumer health side of the company. Previously, Shiva was the Director of Data Science at Zymergen Inc., a molecular technology company in the Bay Area focused on generating new chemicals. Prior to Zymergen, she was the CEO of BioSymetrics Inc., a biomedical machine learning startup in New York. She has a PhD (DPhil) in Computational Biophysics from the University of Oxford and a HBSc. in Computer Science and Human Biology from the University of Toronto.

Name

Qian Wang

POSITION

Principal

Qian joined Pivotal Bioventure in 2022. Prior to joining Pivotal, Qian was a public equity investor at BlackRock, responsible for investment in biotech and pharmaceutical companies, across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, gene therapy/gene editing, ophthalmology, rare diseases and neuroscience. During the three years spent at BlackRock, Qian helped turned over the biopharma portfolio and pitched multiple companies that were acquired by pharmaceutical companies. Before joining BlackRock, Qian was an equity research analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch covering large and SMid cap biotech stocks. She was active in facilitating companies for initial public offerings and secondary raise. Qian received her Ph.D. In molecular biology from University of Maryland at College Park and Bachelor of Science in biotechnology from Fudan University in China.

Name

Travis Barton

POSITION

Data Scientist/Engineer

Travis joined Pivotal Life Sciences in 2022 as a Data Scientist/Engineer to build and develop NLP tools and services to help Pivotal’s team glean insights from open source data. Travis was previously a Data Scientist at Symphony AI where he used his skills to help the Public Sector team better produce applications for the GSA, DOD, Dept. Veterans Affairs, and more. Before that he was a data scientist for Sentient Energy where he worked as an R&D specialist, creating new and innovative ML/signal applications for better understanding of line conditions for utilities. He obtained his masters in Statistics from San Jose State University and his bachelors in Math from CSU Monterey Bay.”

Name

Brian Mills, PhD

POSITION

Senior Associate

Brian Mills, PhD, joined Pivotal Life Sciences in 2022. Prior to Pivotal, he was a research analyst at Jefferies covering the biotechnology sector, with a focus on neuroscience, psychiatry, precision medicine, IBD, microbiome, and orphan disease. His work integrated computational tools to derive insights into the space. Prior to Jefferies, Brian was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University where he studied neurological disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and traumatic brain injury. His PhD focused on developing translational biomarkers linking clinical and pre-clinical models of developmental disorders, including Autism and ADHD. He earned his PhD in neuroscience from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and has published over 20 peer reviewed articles in top journals including the Journal of Neuroscience and PNAS.

Name

Benjamin Li

POSITION

Senior Associate

Benjamin Li, PhD, JD, joined Pivotal Life Sciences in 2021, where he supports investments in venture and growth stage companies across the platform, and advises existing portfolio companies on BD and IP matters. Ben previously spent four years as a life sciences transactions attorney at Cooley, where he strategically advised on and negotiated partnering and licensing deals on behalf of his private and public company clients. Notably, he represented 23andMe in its target discovery and drug development collaboration with GSK, Bicycle Therapeutics in its T-cell modulator discovery collaboration with Roche/ Genentech, Arcus Biosciences in its ten-year portfolio-wide partnership with Gilead, Alpine Immune Sciences in licensing its ALPN-101 asset to AbbVie, Principia Biopharma in its acquisition by Sanofi, and Arsenal Biosciences in its T-cell therapy discovery collaboration with BMS, among other significant transactions. As part of his practice, Ben also counselled his clients on basic patent and know-how licenses (including university and intracompany licenses) and day-to-day operational agreements (including R&D services, clinical trial sites, and manufacturing and supply arrangements). Prior to that, he was a patent advisor at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he designed, prosecuted and managed the patent portfolios for biotech startups in the pharmaceutical, biological and diagnostic sectors. Ben earned his JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall), his PhD in chemical biology from the California Institute of Technology under the mentorship of Prof. Peter Dervan, and his BA in biochemistry from Columbia University. He is a co-author of 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Name

Guy Resheff

POSITION

Director Technology – Pivotal Life Sciences

Guy joined NFLS in 2021 and serves as Director of Technology, responsible for digital transformation and AI/ML initiatives. Prior to joining NFLS he was a Partner at Grove Ventures, a Deep Technology and AI-focused fund, where he invested in companies such as Wiliot and Spry Health. Previously Guy was an Executive in Residence at Tallwood Venture Capital, where he was responsible for investments in Wilocity (Acquired by Qualcomm) and Quintic (Acquired by NXP). Guy was also a founder, President and CTO at Provigent, (acquired by Broadcom) where he grew the company from inception. Guy holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is a graduate of Talpiot, Israel’s most exclusive academic program.

Name

Glenn Batchelder

POSITION

Venture Partners

Mr. Batchelder’s most recent operational role was as co‑founder and CEO of Civitas Therapeutics (acquired by Acorda Therapeutics). Prior to Civitas he served as CEO of BIND Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer) and Acceleron Pharma (acquired by Merck). He started his biotechnology career at Millennium Pharmaceutical serving in roles of increasing responsibility including SVP of Operations and where he played a leadership role in the launch of VELCADE® and was responsible for the commercial supply chain and technical operations for INTEGRLIN®. During his more than 30 years of executive leadership experience he also served in functional roles including operations, sales, marketing, business development, manufacturing, supply chain management and R&D. Mr. Batchelder currently serves as Executive Chair of XyloCor Therapeutics, Synchronicity Pharma and Kantum Pharma. He also serves on the board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation and was formerly chairman of MassBio. He received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University

Name

Jeff Leerink

POSITION

Advisor

Mr. Leerink is a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows and is the Vice Chair of the New England Chapter of CEO’s Against Cancer. He serves on the Boards of Big Brother Big Sister of Massachusetts Bay and FogPharma. Mr. Leerink is the founder, CEO and the chairman of Leerink Partners, a leading healthcare investment bank and company building partner. Mr. Leerink holds a B.A. in Economics from Union College.

Hong Kong Life Sciences Society

Hong Kong Life Sciences Society (HKLSS) is a non profit youth organization established in 2018 aiming to build a dynamic life sciences ecosystem in Hong Kong.

Through knowledge exchange, collaboration and public engagement, HKLSS has been committed to nurture talent that helps develop a world-class life sciences industry cluster in Hong Kong.

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The D. H. Chen Foundation

The D. H. Chen Foundation is a private philanthropic organization founded in 1970 by Dr. Din Hwa CHEN, who also established the Nan Fung Group. Over the past decades, the Foundation has been supporting numerous worthy community philanthropic initiatives to promote compassion-based values.

To this day, Dr. Chen’s philanthropic vision continues to drive the Foundation’s work efforts. Aspiring to build a compassionate society, the Foundation has been endeavoring to steer innovative, impactful and sustainable initiatives to realize Dr. Chen’s philosophy “Care for others as well as you would care for yourself.”

learn more

Hong Kong Life Sciences Society

Hong Kong Life Sciences Society (HKLSS) is a non profit youth organization established in 2018 aiming to build a dynamic life sciences ecosystem in Hong Kong.

Through knowledge exchange, collaboration and public engagement, HKLSS has been committed to nurture talent that helps develop a world-class life sciences industry cluster in Hong Kong.

learn more

The D. H. Chen Foundation

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Name

Joe Charalel

POSITION

Senior Associate – Pivotal Life Sciences

Joe Charalel is a Senior Associate with Pivotal Life Sciences where he focuses on new life science technologies across early and growth-stage investments while providing strategic and operational support to portfolio companies. Prior to joining Pivotal in 2022, Joe was a Manager in the San Francisco office of Bain & Co. where he advised leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies on corporate strategy and M&A as well as investors in the healthcare and technology sectors. Joe holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Columbia University where he also trained in cell biology using yeast genetics and advanced microscopy techniques in the lab of Dr. Liza Pon. He has co-authored publications in cell biology and cancer genomics and is completing a PhD in Genetics at Stanford University leveraging experimental and computational approaches in cancer genomics. Joe volunteers as an advisor to the St. Anthony Foundation, the most comprehensive safety net service center in San Francisco, helping to serve their mission to create a society in which all persons flourish.

Name

Melissa Cheng

POSITION

Executive Assistant – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Melissa joined Pivotal in 2018. She assists with the administration and support for the office as well as Executive Assistant to Managing Partner. Prior to joining Pivotal, she has worked as an Executive Assistant supporting C-level executives in venture capital, tech and real estate investment. Melissa studied at San Francisco State University and majored in Business Administration.

Name

Felix Fu

POSITION

VP of Research

Prior to joining, Felix led competitive intelligence and BD analysis in a biotech startup. Before that, Felix co-founded Quisite Science, a science communication agency and served biotech, consumer health and NGO clients. Felix also worked as a senior knowledge consultant in McKinsey & Company, where he was a core member of China healthcare practice and global R&D knowledge service line, with engagement experience in pharma R&D and innovation. He has deep interests in breakthrough findings and disruptive innovation in life sciences. Felix holds a PhD in Developmental Genetics from New York University.

Name

Margie Tostado

POSITION

Executive Assistant – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Margie joined Pivotal bioVenture Partners in 2018 as Executive Assistant to Managing Partner and Venture Partner. Prior to joining Pivotal, she worked as an Executive Assistant in venture capital, tech and private equity. Margie is a graduate of University of California at Santa Barbara where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies (emphasis in art history, French and European history).

Name

Ashley Power

POSITION

Executive Coordinator – Pivotal Life Sciences

Ashley joined Pivotal in 2021 as Executive Coordinator and brings nearly 10 years’ experience supporting top-tier professionals. Most recently, Ashley was an Executive Assistant at Bay City Capital, where she supported multiple managing directors as well as the accounting department. Prior experience includes operations management and executive support at Climate Policy Initiative, and office management at a San Francisco-based construction firm. Ashley received a BA in Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice, from San Francisco State University.

Name

Paritosh Kulkarni

POSITION

Data Scientist Engineer – Pivotal Life Sciences

Paritosh Kulkarni, MS, joined Pivotal in 2022 as Data Scientist Engineer. Paritosh brings robust data analysis, transformation, and data engineering experience, along with expertise in developing end-to-end natural language processing models. Paritosh is responsible for creating Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence-powered software.Before joining Pivotal, Paritosh was Chief Data Engineer at Toughleaf.com and Machine Learning Engineer at Siro.ai, where he built data infrastructure. Paritosh created data assets by transforming large public datasets and developed classification models to support business solutions. Paritosh has a Master of Science from Columbia University in Chemical Engineering focused on Data and Computational Sciences. He obtained a Bachelor of Technology from Manipal University in chemical engineering with a minor in business management.

Name

Tony Ho

POSITION

Chief Science Officer – Pivotal Life Sciences

Tony was Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development at Crispr Therapeutics. In a period of 4 years, he built a world class R&D engine and a pipeline of over 10 product candidates. He and his team have brought first CRISPR based therapy CTX001, 3 allogeneic CAR-T (CTX110 (CD19), 120 (BCMA), 130 (CD70)), and the first CRISPR edited pancreatic islet progenitor cells (VCTX210) from research bench to the clinic. Prior to CRISPR Therapeutics, he was SVP and Head of Oncology Integration and Innovation at AstraZeneca and oversaw the development and commercialization of Lynparza and Imfinizi (anti-PD-L1). 10 Phase 3 trials designed under his leadership have now read out positive (Lynparza: SOLO1, SOLO2, SOLO3-1L & PSR Ovarian, OlympiAD-TNBC, POLO-Pancreatic, PAOLA – 1L Ovarian, ProFound 2LmCRC, ; Imfinizi: Pacific- NSCLC, CASPIAN 1L SCLC, Poseidon 1L NSCLC (IO+IO+CHEMO). Tony has successfully repositioned a failed NK3 antagonist for PCOS. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Tony was the head of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Merck and led the development and launch of Zioptan and several Phase 3 programs including CGRP-RA for migraine, A2a-RA for Parkinson’s disease, prostaglandin for glaucoma, and several early programs in neuropathic pain, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to Merck, Tony was the Co-Founder and CSO of Neuronyx, a start-up that developed stem cells for heart failure, immuno-oncology and islet cells. Tony received B.S. in Electrical Engineering at UCLA, and M.D. from Johns Hopkins. He was Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins specialized in neuropathy and neuromuscular diseases. Tony described and elucidated the pathogenesis of a new disease called “acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN)”. He has published widely in several fields with over 80 papers. He is currently Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at University of Pennsylvania and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University.

Name

Kai Chen

POSITION

Senior Associate

Kai Chen is a Senior Associate with Pivotal bioVenture Partners China. Prior to joining Pivotal China, Kai was an Associate Director at CStone Pharmaceutical, in charge of Commercial Strategy and New Product Planning. He supported the entire process of commercial launch of two precision oncology products (Ayvakit, Gavreto) and the CStone-Pfizer strategic partnership deal. Prior to CStone, Kai was a Consultant at BCG Greater China Office focusing on healthcare. He has also worked as a Business Development Associate at Simcere Pharmaceuticals US. Kai received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago (advisor: Prof. Chuan He) and his B.S. in Chemical Biology from Tsinghua University.

Name

Wendy Ardrey

POSITION

SVP, Head of Investor Relations – Pivotal Life Sciences

Wendy Ardrey is Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations for Pivotal Life Sciences. She was a Senior Director – Private Markets Business Development at Aberdeen Standard Investments, where she specialized in developing private investment strategies for family offices and endowments and foundations. Wendy has more than 20 years of investment experience, including 13 years in private capital. Wendy joined FLAG Capital Management in 2008, which was subsequently acquired by Aberdeen Asset Management in September 2015. Prior to joining FLAG in 2008, Wendy was a consultant at DKR Capital Inc., a multi-strategy hedge fund, focusing on new business and client service. Prior to DKR, Wendy held positions at Renaissance Capital, an IPO research firm, First Boston, focusing on fixed income capital markets, and PaineWebber, where she specialized in corporate finance. Wendy holds a JD / MBA from University of Santa Clara and a BA from Stanford University.

Name

James Jin

POSITION

Operating Partner

James Jin joined Pivotal China as Operating Partner on Aug.2nd, 2021. Prior to joining Pivotal China, James is the Head of Clinical Development in Novartis China from Aug 2019 to Jul 2021. He has about 7-year clinical practice experience in hospital before joining industry. He has more than 18-year working experience and taking leadership role in MNC Medical Dept. He joined Wyeth Pharm in 2003 as Medical Manager and then Boehringer Ingelheim Pharm as Head of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs in 2008. He joined Eli Lilly as Medical Director of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs of Bio-Medicine and then Medical Science Head (i.e., Bio-statistician, programming, HEOR, PV, Medical Writer, Med-information, Patient Education teams) in 2012. He has the rich experience not only in Clinical Development in multi-therapeutic areas (e.g., auto-immunology, CNS, anti-infection, renal disease, respiratory, CV, diabetes, ophthalmology and oncology), but also Clinical Development multi-function teams management and Medical Affairs such as launch readiness. James received his Bachelor of Clinical Medicine in Shanghai Medical University, and then Master& Ph.D. of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical School, Fudan University in 2003.

Name

Benjamin Li

POSITION

Senior Associate

Name

Bibhash Mukhopadhyay

POSITION

Partner – Pivotal CNS

Bibhash is a Partner with Pivotal CNS. Prior to joining the NFLS platform of funds, he was a Principal at NEA where he acquired investing, portfolio management and board leadership experience in a number of private and public biotech companies across various stages, geographies and therapeutic areas. Prior to that, he worked in BD and Corporate Strategy at Astra Zeneca and before that, at Johnson & Johnson. In those roles, he led a number of transactions in pre-clinical and clinical stage assets.

Bibhash did his PhD research on retinal degeneration from Baylor College of Medicine Houston USA, has a Masters in Neuroscience from Max Planck Research School in Germany and an undergrad degree in biomedical sciences from India.

Name

Zhilei Guo

POSITION

Executive director

Zhilei joined PivotalChina as Executive director in 2021. Prior to that, he was Executive Director in Epiphron Capital and Vice President in Cathay Capital Private Equity focusing on healthcare investment in Shanghai. Before started his investment professional career, Zhilei was with Sanofi and Abbott (Abbvie) in different roles of Medical Affairs, Product Launch, and Business Strategy and Development. He practiced as a neurosurgeon in Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University after graduation.

Zhilei received his Doctor of Medicine and second bachelor of Economics from Fudan University. He also holds an MBA from CEIBS and MPH from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Name

Kwok Yung Yuen

POSITION

Advisor – Nan Fung Life Sciences

Prof. Yuen is Chair of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology at University of Hong Kong
Professor Yuen heads the Department of Microbiology at HKU, and has the rare distinction of being a successful microbiologist, surgeon and physician

Name

Margie Tostado

POSITION

Executive Assistant

Margie joined Pivotal bioVenture Partners in 2018. Prior to joining Pivotal, she has worked as an Executive Assistant in venture capital, tech and private equity. Margie is a graduate of University of California at Santa Barbara where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies (emphasis in art history, French and European history).

Name

Melissa Cheng

POSITION

Executive Assistant

Melissa joined Pivotal in 2018. She assists with the administration and support for the office. Prior to joining Pivotal, she has worked as an Executive Assistant supporting C-level executives in venture capital, tech and real estate investment. Melissa studied at San Francisco State University and majored in Business Administration.

Name

Tony Wyss-Coray

POSITION

Advisor – Nan Fung Life Sciences

Dr. Wyss-Coray is a Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford
University. He also leads the Wyss-Coray Lab at Stanford
Dr. Wyss-Coray is a leading expert on brain aging and neurodegeneration. His research focuses on age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. He is the recipient of an NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, a Zenith award from the Alzheimer’s Association, a distinguished scholar award from the John Douglas French Alzheimer
Foundation

Name

Solo Wu

POSITION

Vice President – Pivotal Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Solo joined Pivotal bioVenture Partners China in 2019 and is currently a Vice President of the fund. As a core team member of Pivotal China, Solo has extensively involved in all of the fund’s incubations and investment activities in the life science sector. Prior to joining pivotal, Solo has 6 years of consulting experience in China and Singapore, including the last 3 years as a management consultant of L.E.K. Consulting. Solo earned bachelor and master degree in Chemistry from National University of Singapore.

Name

Ming Cheah

POSITION

Principal

Ming Cheah, PhD, joined Pivotal in 2020. Prior to joining Pivotal, Ming was a Group Manager at Roche/Genentech, where he worked in the business development and competitive intelligence groups. At Genentech, Ming had led teams to evaluate external technologies and companies to advise R&D, partnering, and business strategy. Notably, he led scientific diligence to select external clinical collaboration partners and molecules for Roche’s novel clinical trial platforms in oncology. Ming also advised clinical development and commercial strategy for multiple drugs in different therapeutic areas, most recently for Tecentriq® (PD-L1 Ab), tiragolumb (TIGIT Ab), and ipatasertib (AKT inhibitor) in oncology, Ocrevus® (CD20 Ab) in multiple sclerosis, and beta amyloid programs in Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to Genentech, Ming was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., with experience advising therapeutics and medtech companies on M&A, business strategy, and operations. Ming earned his PhD in Immunology from Stanford University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Irving Weissman, where he discovered and characterized a mechanism for how cancer cells control inflammation in the tumor microenvironment to suppress the immune response. Ming completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biology from Yale University, where he published a Nature article and is a co-inventor on a patent on riboswitch-mediated regulation of RNA splicing in fungi.

Name

Karl Deisseroth

POSITION

Advisor – Nan Fung Life Sciences

Dr. Karl Deisseroth is the D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Deisseroth is known for creating and developing the technologies of CLARITY and optogenetics, and for applying integrated optical and genetic strategies to study normal neural circuit function as well as dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric disease. He earned his A.B. in biochemical sciences from Harvard University and his M.D./Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University in 1998 and completed his medical internship and psychiatry residency at Stanford Medical School.

Name

June Yan

POSITION

Operating Partner – Pivotal Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

June joined Pivotal China as an Operating Partner in 2018. June is a business executive with 20 years of experience working for multinational biopharmaceutical companies in a variety of markets including the United States, China and Asia. Prior to joining Pivotal China, June was the general manager of Celgene China (later acquired by BeiGene). Before that she spent 17 years working at Eli Lilly & Company in different marketing and sales roles in the US and global teams, General Manger in Lilly Hong Kong, Marking Director in Lilly Mid-Sized Asia Markets, and VP of Lilly China leading its Biomedicines Business Unit. With diverse functional and therapeutic experiences, June has the ability to build/grow successful organizations and lead turn-arounds. Her business expertise covers a wide variety of therapeutic areas including specialty care areas such as hematology and oncology, as well as primary care areas including Neuroscience, Diabetes, Infectious Diseases, Osteoporosis, and Men’s Health. June holds an M.B.A. and a M.S. degree in Biochemistry, both from the University of Maryland in the US, and a B.S. degree in Polymer Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

Name

Guangping Gao

POSITION

Advisor – Nan Fung Life Sciences

Prof. Gao is a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, department of Microbiology and Physiological systems
Research in Prof. Gao’s lab primarily involves the discovery, development and use of adeno-associated virus vectors for gene therapy of genetic diseases and the study of miRNA functions in mammals

Name

Dianna Qian

POSITION

Partner – Pivotal Life Sciences & Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Dianna, joined Pivotal China in 2018 as a Partner. During the preceding 7 years, she worked at two well-established US dollar funds (Fidelity Asia Growth Partners and Foutainvest) as the core investment team members of their healthcare practice. Prior to that, Dianna was the Vice President at Boehringer Ingelheim China in charge of Corporate Strategy & Business Development and New Product Planning, where she led the strategic alliance of BI and Eli Lily and licensed in several products in different therapeutic areas. Dianna started her career at BCG and later became an Engagement Manager at McKinsey’s China and US offices specializing in healthcare sector.

Name

Carlos Solorzano

POSITION

Senior Associate

Carlos Solórzano, PhD, joined Pivotal in 2019. Before joining Pivotal, Carlos was an Associate Director in the corporate strategy and business development team at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical where he worked on competitive intelligence, as well as portfolio, commercial and BD strategy. In particular, Carlos participated in Ultragenyx’ option to acquire GeneTx (ASO for Angelman Syndrome), the expansion of Ultragenyx’ collaboration agreement with Arcturus Therapeutics (nucleic acid therapeutics including mRNA), as well as in the technology and portfolio strategy of Ultragenyx’ gene therapy platform. Prior to Ultragenyx, Carlos worked as an equity research associate at Deutsche Bank and Oppenheimer & Co. covering smid- and large-cap biotech companies. Carlos earned his PhD in Pharmacology from UC Irvine and was an NIH postdoctoral scholar at UC San Francisco where he investigated the neurobiology of pain and itch.

Name

Antony Leung

POSITION

Chairman & CEO – Nan Fung Group

Mr. Leung, former Financial Secretary of Hong Kong SAR, has extensive experience in financial services, including as Chairman of Greater China of Blackstone, Chairman of Asia JP Morgan Chase, Asia Head of Citi Private Bank, Regional Head of Citi Investment Bank, Treasury and Greater China. In addition, Antony was the Independent Director of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited, American International Assurance (Hong Kong) Limited, and an International Advisory Board member of China Development Bank. His public service experience includes non-official member of the Executive Council, member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, Hong Kong Airport Authority, Chairman of the Education Commission and University Grants Committee in Hong Kong.

Name

Julie Zhou

POSITION

Senior Associate – Pivotal Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Julie Zhou is Senior Associate in Pivotal China. Before joining Pivotal China, she worked in L.E.K. Consulting as Consultant and Practice Development Leader in New Modalities, dedicated in life science area. Prior to L.E.K., Julie received her PhD degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

Name

Jennifer Lee

POSITION

Partner -Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal Life Sciences & Pivotal Growth

Jeni joined Nan Fung Life Sciences & Pivotal Life Sciences in 2019. Prior to Pivotal, she was at Novo Ventures supporting the firm’s investments across healthcare. Before joining Novo, Jeni supported the Director of Research at Aquilo Capital Management, a hedge fund focused on mid cap biotechs. Additionally, Jeni was a co-founder of ViVita Technologies, a cardiovascular-focused preclinical medtech startup. Jeni currently serves on the board of directors of Addition Therapeutics and DermBiont and as an observer for Secure Transfusion Services (STS). She previously served as an observer on the board of directors of Rallybio (NASDAQ:RLYB) and Inozyme Pharma (NASDAQ:INZY). Jeni volunteers with the Breaking 7% network to promote women in venture capital and previously volunteered with the New England Venture Network (NEVN). Jeni earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering with a Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology from the University of California, Davis, and her B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Name

Anna Sun

POSITION

Executive Director – Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal Life Sciences
Executive Assistant to Group MD & COO – Nan Fung Group

Anna joined Nan Fung Life Sciences in 2014. Prior to joining us, Anna was Vice President at Barclays Capital’s Interest Rates Structuring Asia Pacific team. She was one of the key people in driving the firm’s fixed income exotic products offering in Greater China region. She received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science Degree in Finance from Tsinghua University.

Name

Jennifer Lee

POSITION

Principal

Jeni joined Nan Fung Life Sciences in 2019. She previously spent 3 years at Novo Ventures, supporting the firm’s investments in private and public life sciences companies across the therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, and digital health sectors. While at Novo, she served as a Board Observer at Inozyme Pharma. Prior to Novo, Jeni supported the Director of Research at Aquilo Capital Management, a hedge fund focused on smid cap biotechs. Additionally, Jeni was a co-founder of ViVita Technologies, a cardiovascular-focused preclinical medtech startup. Jeni volunteers with the New England Venture Network (NEVN), a young professionals organization for aspiring venture capitalists, as well as the Breaking 7% network to promote women in venture capital. Jeni earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering with a Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology from the University of California, Davis, and her B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Name

Norman Tse

POSITION

Vice President – Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal Growth & Pivotal Life Sciences

Norman joined NF Trinity Capital in 2017 and is Vice President, focusing on early stage direct and fund investments in the life science sector. Before joining NFT, he was responsible for managing a global healthcare equity portfolio at family office of Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL), which was sold to Blackstone for US$480M in 2017. Prior to that, he was with Uni-Bio Science Group (HKSE: 0690) and closed multiple licensing deals with leading China and Korea pharmaceutical companies. Norman earned a master degree in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley & UCSF and a bachelor degree in Biochemistry from the University of Hong Kong. He has completed the CFA program in 2017.

Name

Peter Bisgaard

POSITION

Managing Director – Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal Life Sciences, Pivotal Growth & Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Mr. Bisgaard joined Nan Fung and Pivotal Life Sciences in 2017. He was previously a Senior Partner at Novo Ventures (US) Inc. since 2009. As part of Novo’s senior team, he was responsible for Novo Ventures’ overall investment and portfolio strategy as well as the ongoing development of the Novo Ventures team in the US. Prior to that, Mr. Bisgaard was with Novo A/S since 2001 in Denmark. He has both investment and board experience from a large number of private and public US life sciences companies. Prior to joining Novo A/S, Peter was with McKinsey & Co. as a general consultant and as a specialist within the Scandinavian Corporate Finance and Strategy Group. He was part of the strategic and financial advisory teams in multiple large Private Equity and Corporate M&A transactions and strategy projects across industry sectors. Mr. Bisgaard obtained an M.Sc. in Engineering in 1998 from the Technical University of Denmark and was awarded a post-graduate degree in Mathematical Modelling in Economics by the European Consortium for Mathematics in the Industry.

Name

Rob Hopfner

POSITION

Managing Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Rob Hopfner, RPh, PhD, MBA joined Pivotal in 2017, and brings a long track record of working successfully with entrepreneurs to get novel, important medicines through development and onto the market. Rob is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Evommune, Inozyme Pharma (NASDAQ: INZY), Oculis SA, Plexium, Rallybio (NASDAQ: RLYB), and Vaxcyte (NASDAQ: PCVX), and he led Pivotal’s investments in Exscientia and Arcutis (NASDAQ: ARQT). Rob brings a broad range of venture investing experience, from early / seed stage company building work through later stage investing. Past investments include Aciex Therapeutics (sold to Nicox S.A.), Civitas Therapeutics (sold to Acorda Therapeutics), Dermira (sold to Lilly), Hyperion Therapeutics (sold to Horizon Pharma), Imara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IMRA), Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ: KZR), Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MDGL), Merus BV (NASDAQ: MRUS), NextWave Pharmaceuticals (sold to Pfizer), Protez Pharmaceuticals (sold to Novartis), and Vtesse (sold to Sucampo Pharmaceuticals). Rob was previously a Managing Director at Bay City Capital and prior to that worked in DuPont / Merck Pharmaceuticals’ Business Development & Strategy group. Rob holds an RPh in Pharmacy and PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Saskatchewan and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He completed his post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School. Rob won numerous awards during his research career, including the Governor General of Canada Gold Medal Award, and he published several articles in top scientific and medical journals based on his work. Rob started his career as a pharmacist.

Name

Simon Tsang

POSITION

Advisor – Pivotal Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Shannon Cheung joined Pivotal China in 2018. He is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Averest Capital, an investment company focusing on healthcare, TMT and environmental technology sectors, and Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Likang Life Sciences. Shannon has participated in the investment of over 40 technology companies in China, including Alibaba Group, Hero Entertainment, VSPN, China Music Corporation (currently known as Tencent Music), CMGE, Yixin Group, Alltech Medical Systems, MChang, All Football, 91huayi.com (China’s largest online continued education platform for doctors). Prior to Averest Capital, Shannon was Managing Director of global banking coverage in HSBC Markets (Asia) Limited and Chief Representative of HSBC (Securities Business) Beijing Representative Office, where he was responsible for business origination of investment banking in China, including IPOs and other equity related products, M&A advisory and high yield bond issuance. Shannon is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee, Standing Committee member of All-China Youth Federation, Vice Chairman of All-China Financial Youth Federation, Standing Committee member of Central State-Owned Enterprise Youth Federation, Standing Committee member of Beijing Youth Federation and Founder and President of Fin Society, a non-profit professional fraternity aiming to enhance the competitiveness of finance practitioners in Hong Kong and nurture next-generation finance industry leaders. He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honour from the Government of Hong Kong. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with distinction from the University of Calgary.

Name

Simon Tsang

POSITION

Operating Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Simon joined Pivotal China in 2020 as an Operating Partner. Prior to joining, served as Executive Vice President at 28-7, a start-up pioneering innovative therapeutics to modulate RNA. Prior to that, he has held strategy and business development roles of increasing responsibility at Tesaro, MedImmune/AstraZeneca, Amgen, Constellation, Massachusetts General Hospital, and L.E.K. Consulting. He enjoys the creative combination of strategic analysis and deal-making to bring meaningful change for patients. Simon’s projects have spanned pharmaceuticals, software, and medical devices across many therapeutic areas. His transactional expertise encompasses M&A, global and regional strategic collaborations, co-promotions, platform partnering, and spin-outs. Simon received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard and a B.S. degree in Molecular Biology from the University of California, San Diego.

Name

Vincent Cheung

POSITION

Chief Executive Officer – Nan Fung Life Sciences, Managing Partner – Pivotal Life Sciences, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer – Nan Fung Group, & Founder and Managing Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China & US)

Vincent is the Chairman of Nan Fung Life Sciences. He founded Pivotal bioVenture Partners in 2017 and Pivotal bioVenture Partners China in 2018. Vincent is also the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nan Fung Group, responsible for the Group’s strategic development as well as overall operations. Prior to joining Nan Fung Group in 2009, Vincent had extensive experiences in the financial sector. He was Vice President of Barclays Capital Asia Limited and Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited. He has served on the boards of several public and private companies in both biotech sector and real estate sector. Vincent is the Founder and Chairman of Hong Kong Life Sciences Society, a youth organization aiming to build a dynamic life sciences ecosystem in Hong Kong with a focus of nurturing young talents in the industry. He is also a member of the Hong Kong BioMedical Technology Development Advisory Panel and a board member of Hong Kong University Technology Transfer Office. Mr. Cheung graduated with honors in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Name

Eric Gu

POSITION

Director Finance – Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal Life Sciences & Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Eric joined NFLS/Pivotal in 2018, he was appointed as Finance Director, responsible for overall financial management of NFLS/Pivotal US & China operating and Pivotal China’s portfolio financial management. He has over 20 years of broad experiences in Greater China healthcare and life-sciences industry across various areas, including Corporate Finance, Financial Management, internal control development, commercial operations, Strategic business development, Distribution Channel management, Joint Venture and Post Merger Integration, etc. Prior to joining NFLS/Pivotal, Eric was a member of leadership team in several top healthcare/life sciences MNCs including Medtronic, Smith & Nephew and ConvaTec Group. Eric graduated from Shanghai Li Xin Accounting College, PRC, and he obtained MBA from Webster University, USA.

Name

Samson Chen

POSITION

Senior Finance Manager – Pivotal Life Sciences & Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Samson, joined Pivotal China in 2018. Before joining Pivotal China, Samson worked for Roche Diagnostic and Ernst & Young for several years, with experiences on financial planning, financial analysis, budgeting, audit, internal control and reporting. He received his MBA from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and he also hold certificates of CICPA, CGA and ACCA.

Name

Raymond Yuan

POSITION

Vice President – Nan Fung Group & Pivotal Life Sciences

Raymond joined Nan Fung Group in 2018. He has previously worked at McKinsey & Company as a core member of the Chemical and Agriculture practice. Raymond received a Master of Engineering Degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College London.

Name

Lisa Cai

POSITION

Director – Pivotal Life Sciences & Public Investing

Prior to NFLS, Lisa was a senior research analyst at NF Trinity, Nan Fung Group’s financial investment arm, where she was responsible for the fund’s publicly listed investments in the global healthcare sector. Prior to NF Trinity, Lisa was a senior analyst at Agamemnon Capital, a global event-driven hedge fund, where she focused on the healthcare sector. She was also an Assistant Vice President at SAFE, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, managing its global healthcare holdings. She started her career in private equity with Morgan Stanley in San Francisco. Lisa earned her MBA from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, and her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees from University of California, Berkeley.

Name

Meng Gao

POSITION

Chief Investment Officer – Nan Fung Group, Managing Director – Pivotal Life Sciences & Managing Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US) & (China)

Meng Gao is the Chief Investment Officer of Nan Fung Group. He is responsible for overseeing Nan Fung’s overall investment activities, as well as developing the group’s strategic initiatives including Nan Fung Life Sciences. Mr. Gao joined Nan Fung Group in 2015. Prior to joining Nan Fung Group, Mr. Gao was a Managing Director at Blackstone’s Private Equity Group in Hong Kong, where he was involved in a number of transactions across multiple industries. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Gao was a Senior Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, where he was involved in sourcing, structuring and executing private equity investments in China. Prior to that, Mr. Gao was an investment banker with Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan in New York. Mr. Gao received a Bachelor of Economics degree from Peking University, an M.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with Honors. Mr. Gao is currently board member of New Frontier Group and Artic Vision.

Name

Karoly Nikolich

POSITION

Advisor – Nan Fung Life Sciences, Venture Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Prof. Nikolich is an adjunct professor at Stanford University Medical School
He founded 3 companies: Alkahest, Chase Pharmaceuticals and Amnestix; he also led Genentech’s neuroscience platform and was VP of Research at Lynx Therapeutics
Graduated from Eotvos University in Budapest and worked as postdoctoral fellow at Tulane
University and UCSF

Name

Heather Preston

POSITION

Senior Advisor – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Heather Preston MD joined Pivotal in 2018 and brings 31+ years of healthcare experience. Most recently she was a Firm Partner and Managing Director at TPG Biotech. Prior to joining TPG in 2005, Dr. Preston spent two years investing with JP Morgan Partners and she was also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with New Enterprise Associates. Prior to becoming a venture capital investor, Heather spent five years at McKinsey & Co. in New York, where she was a leader of their pharmaceutical and medical products consulting practice. She advised large pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies on critical strategic issues such as R&D portfolio prioritization, M&A opportunities, new technology acquisitions, new product launches and product growth strategies. Heather serves on the board of directors of multiple companies and has previously served on multiple private and public boards including Albireo (NASDAQ:ALBO), Alder BioPharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR) (Acquired by Lundbeck in 2019), Aptalis Pharma (acquired by Forest Labs in 2014), and Elevation Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Sunovion in 2012). She was responsible for TPG Biotech’s investment in Par Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Endo Pharmaceuticals in 2015). Heather has an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of London and a medical degree from the University of Oxford. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University and trained in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard and sub-specialized in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UCSF. During her academic medical career, she was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, a Fulbright Cancer Research Scholarship, a Harlech Scholarship and a Science and Engineering Research Council Post-doctoral Fellowship Award.

Name

Emerald Bloom

POSITION

Human Resources, Office Manager – Pivotal Life Sciences

Emerald joined Pivotal Life Sciences in San Francisco, CA in 2019 as Office Manager and U.S. Human Resources for Nan Fung Life Sciences as well as Executive Assistant to Peter Bisgaard. As HR Manager, she is responsible for the execution and support of HR deliveries for Nan Fung/Pivotal Life Sciences US. Prior to working for Nan Fung Life Sciences, she was Executive Assistant and Director of Executive Affairs to founders of leading Real Estate Investment Management and Real Estate Development Firms in San Francisco as well as Event & Marketing Manager for the San Francisco Giants. Emerald has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, facilitating and advising in the start-up environment. Emerald studied Business Marketing at California State University Monterey Bay.

Name

Zhimin Liu

POSITION

Business Analyst – Pivotal Life Sciences & Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

Zhimin Liu joined Pivotal bioVenture Partners China as Business Analyst in 2020, supporting the investments evaluation in China private biotech of therapeutics and medical devices. Zhimin received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry for Biomedicine from University of Nottingham.

Name

Davis Yang

POSITION

Senior Associate

Prior to joining Nan Fung Life Sciences, Davis gained 7 years of experience working with BVCF, the first fund in China focused on PE/VC investments in the country’s life sciences and healthcare industries. There, he led deals with a focus on cross-border strategies in antibacterial, hormone replacement, and OBGYN companies and served as Board Director or observer in each. In addition, he helped develop and execute BVCF’s fundraising and investor relations program leading to successfully closing BVCF’s third fund. Before that, he served with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Department of Strategic Planning and Innovation, where he helped develop strategies for optimizing operations and for larger scale institutional and business growth. Davis earned his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his Bachelor of Arts degree at Yale University.

Name

David Malek

POSITION

Investment Director – Nan Fung Life Sciences,Pivotal Life Sciences & Operating Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (China)

David joined NFLS in 2018 and serves as an Investment Director at Pivotal Growth since 2020, responsible for leading new investments at the fund. Prior to joining Pivotal Growth he served as an Operating Partner at Pivotal China, where he was involved in building two new companies: OncXerna and Arctic Vision, and served as their Chief Business Officer. Prior to NFLS, David served as the Chief Business Officer at BioLineRx (NASDAQ: BLRX), where he was responsible for licensing, M&A, strategic alliances and investor relations. During his tenure he built partnerships between BioLineRx and several leading life sciences companies, including Novartis, Genentech and Merck, and led the in-licensing and acquisition of multiple pharmaceutical projects. Prior to his role at BioLineRx David was working for Sanofi in a variety of corporate development, commercial and business development roles in the US and France. David gained his MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and his B.A. in statistics and political science at the University of Haifa.

Name

Ming luo

POSITION

Director of Human Resources NFLS, Pivotal China

Ming joined as the Human Resources Director of Nan Fung Life Sciences and the Head of Human Resources for Pivotal BioVenture China in 2021. Prior to joining, Ming was a Principal at Heidrick & Struggles with focus on Healthcare and Life Science Practice. Before that, she possesses over 20 years of executive search experience with several global leading executive search and human capital consulting firms, and placed hundreds of executives in a wide spectrum of industries. In her early career life, Ming was a consultant with China International Economic Consultants, a subsidiary of CITIC Group. Ming holds an MBA degree from Olin School of Management, Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Central University of Finance and Economics. She also accomplished advanced study in Management Psychology with Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Name

Ash Khanna

POSITION

Partner – Pivotal bioVenture Partners (US)

Ash Khanna, PhD, MBA joined Pivotal in 2017. Ash brings 20 years of experience in the venture capital, pharmaceutical and biotech arena. Most recently, he co-founded SutroVax, a Pivotal bioVentures portfolio company, where he served as Chief Business Officer. Previously he was President & Chief Business Officer of Imagen Biotech, a VC-backed startup developing treatments for severe ophthalmic diseases. Prior to his operating roles, Ash was a Principal at SV Life Sciences (SVLS), a healthcare focused venture capital firm, where he led and managed investments in many biotech and diagnostic companies including, among others, Ophthotech, Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Good Start Genetics and Itero Biopharmaceuticals. He started his career in the pharmaceutical industry at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he held various positions including Team Leader responsible for the clinical advancement of multiple Diabetes programs including the currently marketed products, Onglyza® (Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor) and Farxiga® (SGLT2 inhibitor). Ash is a co-inventor on the Onglyza® patent. Ash has an MBA from The Wharton School and a PhD in Pharmaceutics from SUNY-Buffalo. He is also a Kauffman Fellow and initially trained as a pharmacist.