J.P. Morgan Launches New Life Sciences Private Capital Team Targeting Investments in Innovative Healthcare Companies

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Nov 01, 2022, 08:30 ET

Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., Gaurav Gupta, M.D. and Anya Schiess join J.P. Morgan as Managing Partners

Industry luminaries to act as Strategic Advisors to support new team

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management today announced the launch of a new life sciences private equity team, Life Sciences Private Capital. The new team will invest in both early and growth stage healthcare companies across multiple strategies aligned to specific market opportunities, with a focus on novel therapeutics and technologies in several target areas including Genetic Medicine, Oncology, Neurodegenerative Disease, Rare Diseases, Autoimmunity, AI/ML platforms, Metabolic Diseases and Neuropsychology.

The new team leverages JPMorgan Chase's scale, resources, data assets and healthcare expertise and sits within J.P. Morgan Private Capital, a growth equity and private credit investment platform. The platform finances the continued growth of private companies and taps into significant pre-IPO value creation opportunities in the consumer and technology, climate technology and life sciences sectors.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has hired industry expert Dr. Stephen Squinto as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner of Life Sciences Private Capital. Dr. Squinto joins from OrbiMed Advisors and brings more than 30 years of experience in the biotechnology company building and investing space, having co-founded and built numerous biotechnology companies including Alexion Pharmaceuticals and acting as a key scientific founder of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Joining Dr. Squinto as Co-Managing Partners of the investment strategy are Dr. Gaurav Gupta and Ms. Anya Schiess. Dr. Gupta founded life science investment firm Ascendant BioCapital and was previously involved in private equity investments at OrbiMed Advisors. Ms. Schiess has over 25 years of experience in healthcare investing and most recently was Co-Founder and General Partner of Healthy Ventures. Full biographies are included below.

"Our new Life Sciences Private Capital team combines some of the industry's most revered biotech investors, operators and founders with J.P. Morgan's extensive healthcare ecosystem to capture compelling investment opportunities in the biotech sector, which is on the cusp of a golden age of therapeutic innovation," said Brian Carlin, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Private Capital. "Through Steve, Gaurav and Anya's deep company-building experience, the team will bring a unique ability to partner with portfolio companies and add significant operational value beyond financial investment."

"I'm thrilled to join J.P. Morgan to launch the Life Sciences Private Capital team. Our major focus will be to offer our investors a differentiated investment platform that harnesses our deep operational expertise to act as true partners to the companies we invest in – from building strong leadership teams, guiding early drug discovery efforts, designing clinical development programs, and navigating the regulatory environment through to commercial launch strategies," said Dr. Stephen Squinto, Chief Investment Officer, Life Sciences Private Capital. "As advances in genomics, biomarkers and data science converge, we are seeing firsthand the transformative impact that biomedical innovation can offer to patients at all stages of life and we expect much more to come in the next decade. J.P. Morgan's existing presence in the healthcare sector will give us a significant sourcing advantage as we seek to identify innovative and transformative therapeutics companies."

In addition to the hiring of Dr. Squinto, Dr. Gupta and Ms. Schiess, the firm has also attracted a group of Strategic Advisors comprised of some of the life sciences industry's foremost experts that will help guide the investment strategy, help to source investment opportunities and provide operational expertise to J.P. Morgan's portfolio companies. Strategic Advisors include:

Laurie Glimcher, M.D. – President and CEO, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D. – Executive Chairman, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Frederic Moll, M.D. – Chief Development Officer, J&J Medical Devices Companies
Stephen Oesterle, M.D. – Former Medtronic SVP, Medicine and Technology
Robert Stockman – Former Chairman, REVA Medical

"We continue to see significant investment opportunities across private markets and the launch of our new Life Sciences Private Capital team is the next step in the evolution of our J.P. Morgan Private Capital platform, harnessing the unparalleled scale and resources of JPMorgan Chase to complement our existing growth equity capabilities across consumer, technology and sustainability sectors," said George Gatch, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Biographies – Executive Team

Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., was previously an Executive Partner with OrbiMed. He brings over 30 years of biotechnology industry experience. Dr. Squinto was a co-founder of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and served as its Executive Vice President and Chief Global Operations Officer. Prior to 2013, he was Alexion's Global Head of Research and Development. While at Alexion, Dr. Squinto was responsible for the discovery, development and launch of several successful biotechnology products. From 1988 to 1992, Dr. Squinto held various positions at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to Regeneron, he held a joint academic position at both the Tulane University and LSU Medical Schools. He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards from academic and professional organizations for his scientific work. Dr. Squinto received his B.A. in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Loyola University of Chicago.

Gaurav Gupta, M.D., M.S.E. was previously the founder of Ascendant BioCapital, a life science investment firm based in New York. Prior to this, Dr. Gupta was an investment professional at OrbiMed Advisors, and served as a resident in neurological surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. Over 15 years as an entrepreneur and investor, he has co-founded, helped build, or served on the boards of several early-stage private biotechnology and medical device companies. Dr. Gupta obtained his M.D. from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he was Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow, and B.S. and M.S.E. in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Anya Schiess joins from Healthy Ventures, where she was Co-Founder and General Partner. Healthy Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in health/pharma technology. Previously, Anya was a venture capitalist at Thomas, McNerney & Partners, where she focused on life sciences, including biopharmaceutics, medical devices, and genomic technology. Throughout her career, Anya has invested and been a board member/observer in over 30 companies. Before investing, Anya was a healthcare operator. She led strategy and business development for Cardinal Health's medical services, distribution, and laboratory businesses. Anya also held several sales and marketing leadership roles at Medtronic and launched neurological, cardiovascular, and cardiac rhythm products around the world. Anya earned a BA cum laude from Princeton University and an MBA with honors from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Biographies – Strategic Advisors

Laurie H. Glimcher, M.D. was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research. She is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Philosophical Society, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the former President of the American Association of Immunologists. She previously served on the Board of Directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Corporation and the Waters Corporation. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Analog Devices, Inc.

Jeffrey Leiden, M.D, Ph.D., is a physician and scientist who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of people with serious diseases. He currently serves as Vertex's Executive Chairman and was the Chief Executive Officer and President from 2012 through March 2020. He has been a member of Vertex's board of directors since July 2009, chairman of the board of directors since May 2012, and served as lead independent director from October 2010 through December 2011. Prior to joining Vertex, Dr. Leiden was a managing director at Clarus Ventures, a life sciences venture capital firm, from 2006 through January 2012. Dr. Leiden was President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Abbott Laboratories, Pharmaceuticals Products Group, and a member of the board of directors of Abbott Laboratories from 2000 to 2006. He is an elected member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Leiden serves as a director of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and as chairman of Odyssey Therapeutics, a privately held company developing novel medicines for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases and Casana Health, a privately held home-health monitoring company. He is also chairman of the board of Revolution Healthcare (REVH), a SPAC focused on companies that utilize novel technologies to revolutionize the treatment and delivery of mental healthcare. He is also a member of the MIT CEO Advisory Board, a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, and chairman of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP). Dr. Leiden received his M.D., Ph.D. and B.A. degrees from the University of Chicago.

Frederic (Fred) Moll, M.D. is Chief Development Officer of J&J Medical Devices Companies, having sold his sixth company, Auris Health, Inc., to J&J for $5.75 billion in 2019. Fred was the co-founder and CEO of Intuitive Surgical, the world's leading medical robotics company today, with a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion. Fred is not only considered the "Father of Robotic Surgery" (having also founded Hansen Medical), Fred conceived and commercialized the early critical products that allowed minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery to be performed safely with his invention of the safety shield trocar (Endotherapeutics) and balloon distention tools (Origin MedSystems). Fred attended the University of California at Berkeley where he earned a B.A. degree, earned his M.D. degree from the University of Washington and attained an M.S. in Management from the Stanford Business School.

Stephen Oesterle, M.D. served as Medtronic's Senior Vice President for Medicine and Technology, was a member of the Medtronic Executive Committee for 14 years, and currently serves on four public life sciences/healthcare boards. By forging relationships with global technology partners and technical universities, he oversaw long term internal technology investments while participating in strategic corporate investments in emerging private companies. He also served as a member of the Business Development and Strategy Committee that approved all corporate acquisitions. During his tenure at Medtronic Dr. Oesterle served on more than 20 boards as a director or observer and built a strong and enduring profile for Medtronic in the global venture capital and private equity communities. Prior to joining Medtronic, he was an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and practicing interventional cardiologist. Steve earned his bachelor's degree with Distinction at Harvard University and his MD at Yale Medical School.

Robert (Bob) Stockman's 40-year career in life sciences spans founding and operational roles in six life science companies and 15 years of M&A transaction experience. He serves as a consultant to REVA Medical, a company he founded where he served as Chairman & CEO. He led the buyouts of Ioptex, an intraocular lens manufacturer, and two Johnson & Johnson divestitures, "A" Company Orthodontics, Inc. and Critikon Company, LLC, each of which was subsequently acquired. In addition to REVA, he co-founded CentriMed which became the Global Healthcare Exchange, which transacts $30 billion of hospital supplies today. Bob attended Harvard University and earned his MBA at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, where he was an Overseer.

About J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives & J.P. Morgan Private Capital

J.P. Morgan Private Capital provides customized financing solutions for private companies across the capital structure and is comprised of a growth equity arm and a private credit business. The platform's growth equity solutions span the consumer, technology, life sciences and climate transition sectors. In private credit, the team specializes in corporate and asset-based lending, from distressed and special situations to performing loans. J.P. Morgan Private Capital is part of J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives, the alternative investment arm of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. With more than 50 years as an alternatives investment manager, US$208 billion in assets under management and more than 800 professionals (as of June 30, 2022), J.P. Morgan offers strategies across the alternative investment spectrum including real estate, private equity, private credit, hedge funds, infrastructure, transportation, timber and liquid alternatives. Operating from offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, our independent alternative investment engines combine specialist knowledge and singular focus with the global reach, vast resources and powerful infrastructure of J.P. Morgan to help meet each client's specific objectives.

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management

J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under management of USD 2.3 trillion (as of 30 September 2022), is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world. J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity. For more information: www.jpmorgan.com/am

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the marketing name for the asset management business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its investment advisor affiliates worldwide.

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SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management