Panakès Partners Appoints Dr. Rob Woodman As Partner To Lead Biotech Investment

MILAN, Sept. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Panakès Partners, the leading Italian venture capital firm in the Life Sciences sector, is pleased to announce that Dr. Rob Woodman has joined Panakès as a Partner, to lead the firm's newly created biotech investment team.

The appointment of Dr. Woodman follows the recent first closing at €150 million ($175 million) of Panakès' second fund (named the Purple Fund), which is focused on both Biotech and Medtech. As a result, Panakès is now ideally placed to selectively deploy capital into the next generation of innovative start-ups.

Dr. Woodman has global experience in biotech gained at both institutional and corporate venture firms, encompassing de novo start-up through to growth investments. He has a track record of supporting value creation in all of these settings as demonstrated by multiple acquisitions and NASDAQ listings of the companies he has invested in. 

Dr. Woodman comes to Panakès Partners with a long track record as a successful healthcare investor. Prior to joining Panakes, he was Senior Partner at Takeda Ventures and also Head of Genesis Labs, Takeda R&D's internal incubator, since 2018.  Prior to Takeda, he was a Partner in the Healthcare Investment team at Touchstone Innovations (formerly Imperial Innovations) in London (UK).  He started his venture career at Sofinnova Partners in Paris where he became Principal in the life science team. 

Dr Woodman has led numerous investments and sat on the Board of many international biotech companies, including Inivata Inc. (acquired by NeoGenomics), Enterprise Therapeutics Ltd (acquired by Roche), Emendo Inc (acquired by Anges), and BioMx Inc. (Nasdaq: PHGE).

Dr. Woodman's experience of creating, building, and managing several start-ups, an activity that is a key element of the Panakès Purple Fund investment strategy, is complimented by his strong academic background, including an M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Oncology from the University of Cambridge.

"We are delighted to have Rob join the team at this exciting moment for Panakès - Rob brings a wealth of experience in the biotech field, complementing our existing team's capabilities in medtech and diagnostics.  Led by Rob, the Panakès biotech team will support leading biotech entrepreneurs and founders to create companies able to transform patient care," said Fabrizio Landi, President of Panakès. "In the context of the recent first close of Panakès second fund and the creation of our strong and experienced biotech team, we are ideally positioned to contribute to the growth of companies active in the development of new therapies and vaccines."  

"Panakès has established a strong track record and solid international credibility since it was created," commented Dr. Rob Woodman, "I am delighted to join the Panakès' team, as it extends its activities into biotech. The team's strategy will be to support the growth of entrepreneurial companies who will reshape healthcare globally by addressing real medical needs, saving lives, and providing a better quality of life for patients. By achieving these goals, the fund aims to generate value for both investors and for society as a whole."

About Panakes Partners

Panakes is a Venture Capital firm with the ultimate goal of providing a better life to people all around the world, by providing both financial and business support to build the next generation of game-changing technologies companies in the field of Life Sciences. Panakes invest in ambitious start-ups and SMEs with innovative products globally, with a focus on Europe, US and Israel. Panakes HQ is in Milan, Italy.

www.panakes.it 

Contacts
Panakès Partners
[email protected]

MEDiSTRAVA Consulting
Sylvie Berrebi, David Dible
[email protected] 
Tel: +44 (0)20 7638 9571

SOURCE Panakès Partners