Vertex Ventures HC Announces the Addition of Christine Brennan, Ph.D. as Managing Director

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertex Ventures HC, a healthcare and life sciences venture capital fund investing in transformative innovation, today announced the addition of Christine Brennan, Ph.D. as Managing Director. Dr. Brennan joins Lori Hu, Managing Director, in leading Vertex Ventures HC, one of the few female-led investment funds in the healthcare industry. Dr. Brennan will be based in Cambridge, MA.

"We are honored to have Christine join us at Vertex Ventures HC as we build out our portfolio of companies and continue to focus on areas with significant unmet need and the innovation that will benefit health and quality of life," said Ms. Hu. "Her successful track record as a biotech investor, Chief Business Officer and Board Member will be incredibly valuable as we evaluate new opportunities and guide our current portfolio companies. Furthermore, her base in Boston will enable Vertex to have a bi-coastal presence in another key innovation hub."

Vertex Ventures HC is an independent fund within the worldwide Vertex Ventures fund network, anchored by Singaporean long-term backer, Temasek Holdings, with a specific focus on global investments in the life sciences. Access to the broader global Vertex Ventures network brings a broad international lens and perspective to investments as well as the ability to scale with companies as they mature and geographically diversify.

"I am thrilled to be joining such an accomplished team at Vertex Ventures HC," said Dr. Brennan. "I'm looking forward to investing in the tremendous biotech innovation that is happening right now, in addition to continuing to help our current portfolio companies work towards developing new treatments for patients."

Vertex Ventures HC invests in a diversified portfolio across different therapeutic areas of high unmet medical need, from discovery to clinical stage, and from platform to asset-centric plays. Under the leadership of Lori Hu, Vertex Ventures HC has raised $320M in committed long term capital to date and has made over 20 investments around the world. Selected areas of interest and representative investments from the current portfolio include cell therapy (Sonoma Biotherapeutics, ElevateBio and Indapta), novel biology (Palleon Pharmaceuticals), targeted oncology (Boundless Bio and Elevation Oncology), platform technologies (Obsidian Therapeutics and Bicycle Therapeutics), and therapeutic devices (Ivantis, acquired by Alcon and Twelve, acquired by Medtronic).

Dr. Brennan has over 15 years in the life-science industry including business development, corporate strategy and venture investing. She was formerly Partner at MRL Ventures Fund from 2017-2021 where she was on the board of Alector, Inc., Entrada Therapeutics, Tallac Therapeutics and Therini Bio. She was also an observer on the boards of Adagio, LifeMine Therapeutics, PAQ Therapeutics and Translate Bio.

Prior to MRL Ventures Fund, Dr. Brennan was Principal at the Novartis Venture Fund from 2013-2017 where she was on the board of Altimmune and an observer on the boards of a number of companies including ROX Medical, lnnocrin Pharmaceuticals, Viamet Pharmaceuticals and Quartet Medicine. Prior to Novartis Venture Fund, she was Chief Business Officer at Vitae Pharmaceuticals from 2010-2013. She also held positions in business development and marketing at small and mid-size biopharmaceutical companies. She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Dartmouth Medical School and was post-doctoral fellow in developmental neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health.

About Vertex Ventures HC

Vertex Ventures HC is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in life sciences innovation. The firm is an independent fund within the worldwide Vertex Ventures fund network. At Vertex Ventures HC, we invest primarily in global companies developing transformative technologies across biotech and medical devices. With a focus on areas with significant unmet need, we seek to build great companies that improve the health and quality of human life. We take an active role in our portfolio companies and work with exceptional entrepreneurs, industry partners and fellow venture investors to create value. For more information, please visit www.vertexventureshc.com.

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SOURCE Vertex Ventures HC