SAN FRANCISCO and BOSTON, Sept. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 5AM Ventures, a bicoastal venture capital firm, continues to attract preeminent talent as it celebrates 20 years of investing in early-stage life science companies. The firm is currently deploying capital in breakthrough science opportunities throughout North America and Europe from its $450 million 5AM Ventures VII fund and its $300 million 5AM Opportunities II fund, which has an additional mandate to invest in public market opportunities.
5AM is pleased to announce the addition of two Venture Partners to the firm’s investment team, and a Venture Advisor to the advisory team.
Dr. Arthur Tzianabos has joined 5AM as a Venture Partner, bringing notable scientific and operational experience. Dr. Tzianabos recently served as President and CEO of 5AM portfolio company, Homology Medicines, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIXX) where he led the company from inception through a successful public offering. At Homology he took developmental candidates into gene editing and gene therapy clinical trials and struck many validating business development deals including the creation of a new company based on Homology’s innovative AAV process development and manufacturing platform. Previously, Dr. Tzianabos was SVP of Research and Early Development at Shire PLC (acquired by Takeda, for $62B), where he was responsible for building the company’s therapeutic pipeline and worked closely with the Venture group to invest in genetic medicines companies. Earlier, Dr. Tzianabos spent 13 years as a principal investigator and faculty member at Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the boards of directors for several companies, including Chair of 5AM’s Homology Medicines and Akouos, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKUS). He serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine and the Development Board for the University of New Hampshire’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. Dr. Tzianabos received his B.S. in Biology from Boston College and his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire.
Dr. June Lee, an eminent biotechnology industry operator, has joined 5AM as a Venture Partner. Dr. Lee was previously Chief Operating Officer, EVP and Chief Development Officer of MyoKardia (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb for $13.1B) where she led development for its pipeline, including Camzyos to treat obstructive hyptertrophic cardiomyopathy, which the FDA approved this year. Prior to MyoKardia, Dr. Lee was a Professor of Medicine at UCSF School of Medicine, where she served as Director of Translational Research and built the Catalyst Program, an internal accelerator for early-stage technologies. Previously, Dr. Lee was the therapeutic area head in early clinical development at Genentech including programs in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, and respiratory diseases. Currently, she serves on the boards of leading biotech companies, including 5AM’s CinCor Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: CINC). Dr. Lee received her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University, her medical degree at the School of Medicine at University of California, Davis, and completed clinical training in internal medicine and pulmonary and critical care at UCLA and UCSF.
Dr. Joseph Loscalzo, a distinguished academic and industry leader, has joined 5AM as a Venture Advisor. Dr. Loscalzo is a Hersey professor at Harvard Medical School, Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He previously served as Chief of Cardiology at Boston University in addition to being Chair of Medicine, Professor of Biochemistry, and Director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Loscalzo has received numerous awards including election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. His breadth of industry leadership experience includes serving as a board director at Leap Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPTX) and as board chair of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS). Dr. Loscalzo received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
ABOUT 5AM VENTURES
Founded in 2002, 5AM Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on building next-generation life science companies. Based in San Francisco and Boston, 5AM takes a hands-on approach to investing and company building, often going beyond traditional board roles to leverage our diverse team of scientists, clinicians, drug developers and executives throughout a company’s life. With more than $2.2 billion raised since inception, 5AM has invested globally in over 100 public and private companies. For more information, please visit www.5amventures.com.
CONTACT
5AM Ventures
Britt Inga Emerson, Investor Relations Manager
Email: ir@5amventures.com