WEBINAR RECORDING AVAILABLE - WATCH ON DEMAND

Venture capital velocity: What’s driving renewed momentum in biotech

In biotech, a recovery is already well underway. Expected interest rate cuts and improving valuations across public and private markets are creating a compelling environment for deals, entrances, exits, and trades to take shape.

The funding environment has undergone significant changes as investor sentiment and risk appetites shift from cautious to opportunistic. The sector has seen a resurgence of PIPEs and follow-on transactions, particularly among developmental-stage biotech companies, demonstrating investors’ ability to support rapid innovation and development with creative financing solutions.

In this webinar, biotech venture capital experts assess the sector’s sharper focus on funding fundamental science, evolving deal structures, including the return of reverse mergers and dual-track processes, and the key therapeutic modalities that are driving momentum in the market.

Join Andrew Aherrera, Partner at Panacea Venture; Jeni Lee, Partner at Pivotal Life Sciences; Regina Salvat, Principal at Sofinnova; and Noël Brown, Head of US Biotechnology Investment Banking at RBC Capital Markets, as they share their fresh perspectives on the dynamic forces propelling the biotech industry forward.

watch now

Andrew Aherrera

Partner, Panacea Venture

Andrew Aherrera is a Partner at Panacea and leads the fund’s public markets strategy that encompasses de novo investments in both publicly traded companies as well as crossover opportunities. Prior to joining Panacea, Andrew was previously Portfolio Manager of Ample Plus, a healthcare-dedicated crossover investment fund with a similar cross-border pedigree that he helped build from the ground up, while simultaneously maintaining an operational role spanning business development, alliance management, and capital markets efforts at the fund’s biotech incubation engine. Andrew began his investment career at RA Capital, primarily covering CNS, hepatology, and oncology therapeutic areas.

Andrew graduated from the combined MD/MBA program at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he garnered AOA Honors and matched into Plastic Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell & Columbia University Medical Centers.

Jeni Lee

Partner, Pivotal Life Sciences

Jeni joined Pivotal in 2019, investing across therapeutics and life sciences with a primary focus in early–stage therapeutics since 2021. Prior to Pivotal, she was at Novo Ventures supporting the firm’s investments across healthcare. Before joining Novo, Jeni interned with 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 currently serves on the board of directors of Addition Therapeutics and DermBiont and as an observer for Secure Transfusion Solutions (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. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Regina Salvat

Principal, Sofinnova

Regina Salvat adds a business development perspective to the team which is central to our discussions with pharma companies in understanding potential assets ready to be spun out and building relationships with our current company exits. She focuses on therapeutics investments and has been essential to our investment team. Regina is currently a board observer for Alkeus, Atsena, BioAge, and OnCusp.

Before joining Sofinnova in 2020, Regina held the position of Associate Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rubius Therapeutics. Prior to her tenure at Rubius, she provided strategic consulting support to a diverse range of bio-pharmaceutical companies at Huron Consulting Group, which is now part of Oliver Wyman. Regina’s extensive industry experience also includes a role as a Senior Associate Scientist in Cell Line Development within Bioprocess R&D at Pfizer, adding a valuable bioprocess dimension to her versatile skill set.

Regina is a distinguished alumna of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where she was honored as a Clare Boothe Luce Fellow and Innovation Fellow. During her graduate studies at Dartmouth, Regina’s research in Protein Engineering paved the way for commercialization in the form of Stealth Biologics, which was later acquired by Insmed. Her academic journey also includes a B.S. in Biological Engineering and an M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering, both earned at Cornell University.

moderator

Noël Brown

Managing Director and Head of U.S. Biotechnology Investment Banking, RBC Capital Markets

Noël Brown is the Managing Director and Head of U.S. Biotechnology Investment Banking at RBC Capital Markets, responsible for leading the biotechnology franchise. He has over 20 years of investment banking experience. Noël graduated from the University of Western Ontario and received a law degree from the University of Ottawa and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Business.