TLDR:
- Biotech investment firm Third Rock Ventures has added three new venture partners and promoted two others.
- The new additions include Steve Paul, co-founder of Karuna Therapeutics, who recently sold the company to Bristol Myers Squibb and will be reuniting with Third Rock after previously launching other companies with them.
- The promotions include Jigar Raythatha, who was the CEO of Constellation Pharma before its acquisition.
Third Rock Ventures, a renowned biotech investment firm, has announced the addition of three new venture partners and the promotion of two others. One of the new venture partners is Dr. Steve Paul, co-founder of Karuna Therapeutics and former CEO of the company. Paul recently sold Karuna to Bristol Myers Squibb and will now be reuniting with Third Rock, as he had previously helped launch other companies with them. The acquisition of Karuna by BMS is significant, as the company’s drug KarXT is awaiting FDA approval after successfully completing two Phase 3 trials. If approved, KarXT could potentially redefine the standard of care for schizophrenia patients, which has remained stagnant for years. The drug is also being evaluated as a treatment for Alzheimer’s-related psychosis and as an adjunctive therapy for schizophrenia. Dr. Paul’s addition to Third Rock’s team brings extensive expertise to the firm.
Two other individuals have joined Third Rock as venture partners. Courtney Wallace, formerly the chief business officer at Beam Therapeutics and previously an employee of Celgene and Easton Associates, has been named as a new venture partner. Meanwhile, Dr. Mary Lynne Hedley, co-founder of TESARO, which was acquired by GSK, will also be joining the team. Her arrival comes five years after GSK’s acquisition of the oncology biotech. The firm has also promoted Jigar Raythatha from venture partner to partner. Raythatha was previously the CEO of Constellation Pharma, which was acquired by MorphySys. He now holds more responsibilities within the firm and is also a board member for other Third Rock-founded companies such as Flare Therapeutics and Synnovation Therapeutics. Lastly, Dr. Vyas Ramanan has been promoted from principal to venture partner. He previously worked at Third Rock from 2016 to 2018 before joining the R&D team at Maze, another Third Rock-launched company, and ultimately returning to Third Rock in 2020.
