Medicxi Bolsters and Expands Team with Senior Industry Leaders

Appoints Sandy Zweifach and Paul Sekhri as Venture Partners

LONDON and GENEVA, March 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicxi, the leading European life sciences investment firm, today announced the appointment of Sanford (Sandy) Zweifach and Paul Sekhri as Venture Partners.

In their roles at Medicxi, Mr. Zweifach and Mr. Sekhri will leverage their strong track records of successful transactions and respective 30 plus years of experience stewarding life sciences companies to help steer Medicxi's portfolio companies to optimal growth and the best suited strategic transactions, as a number of molecules in development move to proof of concept stage, or enter the clinic.

Mr. Zweifach is currently the Chairman of Palladio Biosciences, Inc., and Executive Chairman of Janpix, Inc., two Medicxi portfolio companies. His focus is in corporate partnering, business development, operations, private and public investing, and capital raising. Mr. Sekhri is currently the President and CEO of eGenesis. He has been a director and/or Chairman of more than 27 private and public company boards, and his diverse background and experience includes leading companies with a focus on immunology. Please see their detailed biographies further below.

Francesco De Rubertis, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, said: "We are delighted to have Sandy and Paul, two incredibly successful and transaction driven, senior professionals as part of an expansion to our team. In 2019, we closed the €400m Medicxi III fund bringing the total amount raised by Medicxi in the last three years to over $1 billion. Their appointment underscores our ongoing commitment to strengthen our platform to help entrepreneurs deliver on their product visions." 

Sanford (Sandy) Zweifach commented: "I am very excited to be working with the team of scientific and medical experts at Medicxi. I look forward to adding my business experience to their outstanding medicinal scientific insight to further tailor and build on their enviable track record of investments."

Paul Sekhri added: "Having known the Medicxi team for over 25 years, I have been following their progression, and am incredibly impressed with their growth from an early stage start up fund to what is clearly now one of the leading life sciences investment firms. I look forward to working with the team, bringing business and commercial value to their future transactions." 

Biographies:

Sanford (Sandy) Zweifach

Currently Chairman of Palladio Biosciences, Inc., and Executive Chairman of Janpix, Inc., two Medicxi portfolio companies, Mr. Zweifach brings almost 30 years of experience in the life sciences industry. His focus is in corporate partnering, business development, operations, private and public investing, and capital raising. Until recently, he was the co-founder and CEO of Nuvelution Pharma, Inc. before committing to the company as its Senior Advisor, and previously the co-founder and CEO of Ascendancy Healthcare, Inc. Mr. Zweifach was also the Managing Director and CFO of Bay City Capital where he was President of the firm's M&A and financing division. He has previously served on numerous public and private boards and continues to serve as Chair of the BAB as well as board member of IMIDomics SL and Non-Executive Board Member of Compugen, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGEN) and ESSA Pharm, Inc (NASDAQ: EPIX).  He received his BA in Biology from UC San Diego and an MS in Human Physiology from UC Davis.

Paul Sekhri

Currently the President and CEO of eGenesis, Mr. Sekhri brings 35 years of experience leading life sciences companies, including those with a focus on immunology, and has been a director and/or Chairman of more than 27 private and public company boards. Previously, Mr. Sekhri was President and CEO of Lycera Corp., and has also served as group executive vice president, global business development, and chief strategy officer for Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd., and earlier, operating partner and head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech. Earlier in his career, Mr. Sekhri founded Cerimon Pharmaceuticals where he served as president and CEO. He was president and chief business officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals and held various senior positions at Novartis AG, including senior vice president, head of global search and evaluation, business development and licensing, and global head, early commercial development. Mr. Sekhri completed graduate work in neuroscience at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and received his B.S. in zoology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

About Medicxi 

Medicxi is an international investment firm with the mission to create and invest in companies across the full healthcare continuum. Medicxi was established by the former Index Ventures life sciences team and invests in both early stage and late stage therapeutics with a product vision that can fulfil a clear unmet medical need. GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc., Novartis and Verily (an Alphabet company) are investors in Medicxi funds.

Medicxi's team has been investing in life sciences for over 20 years. Globally, it has invested in 91 innovative biopharma companies and achieved 32 exits through IPO and M&A, including Genmab (NASDAQ Copenhagen: GEN), PanGenetics (sold to AbbVie), Cellzome (sold to GSK), Micromet (sold to Amgen), Molecular Partners (SWX: MOLN), XO1 (sold to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ: NERV), Padlock Therapeutics (sold to Bristol-Myers Squibb), Gadeta (structured transaction with Gilead), Impact Biomedicines (sold to Celgene) and Adaptive Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: ADPT).

Please see https://www.medicxi.com/ for more information.