After nine years as a partner at a top-tier venture capital firm, it is difficult to imagine the attraction of moving to another firm.
But for Martin Murphy, chief executive of Syncona Partners, Wellcome Trust’s £200m ($300m) direct investment vehicle for healthcare and life sciences, having the opportunity to build on the work of Europe’s largest charity formed out of shares in what is now drugs company GlaxoSmithKline is a powerful attraction.
Murphy joined Syncona in May after nine years at MVM Life Science Partners and promptly hired Chris Hollowood from VC peer Apposite Capital, James Peach from charity Cancer Research UK and Iraj Ali from management consultancy McKinsey & Co. His deals at MVM included highly-regarded technologies being developed by Heptares Therapeutics.
