GCV Powerlist 2016: Barbara Dalton, Pfizer

Barbara Dalton has run US-listed drugs company Pfizer’s corporate venturing unit since she joined in 2007 as vice-president. But her knowledge of the industry stretches back nearly a quarter of a century to when she started out as president of SR One in 1993.

She joined corporate venturing unit Pfizer Venture Investments (PVI) from EuclidSR Partners, a venture firm backed by UK-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where she worked from 2000 to 2007 after a seven-year stint at GSK’s SR One. At EuclidSR she worked with Elaine Jones, who also joined her at PVI, while the third member of the team, Bill Burkoth, was named a GCV Rising Star this year.

Her small team at PVI puts out about $50m a year in cheque sizes of up to $10m a round and is both active and successful. PVI lists 30 portfolio companies and 10 exits on its website. Her Pfizer profile says she has managed more than 30 fund investments and 80 diverse company investments in the US and Europe and has had direct investing responsibility for biotechnology therapeutic and platform companies, as well as some healthcare IT and service businesses, including Alere, Ciphergen, Corixa, Genset, Gliatech, Gryphon, iJet, Lexicon, OGS, Third Wave, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals.

Dalton has a PhD in microbiology and immunology from Medical College of Pennsylvania.

She said for her 2014 Powerlist profile: “We use a fund-of-funds strategy to expand our reach in developing geographies in Africa, Brazil and China. In addition to traditional venture capital investments, we are exploring and supporting other investment models – consortium, product development deals, corporate spinouts.”