The rest of the 100 (in alphabetical order): Deborah Harland, partner and vice-president of business investments, SR One
Deborah Harland was already heading up scientific licensing within the UK-listed drugs maker GlaxoSmithKline for four years before joining its corporate venturing unit, SR One, in 2005 as a general partner.
Put in charge of establishing SR One’s European investment office, the Bath and London University graduate has brought her experience to bear in a number pharmaceutical roles including clinical development, medical affairs, and business development.
She was elevated to the role of partner and vice-president of business investments at SR One in 2009. In November, Italy-based drugs group Chiesi acquired for at least €75m ($80m) one of Harland’s portfolio companies, Atopix Therapeutics, a UK-based allergy prevention treatment that extended its series A round in October 2014.
She is a non-executive director at VHsquared, Mission Therapeutics, F-Star, Bicycle Therapeutics and joined the board of Switzerland-based Asceneuron in September 2015 after its $30.6m round.
From these portfolio companies, her other investments include 2014’s $32m series A for Bicycle Therapeutics, which followed a $5.7m round in 2012, $30.4m for Mission Therapeutics in 2013, and $9.4m in the same year for F-Star Biotechnology’s series A.
She also worked with fellow corporate venturer Roche on a $39.3m round for central nervous system focused life sciences firm Addex Pharmaceuticals a year before its IPO in 2007, worth $134.5m. What is more, she worked on antibody therapeutics firm Ablynx’s 2006 series C, worth $50m, ahead of its IPO, which also took place in 2007.
Her portfolio company trade sales include Pharmakodex (acquire by Orexo) and Syntaxin (bought by Ipsen).
Harland is an independent director at Cancer Research Technology, the specialist commercialisation and development arm of Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest cancer research charity.
