Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards 2017: Meredith Fisher

There is something about extreme accomplishments, whether in sports, business or academia, that seem to attract people, such as Meredith Fisher, partner at the Partners Innovation Fund (PIF) and marathon runner, to the Harvard area in the US.

Christopher Coburn, chief innovation officer at Partners HealthCare System, and an ultracyclist able to compete in endurance races of 24 hours, said: “Meredith has the remarkable mix of skills, positive outlook and cultural insights needed to excel as an in house investor in our research enterprise, which is the largest in the industry and populated with more than 3,500 Harvard faculty.

“Her background in business development, as the sole biotech investor in a large family office [Bracebridge Capital], as a bench drug discovery scientist, her academic achievements and her ability to work through complex organisational challenges that confound others and make it look effortless result in an ideal teammate and a core member of the high-performing PIF team Roger Kitterman [a GCV Rising Star 2016] has so expertly assembled.”

Fisher said: “I joined PIF in 2015 at the start of the second fund, which grew from a $35m fund for PIF I to a $100m-plus fund for PIF II.

“PIF invests at the earliest stages of company formation: seed or series A. PIF has a very privileged position in early stage venture because of the sheer number and significance of the discoveries made by Partners investigators which could lead to new medicines.

“Because I often have access and exposure to technologies ahead of publication or patent filing, the role comprises elements of both venture investor and venture creation. Many times, I will take part in the company creation process in addition to making the investment.

“The opportunity to play a role in catalyzing the translation of these innovations to commercial opportunities and most importantly to patient impact was incredibly appealing.”

Having completed her PhD in molecular microbiology at Harvard University and received her MBA around the corner from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fisher has mainly studied and worked in the Boston region. She was senior director of technology and business development at Enlight Biosciences, a venture creation firm founded by PureTech Ventures in partnership with seven pharmaceutical companies, for three years then head of business development at Gingko BioWorks for a year before Fisher moved to Bracebridge.

AT PIF she is a board observer at her first two deals, ImmuneXcite, a biologics-based platform for fighting cancer, and Lyndra, which helps people take drugs through their mouth.

Fisher added: “In addition, I am working on several early stage projects based on new discoveries in neuro, immunology and rare disease that I am excited to help develop into potential newcos.”

Similar in some ways to her penchant for adopting old rescue dogs, however, she said risk acceptance and management was important. “We focus on the earliest stages of venture and technology development. This means there is usually still significant scientific and technical risk in the opportunities that must be recognised, planned for and managed. Risk tolerance must be high.

“We also only invest a part of a syndicate – not as a sole investor – and so finding the right syndicate partners who have similar risk tolerance and investment interests is critical.

“CVCs are a unique group of investors within venture. I would like to see more of us syndicating with each other, particularly in the earliest stages of company formation. There is significant value that can be provided to new companies by CVCs beyond investment dollars such as drug development, therapeutic area, regulatory and clinical expertise.”