Innovatus Appoints Luis Diaz, M.D., to Its Life Sciences Advisory Board
NEW YORK, August 4, 2020 – Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC ("Innovatus" or the "Firm"), an independent adviser and portfolio management firm with approximately $1.6 billion in assets under management, today announced that it has appointed Luis Diaz, M.D., the Head of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Department of Medicine and the Co-Founder of Personal Genome Diagnostics serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors, to its Life Sciences Advisory Board.
Headquartered in New York, Innovatus Capital Partners’ Life Sciences strategy (“Innovatus Life Sciences”) provides growth capital in the form of senior secured debt and equity to support life sciences and select technology companies, including medical devices, diagnostics, life science tools, biopharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, healthcare IT and software. The Firm seeks to invest $20 to $100 million in public and private commercial-stage companies and offer flexible financing solutions to fund rapid commercial growth and development programs.
Geoffrey Duyk, M.D., Ph.D, the founder and Managing Partner of Circularis LP, joined the Innovatus’ Life Sciences Advisory Board this past June. As a member of the Innovatus Life Sciences Advisory Board, Luis will provide counsel to the Firm on its investment strategy across life sciences sectors as the Firm seeks to partner with leading companies that address unmet medical needs, improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare expenditures and create value for investors.
"We are pleased to welcome Luis to Innovatus’ Life Sciences Advisory Board,” said David Schiff, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Innovatus. "Luis is a world-class clinician and researcher, and his tremendous passion for advancing cancer care will help us identify technologies that will change the way cancer is treated.”
“We are thrilled that Luis has joined our Life Sciences Advisory Board,” said Claes Ekstrom, Managing Director at Innovatus. “Luis is a world-renowned physician-scientist who has pioneered several diagnostic and therapeutic genomic approaches to cancer. We look forward to working with Luis to identify cutting-edge technologies that will expand our collective understanding of how to best treat and ultimately find a cure for cancer.”
"Innovatus has developed a strong presence in diagnostics and cancer genomics with several investments in technologies that could have a huge impact on cancer treatment, ” said Dr. Diaz. "I am thrilled to join the Advisory Board, and look forward to working alongside the firm’s life science team.”
About Luis Diaz, M.D.
Dr. Diaz is the Head of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Department of Medicine. Dr. Diaz is a leading authority in oncology, having founded several companies that focus on genomic analysis of cancer, including Personal Genome Diagnostics, Inostics and PapGene.
Dr. Diaz is a pioneer in circulating tumor DNA analyses in human cancer, having performed landmark studies in the field. Dr. Diaz researched the development of liquid biopsy that can be used to test the presence of cancer and to monitor its response to therapy. Also, while at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Diaz and his colleagues developed a Pap smear to detect early-stage ovarian and endometrial cancers. Dr. Diaz also led a study of pembrolizumab to target tumors that share a particular biomarker called mismatch repair deficiency. It was the first FDA approval for a cancer treatment based on a biomarker rather than the location in the body where the tumor originated.
Prior to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Diaz was a member of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at Johns Hopkins and the head of the Swim Across America Laboratory at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Diaz holds undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan, and completed post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Diaz is the Chairman of the board of Personal Genome Diagnostics and a member of the board of directors of Jounce Therapeutics.
About Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC
Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC, is an independent adviser and portfolio management firm with approximately $1.6B in assets under management. Innovatus adheres to an investment strategy that identifies disruptive and growth opportunities across multiple asset categories with a unifying theme of capital preservation, income generation, and upside optionality. The firm has a dedicated team of life sciences investment professionals with deep experience in healthcare, including life sciences. Innovatus and its principals have significant experience providing debt financing to medical device, diagnostics, and biotechnology companies that address unmet medical needs, improve patient outcomes, and reduce overall healthcare expenditures. Further information can be found at www.innovatuscp.com.
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