San Francisco, CA — Bay City Capital, a leading venture capital firm focused on early-stage to growth equity investments in the life sciences, today announced Ashley Dombkowski, Ph.D. joined as Managing Director.
“Drug discovery and development has been transformed by the acceleration of scientific advancements that provide a better understanding of disease biology, generating more effective medicines. The relationship among academia, venture-backed start ups, and leading multinational pharmaceutical companies has also become more integrated through creative alignment of interests and improved processes,” said Fred Craves, Ph.D., Founder of Bay City Capital. “Ashley has the expertise and an entrepreneur’s understanding of what it takes to identify investable themes and transform scientific innovation into successful companies. Her excellent investment track record adds breadth and depth to our team, positioning us to take full advantage of the most compelling opportunities in this competitive environment.”
“I have worked alongside Bay City Capital for many years in numerous co-investments and am excited to now join the team,” said Dr. Dombkowski. “My time as an operating executive strengthened my view that the medical community will increasingly demand that grave, chronic diseases be addressed with precise, patient-centric therapies. It is critical that the companies we build today deliver on this need for the value-based health systems of tomorrow. I am looking forward to translating scientific, technological, clinical, and entrepreneurial insights into innovative, highly successful companies.”
Dr. Dombkowski has more than 15 years of experience as an investor, operating executive, and entrepreneur. Prior to joining Bay City Capital, she was the Chief Business Officer and Vice President of Operations at consumer genomics company 23andMe. Previously, she was a Managing Director at venture capital firm MPM Capital where past investments included companies such as 23andMe, Alnara, Epizyme, Nevro, and Tercica. Prior to joining MPM Capital, she was a Healthcare Equity Analyst for hedge fund Tiger Management L.L.C. and for institutional asset management firm Dresdner RCM Global Investors. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Rice University and received her B.A. in Mathematics from Wellesley College. She has been widely quoted in publications ranging from Nature to The Wall Street Journal and she has appeared in media outlets ranging from CNBC to TedMed. She has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Business” by the San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal.
About Bay City Capital
Bay City Capital is a life sciences venture capital firm investing in opportunities across the various life sciences sectors in companies at all stages of development. Established in 1997, the firm has managed eight venture capital funds representing over $1.6 billion in capital commitments.
Bay City Capital has invested in over 100 life sciences companies globally, including Epizyme, Epocrates, GenturaDx, Hyperion Therapeutics, IDev Therapeutics, Ion Torrent Systems, Lexicon, MAP Pharmaceuticals, Medarex, Nabsys, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Oculex Pharmaceuticals, Pharmion, Reliant Pharmaceuticals, and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit www.baycitycapital.com.