Agent Capital Expands Management Team; Appoints Jacopo Leonardi as Partner

WALTHAM, Mass., July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Agent Capital, a majority woman-owned international life sciences investment firm supporting disruptive healthcare companies, announced the appointment of industry veteran Jacopo Leonardi as Partner. Jacopo is a proven global biopharmaceutical executive with a 25-year track record of creating sustainable growth for new ventures and underperforming franchises. The addition of Jacopo enhances Agent Capital's well-established reputation for value creation, strategic acumen, and access to premier life sciences industry talent and deals.

Jacopo's deep expertise in global commercial operations and launch excellence across multiple therapeutic areas including orphan and rare diseases, immunology, and neurology aligns with Agent Capital's investment focus on subsectors that generate the highest potential returns. In addition to his experience managing a range of functions including R&D, Medical Affairs, Manufacturing, and Quality, Jacopo brings his strong reputation as a leader and mentor known for building inspired and inclusive teams, recognizing talent, and fostering career growth, for which he was celebrated by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) as their 2016 Honorable Mentor of the Year.

"We are excited to have Jacopo join our team as we enter our next phase of growth and investment," said Dr. Geeta Vemuri, Managing Partner and Founder of Agent Capital. "Throughout his career Jacopo has embodied our investment philosophy ? diverse management teams lead to superior investment returns and a greater ability for portfolio companies to develop the next generation of healthcare innovators and innovations. I look forward to working again with Jac to support our current and future partners on their path to success."

Founded in 2016, Agent Capital's investment strategy and diverse team have earned them access to a vast pipeline of high-value potential deals and a syndicate network of investment partners that enables them to drive portfolio growth and exit. Agent Capital's first fund (Fund I), initially focused on novel, differentiated therapeutics and treatments that address unmet patient needs, has invested in 14 healthcare companies ? four of which have successfully gone public. Prior to Agent Capital the team invested for Baxter and Baxalta as corporate venture capitalists from 2012 to 2016 and had five significant trade sales in their prior portfolio. Agent Capital is poised for growth due to their track record of accelerating value creation and ability to provide industry-leading strategic thinking, R&D and commercial stewardship experience, access to top talent, and coaching and mentorship for management teams.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to work with Geeta and the Agent Capital team to continue to pursue my career-long passion of cultivating diverse teams and shepherding promising healthcare solutions from the spark of innovation to commercially successful products that make an impact on patients' lives," said Jacopo Leonardi, Partner with Agent Capital. "As an executive and entrepreneur, I am thrilled to be able to apply my experience developing and maximizing the potential of organizations and individuals to the next generation of healthcare innovation."

Prior to Agent Capital, Jacopo served on boards and in executive leadership across multiple companies in concierge health and specialty pharmacy. As an Operating Partner at The Vistria Group, Jacopo was part of a team that acquired and helped accelerate the growth of AIS Healthcare, and he currently serves on the company's board of directors. Earlier in his career, Jacopo was Executive Vice President and President of Immunology for Baxalta and has spent 20 years in key development and global leadership roles in general management, marketing, sales, and R&D at Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Baxter, and Baxalta.

ABOUT AGENT CAPITAL

Agent Capital is an international life sciences investment firm that supports disruptive healthcare companies focusing on novel, differentiated therapeutics and treatments that address unmet patient needs. Agent Capital aligns with scientists, entrepreneurs, and other investors to develop the next generation of healthcare innovations, leverages their industry expertise and successful track record to source premier deals, accelerate value, and drive successful exits. Their first fund invested in 14 portfolio companies, of which four have gone public. Agent Capital has offices in Boston, Massachusetts.

SOURCE Agent Capital