Canaan Partners, a global venture capital firm, has appointed Tim Shannon as venture partner.
Shannon (pictured) is based in Canaan’s Westport, Connecticut office, from where he will support the firm’s current healthcare portfolio companies and identify new investment opportunities.
Shannon brings more than 15 years of biopharmaceutical operational experience leading product and business development to Canaan’s investments. He was most recently president and chief executive officer at CuraGen, a publicly-held biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, which was acquired by Celldex Therapeutics in October 2009.
"Tim is a key addition to the firm’s healthcare team, particularly as the investment climate and capital markets become more active again," says Stephen Bloch, general partner with Canaan Partners. "His combination of experience as a biopharmaceutical executive and practicing physician will give him a unique perspective as he approaches new investments."
Shannon’s previous appointments at CuraGen included executive vice president of R&D and chief medical officer. Prior to CuraGen, he held positions of increasing responsibility for Bayer’s pharmaceutical business group including senior vice president of global medical development.
He is a director at Celldex Therapeutics and a member of the quality assurance, compliance and safety committee for the Yale Cancer Center.
"I am excited to join the highly successful Canaan team and help shape investments using insight from a day-to-day, operational perspective," says Shannon. "I was drawn to the team’s intellect and entrepreneurial nature, and am impressed by the thoughtfulness and speed in which they approach transactions in their current portfolio as well as new investment opportunities."
