General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, has appointed Brett Zbar, MD, as a Managing Director and Global Head of Life Sciences. Zbar brings a more than 15-year track record of investing in multi-stage life sciences, biopharmaceutical and healthcare companies driving innovation and advancements in patient care. General Atlantic also announced the launch of Life Sciences as a fifth, standalone sector under its growth investment platform, alongside Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology.
Zbar joins General Atlantic from Foresite Capital, an investment firm that aims to transform healthcare by funding visionary entrepreneurs, where he served as Managing Director. While at Foresite, Brett advised on the boards of a wide range of portfolio companies, including ConnectiveRx, Kinnate Biopharma, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Peloton Therapeutics, Pharvaris, Replimune, Signant Health and Turning Point Therapeutics. Prior to Foresite, Brett was a Partner at Aisling Capital, a private equity firm focused on life sciences companies developing innovative healthcare products, services and technologies. In these roles Zbar supported companies through all stages of development and financing, including company building, growth and acquisition.
General Atlantic’s Life Sciences team partners with entrepreneurs in both emerging growth and revenue-generating businesses, supporting them to develop crucial therapeutic and technological solutions within pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. In addition to Zbar, leadership of the investing effort includes Dave Hodgson, Vice Chairman, based in New York; Rob Perez, Operating Partner, based in New York; and Lefei Sun, Managing Director and Head of China Healthcare, based in Hong Kong. The firm currently has more than USD1 billion in capital deployed in investments in the sector globally. General Atlantic’s portfolio includes companies such as Royalty Pharma, Ginkgo Bioworks, Motif FoodWorks, PathAI, Adagene, CANbridge, Chi-Med, Ocumension, Immunocore, Rubicon and Sanfer.
Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, says: “We believe the potential for new biotechnologies to make a positive impact on day-to-day life has never been greater. We are thrilled to have Brett join General Atlantic to lead our Life Sciences investing, and he will be instrumental in expanding our global network and deepening our effort. Underscoring our long-term commitment to Life Sciences, we are pleased to formalise it as our fifth core investing sector, with Brett at the helm.”
Zbar says: “As a growth investor, General Atlantic is uniquely positioned to leverage its global reach, long-term collaborative approach and deep expertise in both Technology and Healthcare to capture greater momentum in the Life Sciences space. Bolstered by its existing strong credentials in Life Sciences investing, I believe the firm has significant potential to accelerate its efforts in partnering with leading entrepreneurs developing next-generation, breakthrough therapeutics and technologies. This is an important time to invest in Life Sciences, and I am incredibly excited to be joining the team.”
Robbert Vorhoff, Managing Director and Global Head of Healthcare at General Atlantic, adds: “The launch of Life Sciences as a standalone sector at General Atlantic demonstrates the scale of the opportunity set and caliber of our existing global portfolio. Brett enjoys a strong reputation as a value-added partner to entrepreneurs and brings a depth of expertise that will be invaluable to our team and the companies and entrepreneurs we seek to support.”
Zbar has additional previous experience as a senior member of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products practice at McKinsey & Company. He completed his internship in internal medicine on the Osler Medical Service at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He holds an MD from Harvard Medical School and a BA in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and English from Yale University.
With USD40 billion in assets under management, General Atlantic has a 40-year track record of supporting global growth and is currently invested in more than 130 growth companies around the world.
