SV Health Investors, a venture capital and growth equity firm, has promoted Houman Ashrafian to Managing Partner and Greg Madden to Partner.
SV manages seven funds that work to support entrepreneurs and companies that create breakthrough treatments and innovative healthcare solutions. The firm invests in early-stage opportunities in biotechnology; early-stage and revenue-stage opportunities in medical devices; and growth equity opportunities in healthcare services and digital health.
Ashrafian joined SV in 2016 as a Venture Partner and was promoted to partner the following year. Ashrafian’s mandate was to support the creation of innovative new biotechnology companies based on breaking science to develop high impact precision medicine drugs that have the potential to either cure or have a significant impact on patients. At SV he has founded and attracted strategic investment into three out of his four new ventures: Sitryx, Ervaxx, Zarodex Therapeutics and TRexBio. In addition, Ashrafian who is based in SV’s London office, serves on the investment committee of the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), a venture capital fund managed by SV focused on developing breakthrough therapies for dementia, including Alzheimer’s.
“Houman is a tremendous asset to SV, our portfolio companies and our investors, as he has a unique ability to connect emerging scientific insights with innovative therapeutic approaches for poorly treated diseases. His work will contribute to important therapies and solutions for countless patients,” says SV Health Investors’ Managing Partner Kate Bingham.
Before joining SV, Ashrafian was Vice President and Head of the Clinical Science Group at UCB Pharma. Ashrafian currently serves as Visiting Professor and Head of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Oxford and as an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Earlier, he co-founded the healthcare services company Cardiac Report, as well as Heart Metabolics. Houman is a graduate of University of Cambridge and holds BM BCh and DPhil degrees from University of Oxford.
Madden, who has been promoted to Partner from Principal at SV, joined the firm in 2002 as an Analyst. He focuses on medical device and healthcare services investments and leads the financing, strategy, operations and acquisitions of portfolio companies. Recent SV investments in which he is deeply involved with include SolSys Medical, BardyDx, Ximedica and Stimwave.
“Greg Madden’s significant transaction experience is most advantageous for our team, and his strategic and transactional insights make an important difference for the entrepreneurs and portfolio companies he works with so closely,” says Gene Hill, Chairman at SV Health Investors.
Prior to SV, Madden worked at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, where he supported venture capital funds and venture-backed companies in business formations, financings, M&A and venture capital fundraising. He holds a BA degree from Colby College and an MBA with honours from Boston University, where he graduated Beta Gamma Sigma.
