Omega Funds

I am delighted to announce that Prof Sir Mene Pangalos will join Omega Funds in early October. Mene probably needs no introduction to anybody in the biotech and pharma industry: however, for the unaware amongst you, a bio (as short as I could possibly make it) follows. Mene will work with the investment team as well as existing and future portfolio companies. The entire team at Omega is fortunate to have him! Mene has made outstanding contributions to drug discovery across multiple pharmaceutical companies, leading scientific and cultural R&D transformation, pioneering private-public partnerships, developing new scientific talent and guiding life science strategy, especially in the United Kingdom. Mene was EVP for R&D AstraZeneca from 2010-2024, where he led the transformation of their R&D productivity through the development and implementation of the “5R” framework, resulting in a greater than 4x increase in success rates compared to industry averages. In parallel, he championed an open approach to working with academic and other external partners, changing the nature of academic-industry collaboration. Mene previously held senior R&D roles at Wyeth and GSK. Mene holds Honorary Doctorates from University of Glasgow and Imperial College London; he is a Fellow of the The Royal Society, of the Academy of Medical Sciences, of the Royal Society of Biology and of Clare Hall (University of Cambridge). Mene was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the British Pharmacological Society. He is a Visiting Professor at The Wolfson Centre at Kings College, a Prof at Manchester University and honorary professor of Cambridge University Medical School. Mene co-chaired the UK Life Sciences Council Expert Group on Innovation, Clinical Research and Data and was a member of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Implementation Board. Mene is on the Boards of The Francis Crick Institute, The Judge Business School, Cambridge University and Absci. He was awarded the 2019 Prix Galien Medal, Greece for his scientific research and named Executive of the Year at the 2019 Scrip Awards. In 2019 (hence the "Sir"), Mene was awarded a Knighthood by Her Majesty The Queen for his services to UK science. Mene oversaw the creation of AZ's new Global R&D Centre in Cambridge, a state-of-the-art facility designed to stimulate collaborative scientific innovation. He also led and oversaw AZ's R&D response to COVID-19: partnering with Oxford University in the global development of a vaccine and ensuring broad an equitable access at no profit during the pandemic, the discovery and development of a long-acting antibody combination for those who can’t be vaccinated, as well as exploring AZ's existing portfolio as potential treatment options against the disease. The AZ team was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society in 2023.

We're proud to continue our sponsorship of the VC University scholarship, which supports aspiring VCs from underrepresented backgrounds who want to make a difference in the industry. We’re excited to welcome the recipients who were awarded full scholarships to join Cohort 17 starting September 3! Cohort 17 is incredibly diverse across geography, gender, and ethnicity: 88% identify as people of color 60% identify as women or nonbinary 50% live outside CA, MA, and NY (the 3 states with the majority of VC activity) 30% identify as LGBTQ+ 5% are veterans or active military members https://lnkd.in/dQ-cDibM  Special thanks to program hosts @Venture Forward, Berkeley Law Executive Education, and the National Venture Capital Association.

We're proud sponsors of the VC University scholarship, which supports aspiring VCs from underrepresented backgrounds who want to make a difference in the industry. We’re excited to welcome the recipients who were awarded full scholarships to join Cohort 16 starting June 3! Cohort 16 is incredibly diverse across geography, gender, and ethnicity: 95% identify as people of color 56% identify as women or as nonbinary 56% live outside CA, MA, and NY (the three states with the majority of VC activity) 33% identify as LGBTQ+ https://lnkd.in/gkPR7j6m Special thanks to program hosts Venture Forward, Berkeley Law Executive Education, and the National Venture Capital Association.

We are thrilled to welcome Sean Cumiskey to the Omega team as the new Head of Investor Relations. Sean has over two decades of experience in the alternative investment industry and brings a wealth of knowledge to Omega. Prior to joining Omega, Sean served as a Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Yiheng Capital Management, where he played a pivotal role in growing the firm's AUM from an initial base of $350M to over $3B at its peak. Prior to Yiheng Capital, Sean held senior business roles at Farallon Capital Management and York Capital Management. His expertise in fundraising, product strategy, and investor relations will be invaluable as we continue to grow and evolve.

We're proud to be sponsors of the VC University program, the premier introductory certificate course on venture finance. This month, VC University is celebrating 5 years of empowering the next generation of investors! To date, the program has educated 3,700+ diverse participants and awarded over 500 scholarships across 15 sold-out cohorts. Join us in recognizing this important milestone and the program’s impact: https://lnkd.in/enXh83AJ

The Omega Team had a wonderful afternoon cooking at CASPAR Shelters! Discover how your team can also get involved in #CookinWithCASPAR by visiting https://lnkd.in/dwF2afW7

We're proud sponsors of the VC University scholarship, which supports aspiring VCs from underrepresented backgrounds who want to make a difference in the industry. We’re excited to welcome 40 recipients who were awarded full scholarships to join Cohort 15 starting Feb. 5!    Cohort 15 is incredibly diverse across geography, gender, ethnicity, and age:   - 78% identify as people of color - 68% identify as women or as nonbinary - 15% identify as LGBTQ+ - 70% live outside CA, MA, and NY (the three states with the majority of VC activity)   https://lnkd.in/gSY-ym9Z    Special thanks to program hosts Venture Forward, Berkeley Law Executive Education, and the National Venture Capital Association

We are delighted to announce the well-deserved promotion of Francesco Draetta to Managing Director. This promotion acknowledges his outstanding leadership, significant contributions, and steadfast commitment to Omega’s values. Congratulations Francesco!