Tracy Saxton

Tracy earned her PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto, her MBA from Columbia Business School and was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Fund fellow at UCSF. She has a BSc in biology from Simon Fraser University.

Tracy co-founded Pivotal Bioventure Partners in 2017, investing in early-stage biotechnology companies developing therapeutics addressing unmet needs. 

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Previously, Tracy was at Roche Venture Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Roche, as Investment Director, supporting early-stage novel technologies and discoveries. She was a board director for Millendo Therapeutics, SutroVax, Lumos Pharmaceuticals, Mission Therapeutics, and Purigen Biosystems. 

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Before Roche, she was an Associate at SV Life Science Advisers where she worked on the biotechnology investment team. Tracy was a board observer or actively involved in portfolio companies PanOptica, Sutro, Rempex, Itero, Catabasis, and Arsanis. Before that Tracy worked at Mission Bay Capital, a University of California-affiliated venture capital firm based in San Francisco, where she analyzed investment opportunities and managed deal flow; worked worked with university scientists to help launch companies based on technologies that were discovered in their labs; and provided commercial assessment, devised business strategies, and helped to secure funding for nascent technology development. Tracy was also the Collaboration Leader for a research alliance between the University of California and Pfizer. 

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Earlier in her career, Tracy held positions at Tularik/Amgen, Threshold Pharmaceuticals, and Geron Corp. She began as a drug discovery scientist and moved to leadership roles in global regulatory affairs, clinical development, business development and project management. She was the Project Leader for development programs in HIV/immunotherapy, urology, and oncology, spanning preclinical through Phase 3 of development. Additionally, she has created strategic plans for metabolic and immunology drug products, having filed original INDs/CTAs in these therapeutic areas.

As a graduated member of Class 15, Tracy served her fellowship at SV Life Sciences, under the mentorship of Mike Ross.