Carole Nuechterlein has headed the Roche Venture Fund since 2001, but even after a significant time at the top of the Switzerland-based drugs company’s corporate venturing unit, she has said her challenges remain “exits and finding the diamonds in the rough”.
She manages Roche’s Sfr500m ($530m) evergreen venture fund, which means it can reinvest in new deals the proceeds from exited portfolio companies, and its portfolio companies include genetics testing company 23andMe.
Roche’s recent deals include Vivet Therapeutics’ $41m series A round this month and Sutro Biopharma spinout SutroVax, which raised $64m, $60m of that coming from a series B round backed by Roche Venture Fund. The SutroVax round was co-led by Pivotal BioVenture Partners, a $300m fund recently formed by Roche Venture Fund alumnus Tracy Saxton, a GCV Rising Star, that is funded by property group Nan Fung.
Before venturing at Roche, Nuechterlein worked in the company as an attorney for 10 years. She joined Roche from SangStat in Fremont, California, where she was general counsel. She began her career working at law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in its mergers and acquisitions group. From there, she worked at Syntex/Roche in Palo Alto, California, focusing on M&A, research collaborations and licensing deals.