Pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has the longest surviving corporate venturing program in the world. After carrying out direct investments in the 1960s, the corporate established its Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) vehicle in 1973.
The unit, rebranded Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC in 2013, has been backing emerging companies for four decades, with an emphasis on areas of strategic significance to the parent including medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and consumer products.
JJDC invests at all stages, from seed to series B and beyond, having most recently backed cancer therapy developer Reflexion Medical, Legend Biotech Corporation, a cellular therapy subsidiary of biotech producer Genscript Biotech which applied for a listing on the Nasdaq Global Market in May 2020, and orthopaedic robotics technology developer OrthoSpin.
As president of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Chris Picariello oversees a global team of investment professionals based at J&J Innovation Centres spread across the world: from the US cities of San Francisco and Boston and UK capital London to Shanghai in China.
Alex Gorsky, chairman and chief executive of Johnson & Johnson, said in the 2019 Year in Review published in March 2020: “[Throughout] 2019 we completed 13 major acquisitions and noteworthy licences, and 100 innovation deals. We also made 19 new equity investments from our [JJDC].”
Picariello noted in JJDC’s newsletter dated January 2020: “At JJDC, we are constantly in search of innovative companies developing cutting-edge pharmaceuticals and state-of-the-art medical devices, products and technologies for patients and consumers that we can invest in and help grow.
“While I am new to JJDC, I am no stranger to J&J. I joined the company nearly 25 years ago and since then, I have held a variety of leadership positions – in research and development, our global baby franchise and North America consumer division, to name a few.
“I could not be more excited about being appointed president of JJDC and sharing my knowledge and experience with my team as we move forward into 2020. In turn, I look forward to learning from and being inspired by everyone working across JJDC.
“Before I stepped into this role [in October 2019], JJDC had been expertly led by Tom Heyman, who was instrumental in guiding JJDC to become the number one healthcare corporate venture capital (CVC) investor for healthcare investments for two consecutive years,” according to PitchBook data on CVC investors’ disclosed healthcare deals from November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019.
He continued: “Last year, JJDC deployed more than $500m to pharmaceutical, consumer and medical device companies in the US and abroad…As we look ahead into 2020, I am focused on continuing to build on JJDC’s success over the last 46 years – accomplishments that stem from our relationships with entrepreneurs, scientists and other investors across the industry; the unparalleled science, technology, scale and reach of J&J; and our ability to identify emerging trends and putting strategies in place to enable future growth.”
He concluded: “Together, we are working tirelessly to impact healthcare and transform human health by living and breathing J&J’s credo of putting the needs and well-being of the people we serve first.”
Picariello, who holds a bachelor of science in accounting from LaSalle University, was chief financial officer and global head of procurement for the government grants office and project management office for Janssen Research & Development, a J&J subsidiary, before joining JJDC.
