Coming from a background in biophysics, Tiba Aynechi now applies her comprehensive life sciences knowledge to pinpointing good opportunities in the sector for Novo Ventures, the investment unit of Denmark-listed pharmaceutical firm Novo.
Since joining Novo Ventures in 2010, Aynechi has worked on a number of deals and is on the boards of Antibody developer AnaptysBio, filed for its flotation on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2015 after raising $94.3m from Novo and its other investors, Arcellx, Cianna Medical, which topped up its $12 B round in mid-2015 with $8m of equity and debt from Novo and others, and iRhythm Technologies, which had its initial public offering (IPO) in October.
IRhythm’s IPO valued the company at $107m and gave pharmaceutical firm Novo an exit. The company priced 6.3 million shares at $17 each, and it opened at $26.75 on its first day of trading on Nasdaq
Aynechi also participated in molecular technology company HTG Molecular Diagnostics’ $16.2m series D in 2011 and $7.5m series E in 2014 ahead of its successful IPO in 2015 worth $50m. Since launching in 1999, the corporate venturing unit has invested $800m across 80 companies and had 30 successful exits.
Before moving into finance, Aynechi picked up two degrees from University of California and held research jobs at its campuses at Irvine and San Francisco. In 2006, she joined venture firm Burrill & Company and was made a director within five months. She remained there until joining Novo.