Michael Rome, PhD Promoted to Managing Director at Foresite Capital

With background as a biomedical scientist, new managing director will focus on oncology, inflammation and precision medicine

San Francisco, CA and New York, NY, May 19, 2020 — Foresite Capital, a life sciences investment firm that funds visionary healthcare entrepreneurs, today announced the promotion of Dr. Michael Rome to managing director. 

Michael joined Foresite Capital in 2016 and is active in the firm’s private and public market investments. Michael has led several investments across both private and public healthcare companies, and brings his background as a biomedical scientist in biochemistry, microbiology, and neurobiology research laboratories to his new role. He will be responsible for managing and evaluating therapeutics investments, with a particular focus in oncology, inflammation and precision medicine.

“Michael has a great sense for entrepreneurs and technology, and how to help them leverage our internal and external networks,” said Jim Tananbaum, founder and managing director of Foresite Capital.

Michael is a board director at Kinnate Biopharma with board observer roles (past and present) at Turning Point Therapeutics, Maze Therapeutics, Pharvaris, PACT Pharma, and Nurix Therapeutics. He has also led/co-led investments in several public companies across the Foresite portfolio. Prior to Foresite Capital, he was an analyst at DAFNA Capital Management, covering and formulating investment ideas for small/mid-cap biotech companies. 

“It’s an exciting time to be on the hunt for cutting edge therapeutics tailored to specific patient populations,” said Michael Rome. “Facing this challenge with a great group of colleagues is truly rewarding.”

Michael previously worked in early-stage drug development for an academic start-up out of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from Caltech as an NSF graduate research fellow, and his B.S. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from UCLA. He has more than 12 years of experience as a research scientist and has authored numerous publications in biomedical research journals.

“It has been a true pleasure collaborating with Michael from the early days of Kinnate,” said Steve Kaldor, board chair of Kinnate Biopharma. “We appreciate his advocacy. He is highly knowledgeable in the precision oncology space and also has excellent KOL and investor networks. He leveraged these well in support of our recent $74.5M Series B financing.”

Michael joins managing directors Jim Tananbaum, MD; Dorothy Margolskee, MD; Matt Buten; Brett Zbar, MD; Dennis Ryan; and Vikram Bajaj, PhD on the managing director team. Collectively, the seven managing directors have 150 years of healthcare experience. 

About Foresite Capital

Foresite Capital funds visionary healthcare entrepreneurs. With approximately $3 billion in assets under management, Foresite Capital has a team of clinical scientists, engineers, analysts and partners who support and guide companies at all stages of their life cycles. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco with an office in New York. For more information visit www.foresitecapital.com.