Oxford Science Enterprises strengthens investment teams with two new appointments

Oxford, UK: March 31, 2022: Oxford Science Enterprises, the independent investment company created to found, fund and build transformational businesses via its unique partnership with the University of Oxford, today announces further strengthening of its investment teams with the appointments of Heather Roxborough PhD as Partner, Health Tech and Wallace Wallace MPhil as Associate, Life Sciences.

As Partner, Heather will lead the Health Tech investment team to identify cutting-edge science and technology from the University’s world leading academics, drive investments into new spinouts and support the scale up of existing enterprises. Wallace joins the growing Life Sciences team to support the creation of new businesses and ongoing work across the current portfolio.

These appointments continue to demonstrate our commitment and enhanced ability to identify, support and commercialise the University of Oxford’s cutting-edge science in order to build world-leading businesses.

I am thrilled to welcome Heather and Wallace... These appointments continue to demonstrate our commitment and enhanced ability to identify, support and commercialise the University of Oxford’s cutting-edge science in order to build world-leading businesses.

Alexis Dormandy, CEO Oxford Science Enterprises, said:

“I am thrilled to welcome Heather and Wallace. Heather brings over 15 years of investment and leadership experience, with a strong track record of deal-making and company building to lead the Health Tech team. While Wallace’s experience in scientific due diligence and early-stage investing strengthens the Life Sciences team. These appointments continue to demonstrate our commitment and enhanced ability to identify, support and commercialise the University of Oxford’s cutting-edge science in order to build world-leading businesses.”

Heather Roxborough PhD, Partner, Health Tech

Heather is a highly experienced venture capitalist, with over 15 years of investment and company building experience from across a range of sectors, including health tech, consumer healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food technology.

Heather joins Oxford Science Enterprises from Optum Ventures where she was a Partner, responsible for establishing and leading the global health tech investment fund on behalf of Optum, a leading technology-enabled US health services business, part of UnitedHealth Group.

Heather has also held investment roles at J&J Innovations as Senior Director and Tate and Lyle Ventures as Principal. She holds a PhD in Clinical Biochemistry from Queen’s University of Belfast.

Wallace Wallace MPhil, Associate, Life Sciences

Wallace joins Oxford Science Enterprises from M-Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, where she supported the life sciences investment team across scientific due diligence and portfolio management.

Prior to this, Wallace worked at Accenture as a consultant, assisting the Business Strategy and Operation Strategy units, advising financial services clients.

She holds a BSc in Genetics from the University of York and an MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise from the University of Cambridge.

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Notes to Editors

About Oxford Science Enterprises

Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) is an independent, billion-pound investment company, created in 2015 to found, fund and build transformational businesses via our unique partnership with the University of Oxford, the world’s #1 research university.

This partnership enables us to work with the brightest academic minds tackling the world’s toughest challenges and guarantees us unrivalled access to their scientific research. In collaboration with our global network of entrepreneurs and advisors, we go well beyond funding to we shape and nurture these complex ideas into successful businesses.

Actively focused on a core portfolio of around 40 companies spanning three high-growth, high-impact sectors – Life Sciences, Health Tech, Deep Tech – we adopt a flexible, long-term investment approach, recognising the path from ground-breaking research to global markets takes time and resilience.

To date, we have invested £0.5 billion in over 80 ambitious companies built on Oxford science, helping progress 28 from seed to Series A, and 22 to Series B and beyond, including 2 IPOs and 7 trade sales. A key player in Oxford’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, we are highly motivated to foster an environment that catalyses pioneering research and steers it to commercial success. We are committed to doing this in an inclusive and sustainable way.