Versant boosts Canadian presence with key appointments

Versant Ventures has made key appointments in Canada, the US and Switzerland in advance of the launch of its sixth fund, which is expected to reach $400 million. The San Francisco-based venture fund has $2.3 billion under management and has been increasingly active in Canada, most recently teaming with Bayer AG to invest $300 million in the Toronto-based life sciences start-up, Blue Rock Therapeutics. The Canadian venture partners are Dr Mary Haak-Frendscho (Toronto), CEO of Blueline Bioscience located at the MaRS Disovery District, and Lloyd Segal (Montreal) who will lead a new Canada-based series ‘A’ oncology start-up backed by Versant.