Eric Roberts

Eric W. Roberts is a founding managing director of Valence Life Sciences, a life sciences venture capital firm he co-founded in 2012 with A. Rachel Leheny, Ph.D. Valence was formed as an independent investment manager after the Caxton Advantage Life Sciences platform, and its stated focus is clinical-development-stage private companies and micro-cap public life sciences companies.

Before Valence, Roberts managed the Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund, which he co-founded in 2005. Caxton Advantage’s portfolio included investments such as Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Corthera, Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Vivus, Sunesis, ArQule, Regado, Gentium, and Transcept.

Earlier in his career, Roberts was Managing Director and Co-Head of the Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Lehman Brothers. He was also Managing Director, Partner, and founder of the Life Sciences Department at Dillon, Read & Co., which later merged into UBS; at UBS, he ran the life sciences investment banking team. He began his career at Citicorp in the Citicorp Venture Capital group.

Roberts received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Vice Chairman of the Board and Chief Business Officer of CalciMedica, Inc., and has served on public and private company boards.

• Valence states its thesis as: “We fund tomorrow’s novel medicines, today.”
• The firm describes itself as focused on “late-stage investing” in life sciences.
• Valence’s formation announcement said the firm would focus on “privately-held and micro-cap public, clinical development stage life sciences companies.”
• Roberts’ background points to a diligence style built around financing strategy, clinical-development execution, public-market readiness, and exit pathways for biotech companies.
• The firm highlights an “experienced,” “disciplined” approach and “insight into drivers of success in management and clinical plans.”