Michael Wasserman

Michael Wasserman is a scientist-turned-investor with more than 30 years of healthcare experience spanning scientific, entrepreneurial, executive, and investment roles. He earned a B.Sc. from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Neuroscience from the University of Toronto. Early in his career he was a founder and Vice President of Business Development at CELLutions Biosystems (later acquired by Cedarlane Laboratories), where he managed business operations and negotiated partnership, co-development, and licensing agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Wasserman spent roughly 17 years at H.I.G. Capital — a diversified private equity firm with over $60 billion in assets — as a Managing Director of its BioHealth platform (H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, higbio.com). There he sourced, executed, and managed a diverse portfolio of healthcare businesses across stages, sectors, and geographies, and served as a director or board observer on numerous portfolio companies. Several of his boards produced strategic exits to major medtech acquirers, including sales to Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon), Stryker, and Boston Scientific. He is also cited as a Senior Advisor to H.I.G. BioHealth Partners.

More recently, Wasserman served as Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity before joining Elevage Medical Technologies as Partner and Chief Operating Officer. Elevage was formed in May 2023 by Patient Square Capital with a $300 million commitment to partner with growth-stage medical-device companies; it is led by CEO Evan Melrose, M.D., and plans to work with roughly 5–10 device companies, focusing on regenerative medicine and minimally invasive surgery.

Beyond his investing work, Wasserman is active in Toronto's healthcare and academic community. He sits on the Board of Trustees of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital (Business & Audit Committee; Chair of the Investment Subcommittee), chairs the Investment Committee at Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP), serves on the boards of ORT Canada and the research committee at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and is a member of McGill University's Faculty of Science Advisory Board.

• Invests across the healthcare landscape — therapeutic drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics — aimed at "significant unmet medical needs" (H.I.G. BioHealth Partners mandate).
• H.I.G. BioHealth deployed $5M–$40M per company over the life of an investment, spanning multiple stages, sectors, and geographies — a flexible, generalist healthcare approach rather than a single-stage focus.
• At Elevage, the thesis narrows to growth-stage medical-device companies that need both capital and hands-on strategic/operational support, with "particular interest in companies spearheading the shift to regenerative medicine and minimally invasive surgery."
• Track record signals a preference for device platforms with clear clinical differentiation and a credible path to strategic acquisition by large medtech players (J&J, Stryker, Boston Scientific).
• Brings an operator's lens: his own background as a company founder and business-development executive shapes a value-add, board-level engagement style.