Summer Associate - Translational Sciences (Investment Strategy)
UPMC Enterprises' mission is to create products and businesses that make life-changing medicine happen. To deliver on our mission, we invest our time, expertise, and capital across two broad focus areas where our insights about health care's future give us a unique advantage: Digital Solutions and Translational Sciences
The Team
This position is within the Translational Sciences domain. The Translational Sciences team invests in life sciences innovations and combines scientific, clinical, and investment expertise to optimize the commercialization path for products and solutions addressing diseases with high unmet medical need. In January 2020, we announced a commitment to invest $1 billion by 2024 in life sciences companies at all stages. To date, we have established a portfolio of 12 companies developing cutting-edge technologies ranging from gene therapies for retina disorders to cell therapies for cancer. We continue to build our pipeline of early-stage projects and are actively seeking new investments in established companies across our key focus areas oncology, neuroscience, autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, and ophthalmology. Our search for new, innovative technologies is focused on transformational platforms and new modalities.
Our efforts include internal initiatives to support the commercialization of cutting-edge research by launching strategic, early-stage companies and accelerating the application of scientific discoveries to narrow the gap between bench and bedside. We also seek opportunities to make complementary investments in or establish high-impact, value-creating partnerships with established, industry-leading companies across the U.S. and across the globe to accelerate the development of innovative therapies that improve health care and enable life-changing medicine. Our team has the experience and resources to explore opportunities across therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics. When we work with our portfolio companies and partners we provide full access to UPMC’s vast clinical, scientific and commercial resources.
The Role
The Translational Sciences team is seeking a Summer Associate to collaboratively support investment diligence and execution for internal and external investment opportunities. Through investment diligence, operational support, and business development, Associates apply their skills and knowledge to advance life sciences projects (early-stage discovery through commercialization), investments (diligence through close), and strategic initiatives.
As a UPMC Enterprises Summer Associate, you will have an opportunity to participate in a highly competitive, full-time, 10- to 12-week paid summer internship with an organization that’s committed to finding solutions to the complicated challenges facing health care providers and their patients. Our work is about using creativity to tackle exciting projects that become life-changing products.
Responsibilities
- Support diligence efforts for investment opportunities from scientific, clinical, commercial, financial, and legal perspectives
- Independently conducts project support aspects for strategic initiatives with oversight from leadership
- Financial Management: Budget development, monitoring, and revenue/expense forecasting
- Market Assessment: Complete competitive landscape analyses, analyze commercial opportunities, and help assess market potential
- Business Development: Industry and company analyses, author business plans
- Administrative Support: Maintain project planning documentation, prepare presentations, author and distribute high-level project updates
- Drafts investment memos
- Prepares detailed valuation analyses and returns models using industry-standard methods
- Maintains current industry knowledge and monitors trends to assist leadership in the definition and prioritization of investment focus areas
- Builds and manages relationships with entrepreneurs, management, principal investigators, and other internal and external stakeholders
- Develops project timelines, identifies key areas of risk, and generates and presents mitigation strategies
- Supports start-up of internally formed companies
- Prepares and delivers presentations to the team, leadership, and key stakeholders
- Fosters a collaborative team environment and maintains a positive attitude
- Performs in accordance with system-wide competencies and behaviors
- Performs other duties as assigned
Qualifications
- Pursuing a PhD, MD, MBA, or MS with an emphasis in healthcare and life sciences with December 2023 – May 2024 anticipated graduation date
- Prior experience or demonstrated interest in venture capital, investment banking, management consulting, business development, strategy, or finance is strongly preferred
- A cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 is strongly preferred, and preference will be given to candidates that have demonstrated leadership ability through their studies, employment, or extracurricular activities.
- Availability to participate as a Summer Associate full-time, from June to August 2023 for approximately 10-12 weeks with minimal absence
This position will be located in Pittsburgh, PA