In the latest episode of the NextGen VC Podcast, Rich Gaster, M.D., Ph.D., managing partner at venBio, joins hosts and Wilson Sonsini partners Michael Hostetler and Jennifer Fang to discuss what it takes to go from performing reconstructive plastic surgeries at Harvard to becoming a managing partner at one of biotech’s most focused venture firms. He traces a career path that runs through Stanford M.D.-Ph.D. training, two grad school start-ups, the company-building engine at Third Rock Ventures, and the founding team of Pliant Therapeutics before landing at venBio, where he helped engineer three back-to-back acquisitions in a single quarter.
Rich breaks down what makes venBio’s small-team, high-conviction model so effective, how asset-focused investing differs from platform company builds, and what he looks for when deciding to pull the trigger on a deal. He also shares hard-won advice for the next generation of biotech investors—including why thinking like an investor during your training matters more than your degree.
The conversation closes with Rich sharing the deeply personal story of his daughter Claire’s diagnosis with ATRT—an ultra-rare pediatric brain cancer with a 30 percent two-year survival rate—and how his medical training, network, and willingness to fight the system helped save her life. He also discusses his work with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and how others in the VC and biotech community can get involved. Join Team Claire by donating here: curethekids.org/teamclaire_wsgr.
Rich has a background as a physician, entrepreneur, and life sciences investor. He’s played a key role in launching and investing in over a dozen venBio portfolio companies. Before joining venBio, Rich was a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures, focused on building biotech start-ups from cutting-edge science. He began his career in Harvard’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency, training at Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Beth Israel Deaconess.
Rich has authored papers in Nature Medicine and Nature Nanotechnology, holds more than a dozen patents, won first prize in the IEEE Change the World Competition, and was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Science and Healthcare.
The NextGen VC Podcast unpacks the opportunities, challenges, and breakthroughs shaping life sciences investing. It is curated by Wilson Sonsini and LaunchBio with hosts Michael Hostetler and Jennifer Fang. The podcast episodes feature interviews with successful venture capitalists, allowing listeners to gain wisdom from their experiences and learn how the pros have navigated challenges, made strategic decisions, and achieved remarkable success.
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