Locust Walk, the red-bricked stretch of Locust Street that runs through the University of Pennsylvania’s campus between 34th and 38th is the hub of the Philadelphia school.
It’s why it was the perfect name for two Wharton grads who are looking to be smack dab in the middle of life sciences companies throughout the Northeast. Geoff Meyerson and Jay Mohr launched Locust Walk Partners, LLC (LWP) on Dec. 1, 2008, as a boutique strategic and transaction advisory firm for life sciences companies. Each managing director brings specific skill sets: Meyerson has been a venture capitalist and investment banker, while Mohr, who is based in Boston, ran commercial divisions of companies.
”Between us we have a full range of services,” says Meyerson. ”We’re not a management consultancy and not an investment bank, but we bring the best of both worlds with strategic insight and transactional expertise.”
LWP believes it fills a void in the market, determining the role of pipeline assets, positioning them in the marketplace and executing transactions that yield significant value. The duo also believes they can save companies money by contracting LWP rather than hiring in-house business developers. The pair worked for Zelos Therapeutics in West Conshohocken before venturing on their own, and Zelos saw that value and retained them on a contract basis.
”It was mutually beneficial,” says Meyerson. ”Its less expensive to hire us on retainer and were incentivized to do well by the company.”
LWP has a team of six advisors headquartered in Philadelphia. Both Meyers and Mohr are also involved in Philly BioBreak, a 600-member networking organization for the life sciences sector.
Source: Geoff Meyerson, co-founder of Locust Walk Partners
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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