In a Q&A, Triangle veteran life science executive turned venture capitalist Christy Shaffer talks with WRAL TechWire about the new $90 million venture fund raised by Hatteras Ventures, what her promotion says about female VCs, and why the Triangle life science sector is so hot.

Hatteras announced its fifth (V) fund on Monday, aiming to add another $60 million to the $90 million closed thus far.

As part of the announcement, Hatteras also disclosed the promotion of Shaffer to general partner. The former CEO of Inspire Pharmaceuticals and a long-time leader in the Triangle’s entrepreneurial community, Shaffer speaks with authority about what’s happening in the Triangle startup and life science sectors.

What’s your reaction to the news?

Hatteras has worked exceptionally hard to gain momentum and trust from the investment community. Raising the fifth fund demonstrates strength and interest in the model, including Hatteras Discovery, which has been quite successful to date, and we plan to replicate that in HVP V.

How does the promotion affect your role at Hatteras?

I will continue to run the Hatteras Discovery portion of the fund, but will have much broader responsibility as a general partner. I joined Hatteras as a Venture Partner in 2011 to allow me a bit more flexibility and to gain experience in the venture business.

I have found that I enjoy the diversity of working with companies across a variety of therapeutic areas and having a seat at the table with many top entrepreneurs.

While I see myself first and foremost as an entrepreneur, I find that I can contribute more broadly in the right venture firm…and that is Hatteras.  

You are one of the few female VCs in the Triangle. What does your promotion say to other women in the field – or who aspire to be VCs?

I actually know a number of women venture capitalists, including Nicole Vitullo of Doman Venture Partners in Princeton, whom I still call for advice on occasion. We also have two other senior women at Hatteras: Myla Goldman, MD (former CMO of LabCorp who is the CEO of one of our HVP III companies, GeneCentric) and June Almenoff, MD, PhD, an executive in residence (former CMO/Principal Executive Officer at Furiex).

I believe women can be successful in venture and any other career as long as they have passion for what they are doing and work with a great team. I have been fortunate to work in companies where ‘corporate culture’ matters, including my first job at Burroughs Wellcome. Working with talented people who believe what we do is a ‘team sport’ is very rewarding.

Hatteras has reaffirmed its commitment to early-stage firms with the new fund. Why does Hatteras believe in startups?

We have proven success with the model and believe that our relationships with many premier academic institutions (UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Emory, Georgia Tech, etc.), provide very fertile ground for the future.

How can the new partnership announced today provide further assistance to startups? This new fund has strengthened our position in early stage investing and we will begin to put money to work immediately.

There is much going on in Triangle life science as you are well aware, from startups getting funding to IPOs and acquisitions (Salix, Sprout to name only two). Why is there so much going on in the Triangle right now? Is this the best startup/investment climate you have seen for life science startups and emerging companies in the Triangle?

The Triangle ecosystem has evolved and matured over the last decade. This is occurring in concert at time of great scientific discovery and translation into clinical research. The vibrancy of having world-class academic institutions provides a launch pad for company formation at a time when money is more available.

Also, universities are now much more sophisticated when it comes to harnessing entrepreneurship and innovation.

As an example, the number of start-ups has quadrupled since I was on the Chancellor’s Innovation Circle at UNC from 2009-2011.

Who is Cindy Shaffer? Her bio 

Christy Shaffer, PhD
General Partner

Seasoned entrepreneur and biotech executive, Christy Shaffer, Ph.D. has over 25 years of experience in the life science industry. Following her career as a clinical scientist, international project leader and Associate Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Burroughs Wellcome Co., she joined Inspire Pharmaceuticals in 1995 as the first, full-time employee. She was responsible for raising over $300m for the company, including taking the company public in 2000. As President and CEO, Christy grew the company from 20 scientists to nearly 250 employees with revenues of over $100 million. Under her leadership, Inspire was named as “Best Place to Work for Scientists” by the Scientist magazine, and “Best Place to Work in North Carolina.” Christy retired from Inspire in 2010 and the company was acquired by Merck in 2011.

Christy serves as a board member of five Hatteras portfolio companies and chairs three of them: G1 Therapeutics, Spyryx, Clearside (Chair), KinoDyn (Chair), and GrayBug (Executive Chair). Christy is a receptor pharmacologist by training, earning her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis TN in 1985. She received her post-doctoral training at The Chicago Medical School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Community and Board Engagements:

Christy played an integral role in the Chancellor’s Innovation Circle to enhance entrepreneurship and innovation across the UNC-Chapel Hill campus (2010 – 2012). This initiative resulted in a significant increase in the number of start-ups over the last few years. She has served on numerous boards including the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the NC Biotechnology Center, the Biotechnology Institute, BIO, PhRMA and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Christy received the Breath of Life Award for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 2009 and the Hamner Leadership Award at the NC BIOTECH meeting in 2011. TiE Atlanta awarded Christy the 2013 Venture Capital Entrepreneur Award at the TieCON Southeast conference.

Christy also serves on several non-profit boards including the NC School of Science and Mathematics Foundation board, the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Advisory board (Chair) and the Frank Hawkins Kenan’s Institute’s Advisory Board.

Source: Hatteras Venture Partners