LSIPR 50 2017: Debra Liebert
Name: Debra Liebert
Organisation: Domain Associates
Position: Managing director
“Investing in life sciences means deciding what is medically and commercially relevant, then executing efficient and financially responsible programmes that deliver healthcare products the market needs and wants,” says Debra Liebert, managing director of life sciences venture capital firm Domain Associates, on her online profile.
"She was appointed principal of the firm in 2009 and managing director in 2014."
In 2016, the firm’s investments have included those in pharmaceutical company Syndax, Celator Pharmaceuticals, Sequent Medical, Afferent Pharmaceuticals and Tobira Therapeutics. Domain also invested in Amgen, back in 1980.
Liebert joined Domain Associates, one of the first venture capital firms to exclusively invest in the life sciences sector, in 2007 to create new portfolio companies and evaluate the technical and business merits of investment opportunities.
With her focus on improving healthcare through the development of drugs, she was appointed principal of the firm in 2009 and managing director in 2014.
Besides her position at Domain Associates, Liebert is a director at Milestone Pharmaceuticals and a board observer at Tragara Pharmaceuticals. She previously served as an observer on the boards of Atara Biotherapeutics, Sonexa Therapeutics and Tobira Therapeutics.
Before joining Domain Associates in 2007, Liebert consulted for businesses in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. She was executive director of new product management for CancerVax Corporation.
Liebert’s expertise in the life sciences field tracks back even further. Before joining CancerVax, she held the position of vice president at Atairgin Technologies, where she led business development. She was also previously responsible for corporate development transactions at Trega Biosciences.
Adding to her impressive track record, Liebert has directed clinical research programs for Gensia, the Institute for Biological Research & Development in California, and Merck.
She received her BS in chemistry from Clarion University, her MS in pharmacology/toxicology from Duquesne University, and her MBA from University of California, Los Angeles.
