Raj Parekh

Raj Parekh is a General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, where he invests in early and mid-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. After earning an MA and DPhil from Oxford University, he transitioned from academic molecular medicine to co-found Oxford GlycoSciences, leading the company through its initial public offerings on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Following the acquisition of Oxford GlycoSciences by UCB-Celltech, Parekh served as Chairman of Galapagos nv, founded Celldex Therapeutics, and held a position on the Supervisory Board of the Novartis Venture Fund. Bringing over 20 years of biomedical and entrepreneurial experience to his current role, he has represented Advent on the boards of more than 25 portfolio companies, including Aura BioSciences and Arrakis. His current investment focus centers on new drug discovery, medical devices, and vaccines targeting first-in-class or best-in-class therapeutic approaches.