Fundraising Fox

Rob Hopfner

Investor

RPh, PhD, MBA at Pivotal Life Sciences · Board director at Plexium

San Francisco, California, United States

About

Rob Hopfner joined Pivotal Life Sciences in 2017 and has experience across venture investing stages, from early/seed company building to later-stage private and public investing in the life sciences. He was previously a Managing Director at Bay City Capital and earlier worked in DuPont/Merck Pharmaceuticals' Business Development & Strategy group. He holds an RPh in Pharmacy and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Saskatchewan, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and completed post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School.

Contact· self-published, not guessed

Invests in

BiotechHealthtechMedical Devices

Board director at Plexium

Intro paths

→

In turn, Rob can intro founders to Plexium's investors below.

Plexium's investors · 8

CRV (Charles River Ventures)Bay Area · $250K – $5M checksDCVC (Data Collective)Palo Alto · $5M – $25M checksM VenturesLos Angeles · $10.8M checksNeotribe VenturesMenlo Park · $250K – $2M checksPivotal Life SciencesSan Francisco · since 2025SoftBank Vision FundLondonTCG CrossoverPalo Alto · since 2025The Column GroupSan Francisco · $30M checks

Experience

  1. Pivotal bioVenture PartnersManaging Partnercurrent2017 — presentSan Francisco
  2. Pivotal bioVenture PartnersExecutive Committeecurrent2022 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
  3. LAND TherapeuticsBoardcurrent2024 — presentBoston, Massachusetts, United States
  4. EvommuneBoardcurrent2020 — presentPalo Alto, California, United States
  5. PlexiumBoardcurrent2021 — presentSan Diego, California, United States
  6. Inozyme PharmaBoard2019 — 2025Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  7. OculisBoard2017 — 2023Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
  8. VaxcyteBoard2017 — 2021Foster City, California, United States
  9. Bay City Capital LLCManaging Director and Partner2009 — 2017San Francisco, CA
  10. Bay City Capital LLCPrincipal2006 — 2009San Francisco, CA
  11. Vtesse, Inc.Board2015 — 2017
  12. Civitas TherapeuticsBoard2013 — 2014Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  13. Dermira, Inc.Board2010 — 2014Palo Alto, California, United States
  14. Aciex Therapeutics, Inc.Board2007 — 2014Andover, Massachusetts, United States
  15. Hyperion TherapeuticsBoard2009 — 2013South San Francisco, California, United States
  16. PTC Therapeutics, Inc.Board2005 — 2013Warren, New Jersey, United States
  17. NextWave TherapeuticsBoard2010 — 2012Palo Alto, California, United States

Skills & more

Venture Capital21Corporate Development10Due Diligence10Start-ups5Biotechnology8Technology Transfer2Healthcare3Drug Discovery1Lifesciences3Investments2Private Equity2Commercialization2
+6 moreEntrepreneurshipBusiness PlanningStrategic PartnershipsLife SciencesStrategyPharmaceutical Industry

From Rob's professional profile.

Deals · 2

PlexiumBoard seat

via Pivotal Life Sciences · filed Aug 2025 · $60.1M raise

SutroVaxBoard seat

via Pivotal Life Sciences · filed Apr 2020 · $110M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Board seats

EvommuneLAND TherapeuticsOculisRallybioVaxcyte

Investor

Aciex TherapeuticsArcutis TherapeuticsAvalyn PharmaCivitas TherapeuticsDermiraExscientiaGracellHyperion TherapeuticsInozymeKaruna TherapeuticsLB PharmaMadrigal PharmaceuticalsMerus BVNextWave Pharmaceuticals

Sources: the firm's website · SEC Form D filings.

Colleagues at Pivotal Life Sciences

AJ Velasquez-Mao
Associate at Dolby Family Ventures
Ash Khanna
Partner at Pivotal bioVenture Partners
Benjamin Li
Vice President at Pivotal Life Sciences
Brian Mills
Vice President at Pivotal Life Sciences
Glenn Batchelder
Venture Partner at Pivotal Life Sciences
Jeni Lee
Partner at Pivotal Life Sciences
Lisa Marrone
Investor at Pivotal bioVenture Partners
Peter Bisgaard
Managing Director at Pivotal Life Sciences

Frequently asked questions

Who is Rob Hopfner?
Rob Hopfner joined Pivotal Life Sciences in 2017 and has experience across venture investing stages, from early/seed company building to later-stage private and public investing in the life sciences. He was previously a Managing Director at Bay City Capital and earlier worked in DuPont/Merck Pharmaceuticals' Business Development & Strategy group. He holds an RPh in Pharmacy and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Saskatchewan, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and completed post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School.
Where does Rob Hopfner work?
Rob Hopfner is RPh, PhD, MBA at Pivotal Life Sciences and Board director at Plexium.
What does Rob Hopfner invest in?
Rob Hopfner invests in Biotech, Healthtech, Medical Devices.
What boards does Rob Hopfner sit on?
Rob Hopfner holds tracked board seats at Evommune, LAND Therapeutics, Oculis, Plexium, Plexium, Rallybio, SutroVax, Vaxcyte.
What companies has Rob Hopfner invested in?
Investments tracked here include Aciex Therapeutics, Arcutis Therapeutics, Avalyn Pharma, Civitas Therapeutics, Dermira, Exscientia, Gracell, Hyperion Therapeutics, Inozyme, Karuna Therapeutics, LB Pharma, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, and 2 more.
Where did Rob Hopfner go to school?
Rob Hopfner studied at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (MBA, Finance); Harvard Medical School (Post doctoral fellowship); University of Saskatchewan (Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Pharmacology).

Same school

Also attended The University of Chicago Booth School of Business491

Prashant ShahPartner at Monta Vista CapitalNoorPartner at Clear VenturesTinaInvestments & Portfolio Services Team Member at Clear VenturesKatrin GeyskensExecutive Director at Capricorn Venture PartnersBill PescatelloInvestor at LightbankGlebFounder and Managing Partner at iTech Capital

+ 485 more

Also attended Harvard Medical School143

Niko BonatsosVerdict Capital founder and pre-consensus investor formerly at General CatalystAnthony PhilippakisInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Ben RobbinsInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)David ReshefInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Krishna YeshwantInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Morgan CheathamPartner and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Breyer Capital

+ 137 more

Also attended University of Saskatchewan22

Desmond PadhiOperating Partner at Westlake Village BioPartnersWilson ActonManaging Partner at Tall Grass VenturesChris PatersonVenture Partner at Tall Grass VenturesDavid SullivanVenture Partner at Tall Grass VenturesDion MadsenPartner at Amplitude Venture CapitalAlex ShimlaPrincipal at Conexus Venture Capital

+ 16 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Plexium11

Ian PeikonVenture Partner at Lux CapitalTherese LiechtensteinPartner at 4BIO CapitalKiersten SteadManaging Partner, DCVC Bio at DCVC (Data Collective)Benjamin LiVice President at Pivotal Life SciencesJoey MasonLife Sciences Venture Partner at Claret Capital PartnersEben MassariAdvisor at Avalon BioVentures

+ 5 more

Also worked at Oculis5

Bart DzikowskiManaging Director, Head of Transactions & Legal at Novartis Venture FundArnd KaltofenManaging Partner at VI PartnersÁrni BlöndalFounding Partner at Brunnur Ventures GPGeraldine O'KeeffePartner at EQT Life SciencesTony RosenbergManaging Director at MPM BioImpact

Also worked at Bay City Capital LLC8

Victor Tong, Jr.Managing Director at Decheng CapitalDayton MisfeldtPartner at Decheng CapitalAndy SchwabManaging Partner at 5AM VenturesFred CravesManaging Director at Bay City CapitalKirby BartlettCOO and CFO at Construct CapitalMike MastersonCo-Founder and Managing Partner at Supermoon Capital

+ 2 more

Also worked at Dermira, Inc.1

Jake NunnPartner at SR One Capital Management