Christopher Gabrieli

Chris joined Bessemer Venture Partners in 1986 and launched the firm’s healthcare practice. As a partner, he leads BVP's healthcare investing while also pursuing other interests, principally public policy work on education.

Prior to his career at Bessemer, Chris founded and served as CEO of GMIS, a leading healthcare information technology company that he helped build, take public and eventually sell to the leading industry consolidator.

Chris' investments run the gamut of healthcare, from biotechnology to medical devices to healthcare services. Among his past and present portfolio companies are Affymax ( NASDAQ: AFFY), Allscripts (NASDAQ:MDRX),  Cerulean Pharma, EPIX Pharmaceuticals, GMIS, Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS), PerSeptive BioSystems, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SIRT, acquired by GlaxoSmithKline), Transave, and  VistaCare (NASDAQ:VSTA).

Chris graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in History and Science and completed two years of the Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons M.D. program.

  
Acceleron Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of tissues including bone and muscle.
Acorn manufactures a device to treat congestive heart failure.
Founded in 1996, Advantage developed and managed charter schools in nine states and the District of Columbia. It served over 9,000 inner-city children by 2001, when it was acquired by Mosaica Education.
In 2005, BVP invested in Affymax, a drug discovery and product development company that is creating novel peptide drugs for the treatment of serious and life-threatening conditions related to kidney disease and cancer. Eighteen months later, the company went public (NASDAQ:AFFY).
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (formerly Allscripts, Inc.) provides software that allows physicians to automate most routine information-gathering tasks. BVP’s Chris Gabrieli invested in Allscript’s second round in April 1988. The company went public in July 1999 (NASDAQ:MDRX).
Alnara develops non-systemic protein therapeutics to treat metabolic and inflammatory diseases.
American Medical Communications produces and distributes television, video and other electronic media for healthcare professionals and customers. In 2000, it was acquired by Medsite.
Arris was founded in 1989 to develop drugs more quickly using high-throughput computer screening. BVP invested in 1992. Arris went public the following year (NASDAQ:ARRS) and five years later merged with the human DNA prospecting firm Sequanna to form Axys Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AXPH). The merged firm was acquired by Celera (NYSE: CRA) in 2001.
Aveo Pharmaceuticals discovers and develops novel cancer therapeutics.
Centocor develops therapeutic products based on monoclonal antibody technology. It was acquired by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), in 1999.
Cerulean uses nanotechnology to achieve dramatic improvements in the efficacy and safety profile of new and existing drugs.
Develops bioartificial organs to assist with liver function.
BVP's Chris Gabrieli invested in the 1999 expansion round of Endonetics, which was developing a device to treat Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. The company was acquired by Medtronics (NYSE: MDT) in 2001.
Enzytech, a biopharmaceutical company founded in 1987, developed mechanisms to deliver smaller doses of drugs specifically to their targets. BVP's Chris Gabrieli invested in all six of Enzytech's rounds. In 1993, Enzytech was acquired by Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS). 
Epic produced proprietary drug delivery technology for the development of safe and practical biopharmaceuticals. It was acquired by Baxter Healthcare Inc. in 2002.
EPIX, founded in 1988, develops imaging agents for use in MRIs. BVP participated in its early rounds. The company went public (NASDAQ:EPIX) in 1997.
Focus Healthcare Management, founded in 1986, developed an integrated approach toward managing the healthcare cost component of workers' compensation. BVP invested in its early rounds, exiting in 1994. Focus merged with CRA Managed Care two years later.
BVP's Chris Gabrieli invested in this developer of treatments for allergies and auto-immune diseases in 1988. It went public in 1991 (NASDAQ:IMUL).
BVP's Chris Gabrieli invested in and served as Chairman of Isis, a company developing a new class of drugs based on antisense oligonucleotides, which inhibit cells from producing disease-causing proteins. Isis went public in 1991 (NASDAQ:ISIP).
KCM Biomedical invested in biotech companies.
Myco Pharmaceuticals, founded in 1991, developed anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer compounds. Myco became ChemGenics Pharmaceuticals when it merged with PerSeptive Biosystems' chemistry and drug discovery activities in 1996. A year later, ChemGenics was sold to Millennium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MLNM). BVP’s Chris Gabrieli invested in the seed and all subsequent rounds.
BVP's Chris Gabrieli participated in the 1991 financing of Oclassen Pharmaceuticals, a developer of innovative therapeutics. The company went public in 1992 (NASDAQ:OCLN); and was acquired by Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WATS) in 1997.
On-Q-ity is an innovative diagnostic company that provides physicians with the tools they need to make the best decision when treating individual cancer patients. Products currently in development are based on two core technologies: 1) DNA repair biomarkers that predict treatment response and 2) microfluidic chip technology that enables capture, enumeration and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream.
Opta, a maker of food additives, was founded in 1987 as part of Enzytech, a biopharmaceutical research company. In 1991, Enzytech spun out the food division to concentrate on drug delivery processes. BVP's Chris Gabrieli had invested in Enzytech in 1987 and also led BVP's 1991 investment in Opta, which went public in 1992 (NASDAQ:OPTS).
Oxagen is developing an improved treatment for asthma.
PerSeptive Biosystems developed and manufactured an integrated system that reduced the time and cost of drug discoveries. BVP’s Chris Gabrieli invested in the company in December 1989. PerSeptive went public in May 1992 (NASDAQ:PBIO). Purchased by Perkin Elmer, Inc. (NYSE: PKI) in 1998, it is now part of Applied Biosystems (NYSE: ABI).
Proteon Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company using tissue remodeling techniques to develop novel pharmaceuticals that address the medical needs of patients with renal and vascular diseases.
Restore Medical developed a series of therapeutic devices to treat snoring and other sleep-disordered breathing conditions. It went public in 2006 (NASDAQ:REST) and was acquired in 2008 by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).
Sirtris is a biopharmaceutical firm developing enzymes that activate our natural defenses against disease. It went public in May 2007 (NASDAQ:SIRT) and was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) in 2008.
Stromedix is a biotechnology company committed to developing innovative therapies to treat fibrosis.
A biopharmaceutical company, Transave uses proprietary technology to develop innovative, inhaled pharmaceuticals for the treatment of serious lung diseases.
Transvascular develops innovative therapeutic alternative devices to allow surgeons to access tissues throughout the body less invasively. It was acquired by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) in 2003.
TravCorps provided health care professionals for temporary and permanent assignments. BVP invested in its first institutional round in 1995; four years later the company merged with Cross Country Staffing and became Cross Country TravCorps. In 2001, the merged entity went public (NASDAQ:CCRN).
In 1987, BVP's Chris Gabrieli invested in the first institutional round of U.S. Behavioral Health, a provider of outsourced mental health benefits for employer-sponsored health plans. BVP participated in two more rounds and served on the board until 1990, when the company was acquired by The Travelers Group (NYSE:TRV).
BVP's Chris Gabrieli led the first round in VistaCare, now a leading hospice care provider. The company went public in 2002 (NASDAQ:VSTA).