New Rhein Healthcare Investors moving headquarters to Philadelphia

New Rhein Healthcare Investors, an international private equity firm, recently announced that it is moving its global headquarters from Chicago to Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia headquarters is in addition to its other offices in Brussels and London.

“The firm’s selection of Philadelphia is based on the area’s growing importance as a center for life science innovation, and proximity to the historic NJ based US pharmaceutical industry, the Maryland based FDA, and the NYC financial hub,” the company said.

The opening of the Philadelphia office coincides with two new additions to the company’s investment team. Dr. Ivan Gergel joins the company as Chief Medical Officer, and Nishant Rastogi joins the firm as Senior Associate.

Gergel will lead New Rhein’s clinical, scientific and regulatory diligence processes and will assist portfolio companies with clinical research, clinical operations, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, and drug safety and surveillance.

Gergel has over 25 years of pharmaceutical leadership and drug development experience. He has served as head of development and chief medical officer at Nektar Therapeutics; EVP of research & development and chief scientific officer at Endo Pharmaceuticals; and SVP of research & development at Forest Laboratories. Gergel has overseen the successful development and approval of 14 new medicines. He received his M.D. from The Royal Free Medical School of The University of London and an MBA from the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.

Rastogi’s responsibilities will include the identification and screening of new opportunities, due-diligence, modeling, deal negotiation, portfolio company support, and business development. From 2015 to 2017, Rastogi was an investor at Broadview Ventures. He received his MBA from Northwestern University and earned a BA in economics from Dartmouth College.

“These moves are in line with and strengthen New Rhein’s strategy of identifying assets that not only meet an unmet medical need, but also bring strong health economic value, and which require operational know-how and investment for the right clinical, regulatory, and commercial strategy,” the company said.