Chevy Chase, MD - November 6, 2013 – New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), a leading global venture capital firm, today announced that Ali Behbahani, M.D., has been promoted to Partner. Dr. Behbahani, who joined NEA in 2007, specializes in healthcare investments in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

“We’re delighted to recognize the many contributions Ali has made to NEA’s healthcare practice with this promotion,” said Peter Barris, Managing General Partner, NEA. “He has brought incredible value to the firm through his deep knowledge of the healthcare industry, and he has consistently exhibited strong leadership and investment judgment.”

Dr. Behbahani’s investment focus at NEA spans both the medical device and biopharma sectors. He played a key role in the firm’s successful investments in Hyperion Therapeutics, Bridgepoint Medical and Acadia Pharmaceuticals, and is currently a director of Minerva Surgical, Oculeve, Rotation Medical, Solace Therapeutics, Prospex Medical III and Denali Medical II.

“Ali brings tremendous dedication and versatility to his role as an investor, and his passion for working with entrepreneurs to bring new medical technologies and treatments to patients is inspiring,” said Ryan Drant, General Partner, NEA. “We look forward to his continued success in his new role as Partner.”

Prior to joining NEA, Dr. Behbahani was a consultant in business development at The Medicines Company, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing acute care cardiovascular products. He previously held positions as a Venture Associate at Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and as a Healthcare Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers. He also conducted basic science research in the fields of viral fusion inhibition and structural proteomics at the National Institutes of Health and at Duke University.

Dr. Behbahani concurrently earned his MD degree from The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his MBA degree from The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, where he graduated with Honors and was a Palmer Scholar. He graduated summa cum laude and received his bachelor’s degrees with distinction in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Chemistry from Duke University.

About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $13 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's long track record of successful investing includes more than 175 portfolio company IPOs and more than 300 acquisitions. In the U.S., NEA has offices in Menlo Park, CA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In addition, New Enterprise Associates (India) Pvt. Ltd. has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India and New Enterprise Associates (Beijing), Ltd. has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China. For additional information, visit www.nea.com.

SOURCE New Enterprise Associates, Inc.