James Foght

Biography

James L. Foght, also known as Jim, Ph.D. is a Managing Partner at Foght Enterprises LLC. Dr. Foght served as the Managing Director at Vector Fund Management, L.P. Previously, he was a Principal at Kidd & Company, LLC. Prior to this, he served as the President at Vector Securities International, Inc., founding it in 1988. Dr. Foght was instrumental in developing Vector into the largest investment banking firm dedicated to serving clients in the healthcare industry. Prior to that, he was also a Managing Director at Prudential Vector Healthcare Group. Dr. Foght was a Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Kidder, Peabody's Life Sciences and Medical Products Industry Specialty Group. Prior to that, he was a Co-Founder at DuPont Pharmaceuticals. In 1979, Dr. Foght was responsible for the planning and implementation of a de novo pharmaceutical business for DuPont in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. His responsibilities included managing clinical research, regulatory affairs, licensing, manufacturing and sales and distribution. Later, Dr. Foght established a worldwide Technology Evaluation and Acquisition Group for DuPont in the life sciences area. He spent 23 years at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., spending half of his career in research and research management. Dr. Foght was also a Managing Director at DuPont United Kingdom. Dr. Foght served as the Member of Board of Managers of IllinoisVENTURES, LLC and earlier was also the Chairman of the Board of Managers. He is a Board Member of several biotechnology and life science companies. He also serves as the Chairman of PharmaIn and as a Board Member of Pinnacle Biologics. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Mermaid Pharmaceuticals GmbH and Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Foght holds a number of Advisory positions including being a Member of the Advisory Board of Korda Seed Fund and Prescient Medical, Inc. He is an Advisor to the Department of Chemistry for the University of Illinois, Trustee and Member of the Science Advisory Council of the University of Akron. Dr. Foght serves as a Trustee of the African Wildlife Foundation and TurtleWill. He served as the Director at Cambridge Antibody Technology Group PLC, from 1996 to February 2003. Dr. Foght was a Director at ConjuGon Inc. and Avocet Medical Inc. He was also a Non Executive Director of Acrux Ltd. Dr. Foght has 45 years of experience in the international life science industry including research and development, general management, international management, investment banking and venture capital. He also has experience in international investment banking, venture capital and technology evaluation and acquisition and has a passionate interest in cross-border and cross cultural activities. He holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry with minors in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Illinois and a B.S. from the University of Akron.

Research Interest

Pharmaceuticals