Abingworth Shakes Up Leadership to Deepen Life Sciences Investment

LONDON, UK – January 05, 2026 – Abingworth, a leading transatlantic life sciences investment firm, today announced a significant leadership transition designed to sharpen its focus on key growth areas and leverage its strategic integration with parent company Carlyle. In a pivotal move, Dr. Bali Muralidhar has been appointed Head of Abingworth Life Sciences, succeeding Kurt von Emster, who transitions to the role of Managing Partner. The firm also announced the strategic hire of Travis Wilson as a Managing Director, tasked with expanding the firm’s clinical co-development and buyout activities.

The changes signal a deliberate evolution for the 53-year-old firm, reinforcing its commitment to a multi-faceted investment strategy that spans from early-stage venture capital to late-stage clinical funding and buyouts. This strategic realignment aims to position Abingworth and Carlyle to more effectively capitalize on the complex and capital-intensive landscape of modern drug development.

A New Era of Leadership

The transition represents a natural progression for Abingworth's leadership team. Dr. Muralidhar, who previously served as Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Operating Officer, will now take the helm of the life sciences division while retaining his CIO title. Having worked closely with von Emster for the past seven years, his promotion ensures continuity while bringing a fresh perspective to the firm's core investment engine.

Kurt von Emster, who has led Abingworth for eleven years and steered its expansion into new investment models and its landmark integration with Carlyle in 2022, will remain a central figure. In his new role as Managing Partner, he will concentrate on the firm’s clinical co-development investments and continue to support its venture portfolio, contributing to the firm's overarching strategic vision.

“After eleven years leading Abingworth, including the firm’s expansion into clinical co-development and strategic relationship with Carlyle, Abingworth is now in an excellent place to continue its success as a leader in life sciences investing,” said von Emster. “I have worked closely with Dr. Bali Muralidhar for the past seven years, and he has demonstrated the vision and leadership to continue Abingworth’s 53 years of successful life sciences investing.”

Dr. Muralidhar echoed this sentiment, praising his predecessor’s contributions. “Kurt is an exceptional investor and has made very significant contributions to Abingworth since joining the firm in 2015. His leadership has strengthened and grown Abingworth,” he stated. “I am excited to continue partnering with Kurt in expanding our differentiated life sciences investment franchise.”

Doubling Down on Clinical Co-Development

The leadership shuffle shines a spotlight on Abingworth’s increasing focus on its pioneering Clinical Co-Development (CCD) strategy. This innovative model, which Abingworth began developing in 2009, provides non-dilutive capital to biotech and pharmaceutical companies to fund expensive, late-stage clinical trials. In return, Abingworth receives future royalties or other success-based payments, sharing both the risk and the reward of bringing new medicines to market.

This strategy has proven to be a powerful tool in a challenging funding environment. For biotechs, it offers a crucial alternative to equity financing, while for large pharma, it provides a mechanism to advance promising pipeline assets without straining internal R&D budgets. The model's success is evident in Abingworth's recent activities, including a deal in April 2024 to provide Teva with up to $150 million for a late-stage asthma drug and an offer in February 2024 of up to $210 million to Gilead to fund studies for its cancer drug Trodelvy.

Dr. Muralidhar has been a key architect of the CCD program’s expansion. The firm's recent fundraising success, including the oversubscribed $356 million Clinical Co-Development Co-Investment Fund closed in late 2023, underscores strong investor confidence in the strategy. Reports in late 2024 suggested the firm was seeking to raise as much as $1.5 billion for a new fund dedicated solely to co-developed drugs, a clear indication of its ambition to scale this financing model significantly.

Bolstering Buyout and Venture Capabilities

Further amplifying this strategic push is the high-profile appointment of Travis Wilson as Managing Director across both Abingworth and Carlyle. Wilson brings over two decades of experience as both an investor and an executive, with a resume that includes senior roles at Flagship Pioneering, Gurnet Point Capital, and Morningside. His specific mandate is to drive opportunities in clinical co-development and biotech and pharma buyouts.

His arrival is timely. The life sciences sector is ripe for M&A activity, as large pharmaceutical companies face patent cliffs and look to acquire innovation to replenish their pipelines. A recent valuation reset across the biotech industry has made many smaller, innovative companies attractive targets. Wilson’s deep experience in both venture creation at Flagship and private equity at Gurnet Point positions him perfectly to identify and execute complex deals in this environment.

“I am thrilled to partner with the Abingworth and Carlyle healthcare buyout teams,” Wilson commented. “I believe we are uniquely positioned as a provider of capital solutions to biotechs and pharma companies across the spectrum of venture capital, clinical co-development, and buyout private equity.”

The Carlyle Connection: A Full-Spectrum Strategy

These internal promotions and external hires are the latest manifestations of the strategy set in motion by Carlyle's acquisition of Abingworth in April 2022. The move was intended to create a comprehensive, full-spectrum life sciences investment platform under the Carlyle umbrella, capable of deploying capital from the earliest seed-stage ventures to large-scale buyouts.

With over $22 billion invested in healthcare, Carlyle views the sector as a critical area for growth. The integration of Abingworth provided deep scientific and clinical expertise that complemented Carlyle's financial and operational prowess. A tangible result of this synergy was the formation of Launch Therapeutics, an operating company jointly run by Carlyle and Abingworth to fund and manage late-stage clinical assets, effectively scaling the CCD model.

By elevating Dr. Muralidhar, retaining von Emster’s expertise, and recruiting a dealmaker like Wilson, Abingworth is not merely changing titles but actively fortifying its capabilities. The firm is building a leadership structure designed to execute on its expanded mandate, ensuring it can source, fund, and manage assets across the entire life cycle of a therapeutic product. This integrated approach positions the combined Abingworth-Carlyle platform to navigate the complexities of the healthcare market and drive the next generation of medical innovation.