Patrick FitzGerald leaves DreamIt to lead CHOP commercialization efforts

Just a year after he was named managing partner of DreamIt Ventures, Patrick FitzGerald is leaving to head up commercialization at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The hospital and research institution has ramped up its tech transfer efforts over the last year, investing in its big spinout win Spark Therapeutics (which went public earlier this year) and partnering with the likes of DreamIt Ventures and Osage University Partners. FitzGerald, who worked as a consultant for CHOP for the last year, was part of this commercialization push and is now taking on a more formal role. He credits former CHOP CEO Steven Altschuler with leading the commercialization charge.
He said he had enjoyed his time with DreamIt but couldn’t turn down CHOP. FitzGerald will work on creating a pathway to commercialization for CHOP researchers.
FitzGerald was the first to hold the role of managing partner for DreamIt Ventures’ Philadelphia classes. He oversaw the last two Philly classes and notably organized a venture capital roadshow for the startups in the most recent DreamIt class.
He’ll continue to work with DreamIt since CHOP plans to send two more spinout startups to DreamIt Health, as part of DreamIt’s OpenCanvas project.