Brent Ahrens

Brent Ahrens joined Canaan in 1999 as a member of the Kauffman Fellows Program. Brent focuses on healthcare investments and has led investments in life sciences companies such as DexCom (DXCM), Revivant (acquired by ZOLL), Peninsula Pharmaceuticals (acquired by JNJ), Cerexa (acquired by FRX), Calixa (acquired by CBST), Durata Therapeutics (DRTX), Elevation Pharmaceuticals (acquired by DNPUF); and Spinifex (acquired by NVS).

Brent serves on the boards of Abyrx, a developer and manufacturer of therapeutic devices for use during surgical procedures; EndoGastric Solutions, the leading company offering medical devices for treatment of reflux disease; Iterum Therapeutics, a developer of a broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat serious infections; Relievant MedSystems, a maker of minimally invasive devices to relieve chronic back pain; Semnur, a developer of pain managements solutions; and Unchained Labs, a life science tools company.

Prior to joining Canaan, Brent worked in both commercial and technical roles at General Surgical Innovations, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (J&J), and IAP Research. He also has several surgical instrument patents to his credit.

Brent earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College after graduating with a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton.