Primary Job Title Board Member Primary Organization 
Kosan Biosciences
Gender Male
Investor Type
Jean began his venture capital career in 1971 in Paris, France with Sofinnova and started its very successful American subsidiary, Sofinnova, Inc. in 1976 in San Francisco.
In 1979, he formed Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co., with Craig Burr and William Egan. During the 1980s and 1990s, BEDCO was a prominent, diversified venture firm. He co-founded
Alta in 1996.
Jean is an industry leader in biotechnology; he had the vision to start the Alta BioPharma family of funds, one of the very first venture capital initiatives to fund later stage life sciences companies. He was an early investor in many of the leading companies in the field today, including Cephalon, Chiron and Genentech.
Jean holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from the École Supérieure d’Electricité and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Sorbonne. In 1993, Jean was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government in recognition of his career accomplishments.
