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Sam Isaly has stepped down as managing partner of OrbiMed, the $14 billion health care hedge fund and private equity firm he founded in 1998, just days after a STAT report that Isaly had sexually harassed and demeaned female employees.
Bottom line: OrbiMed says in a statement that the move is "pursuant to years-long succession planning discussions." Isaly had denied the allegations against him to STAT, but his departure comes just two days after the news site's report, which resulted in OrbiMed hiring an outside law firm to investigate the allegations from multiple women — including Isaly's former assistant, who says she was regularly subjected to hardcore pornography and quit after Isaly asked her to open a briefcase that contained a vibrator.
The firm's statement also included the following quote from Isaly: "I am extremely proud of what my distinguished partners and I have accomplished at OrbiMed and the difference we have made in the lives of patients worldwide. OrbiMed is a strong and vibrant company positioned for continued growth and this is a good time for me to pass the baton to the next generation of leaders."
Moving forward, OrbiMed will be led by a management committee comprised of Sven Borho, Carl Gordon, and Jonathan Silverstein.