Bridge Bank announced the recent hiring of seasoned lender, Justin McDonie as senior vice president and managing director responsible for the Midwest and East Coast business development activities for its Life Sciences Group. McDonie will be based out of Durham, North Carolina.

"We are extremely excited to have Justin on the team and are confident his wealth of experience and industry knowledge will make a significant impact on the Midwest and East Coast life sciences venture debt market," said Rob Lake, senior vice president and head of Bridge Bank's Life Sciences Group. "This addition of high-caliber talent exemplifies Bridge Bank's long-term commitment to serving the life sciences space and delivering best-in-class products and services," he added.

Prior to joining Bridge Bank's Life Sciences Group, McDonie spent nine years with Oxford Finance where he served in various credit and portfolio management and business development capacities. He has significant lending expertise, specializing in providing funding for venture-backed and publicly-traded life science companies. Most recently he was a senior director of business development where he was responsible for originating financing opportunities and growing Oxford's portfolio throughout the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

"Bridge Bank has built a superior lending platform and I'm thrilled to be launching and growing their life sciences business line across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, New York and New England," said McDonie.

Bridge Bank initiated its Life Sciences Group in September of 2015, offering customized financial solutions to companies operating in the sector, including within the biotech, medical devices and pharma verticals. The Life Sciences Group focuses on providing term and revolving debt to life sciences companies for a variety of purposes including growth and working capital, refinancing, restructuring, recapitalization, as well as for financing mergers and acquisitions. In addition to providing tailored credit solutions, Life Sciences Group offers the full complement of Bridge Bank's financial solutions including treasury management and international banking services.

Bridge Bank is a division of Western Alliance Bank, the go-to-bank for business in its growing markets. Bridge Bank was founded in 2001 in Silicon Valley to offer a better way to bank for small-market and middle-market businesses from across many industries, as well as emerging technology companies and the private equity community.