Next Phase Newsletter

Founded in 1986 with offices in the US and Ireland, a venture capital firm recently closed its latest fund, the firm’s largest fund to date with over $1.85B. The firm’s size of investment can largely vary; the firm can invest as little as $50K all the way up to hundreds of millions over the life of investment. The firm is open to investment opportunities globally.

The firm is currently interested in novel concepts and platforms across the life sciences. The firm invests in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, life science tools, and has a lesser interest in technology-led companies in the healthcare IT space (the firm is not interested in service-based/SaaS healthcare IT businesses). The firm has made many investments in these particular areas: infectious disease, mental health, immunology, genomic and biological tools, data sciences and ways of reimagining diagnostics and therapies. The firm prefers early stage opportunities; in therapeutics, the firm focuses on pre-IND technologies.

The firm only invests in privately held companies that have not previously raised a Series A round or a significant seed round. The firm is a highly hands-on, active investor.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email resi@lifesciencenation.com.

Established in 1941, a pharmaceutical company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating globally in terms of R&D, manufacturing, distribution and marketing, with a strong focus on prescription medicines. The corporate investment arm of the company has offices in USA and a headquarter in Tokyo, Japan. The firm has a budget of $140M USD ($15B JPY) to make strategic equity investments in early-stage companies that align with the company’s core business. The firm will invest between $1-5M in seed to mid-stage companies, with Series A being the sweet spot. The firm is open to global opportunities.

The firm is interested in opportunities that are synergistic with their research and development pipeline in neurology and oncology. The firm is interested in pharmaceutical drugs across various modalities, including but not limited to antibodies, peptides, nucleic acids, and cell/gene therapy. The firm is also interested in digital therapeutics, IT solutions, and diagnostics. Within neurology, the firm is strongly interested in (but not limited to) neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease as well as epilepsy and sleep disorders. Within oncology, the firm is interested in solid tumors (breast, liver, lung, etc).

The firm is a flexible investor and can act as a lead or follow-on investor. The corporate venture investment closely collaborates with the firm’s business development and leverages its global network of pharmaceuticals, research universities, etc. to identify and collaborate with cutting-edge opportunities.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email resi@lifesciencenation.com.

A medical device company based in California, USA, with offices worldwide is interested in partnering with medical technology companies. Depending on the stage of the company, these partnerships may include follow-on investments in early-stage equity investments, joint technology development, commercial agreements or acquisitions. The firm typically does not act as a lead investor in equity rounds. The firm can partner with companies based anywhere in the world.

The firm is interested in technologies that strategically align with the firm’s core business. Areas of interest include new technology in 2D and 3D imaging, visualization, 3D printing, materials science, and digital health and AI, and diagnostics for oral diseases. The firm generally partners with companies at an early stage of development.

The firm can partner with companies at any stage but the type of partnership depends on the maturity of the company; for example, the firm may form joint development agreements with early stage companies or make equity investments, and for later stage companies may form commercial or distribution agreements.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email resi@lifesciencenation.com.

A venture capital firm headquartered in Asia with offices in the USA is actively seeking investment opportunities across a wide range of industries. 1/3 of the fund is dedicated to global/USA-based life sciences and healthcare investments, while the rest of the fund will focus on investing in Asia-based companies. In addition, the firm is expecting to close its newest fund later this year. On average, the initial size of investment is in the $2-5M range but the firm has the capacity to invest more in companies they identify as a strong fit. The firm can participate anywhere from Seed to Series B, but Series A is their sweet spot.

The firm is an opportunistic investor and will consider therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT companies. However, the firm will generally avoid single therapeutic assets and those that are pre-clinical or earlier. The firm is open to novel medical devices of all FDA regulatory pathways, including 510k and PMA. The firm is strongly interested in platform plays, or technologies that have implications in multiple disease areas or indications. Examples include novel drug delivery platforms, drug discovery platforms that leverage AI or machine learning, regenerative medicine, etc.

The firm considers the management team’s character and entrepreneurial spirit – more so than the team’s experience – as one of the most important factors in the investment screening process. Each partner of the firm will dedicate their time to become acquainted with the management team and determine their degree of fit. The targeted market and the company’s competitive edge are also important considerations. The firm prefers to act as the lead investor and will seek board representation, but is also open to co-investing.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.

A private investment firm based in the USA started a fund to invest in early stage companies that are developing innovations that can significantly reduce healthcare costs. The firm makes equity investments where the investment size is highly variable depending on the stage of development and particular need of each company. The firm invests in companies that are based in the US and is actively seeking new investment opportunities.

The firm focuses on early-stage healthcare IT projects that could substantially lower the cost of healthcare delivery in the United States. Examples of good candidates include projects that help consumers make more informed decisions when selecting local service providers (cost transparency); use remote monitoring technology to help patients better manage illness; that provide more meaningful tracking of health metrics for patients (health and wellness analytics); or initiatives at the intersection of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics that comb genetic blueprints for clinically-relevant patterns (precision medicine).

The firm is an active and engaged investor, and can act as either a lead or co-investor. The firm prefers to lead investments in seed rounds.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.

The corporate venture capital arm of a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials makes equity investments into seed and venture stage companies generally taking less than 25% ownership. The firm makes allocations ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to $5 million initially with additional capital held for future financing rounds. The firm is looking to make approximately 5-10 investments over the next 6-9 months with +10 being made over the next 2 years. The firm invests in companies located around the globe with a focus on the U.S., Europe and Israel.

The firm is looking for materials science companies in orthopedics and soft tissue repair. The firm also actively invests in human nutritional health, with a specific focus on companies active in personalized nutrition, and companies developing nutritional products. While the firm has invested in companies all the way from seed to PIPE, they generally invest into companies that have products in development or early stage commercialization.

The firm highly values experience in a firms management team and generally looks to take a board seat and play an active role in its portfolio companies. The firm is looking for companies that are interested in cooperation/alignment with relevant businesses of the parent company.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.

A pharmaceutical company based in South Korea has an active portfolio that is mostly made of branded products licensed in from overseas partners. For the R&D activity, the firm has several clinical pipelines under global phase II in the area of CNS and diabetes, CNS clinical pipeline under phase III in Korea, and a late preclinical stage oncology product as well as an early preclinical candidates targeting TEC kinase family developed in-house. The firm is actively searching for innovative candidates and products around the world to incorporate into its pipeline and product portfolio. The firm has ample experience across various types of partnerships with overseas companies and is flexible in terms of the business structure. The firm is interested globally, including world-wide major territories.

The firm is currently seeking promising novel therapeutic candidates to incorporate into its pipeline. In terms of indications, the firm is indication agnostic with added interest in movement disorders, CNS, liver disease and immunology. The firm is also interested in oncology indications (small molecule or biologics with novel MoA). The firm prefers assets both in early/late non-clinical development stage as well as in early clinical development stage. The firm is also interested in obtaining distribution rights for innovative treatment in Phase III or in marketing authorization process.

The firm is open to working with companies anywhere in the world, and has no set requirements for partners; the firm is able to work with virtual drug companies by leveraging the firm’s own capabilities and third party relationships.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.