Next Phase Newsletter

A recently formed venture capital firm is focusing on the big-data aspect of personalized diagnostics. The firm is seeking early-stage companies raising seed to Series B rounds. The firm has a $200M target fund and seeks to make 15 –20 new investments within the year. The firm seeks to make $2M – $4M initial investments per company, but will make smaller initial seed investments. The firm prefers to be actively involved in their portfolio companies, and therefore prefers companies based near the west coast, though is open to other U.S.-based companies.

The firm is focused on early-detection diagnostics, such as discovering cancer when it is still monogenetic versus heterogeneous and already invaded in other parts of the body or detecting Alzheimer’s 8-10 years before dementia symptoms are present. The firm is interested in point-of-care diagnostics (for influenza A/B/bacterial, etc.) that can diagnose specifically and efficiently. The firm is especially interested in technology with a big-data component, and involved in genomics and personalized medicine to provide the right treatment as early as possible. DigitalDx seeks preclinical to clinical-stage technology, though will also look later-stage depending on the opportunity.

The firm requires a smart management team that is diverse in knowledge, and a company with good IP that may come from a leading institution. The firm will usually seek early-stage companies with less than half a dozen people.

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

A Venture Capital company with offices in the US and Switzerland is currently looking to make investments out of its 6th fund. For its earlier stage investments, the firm is looking to make venture-stage investment generally falling in the range of $2-$10 million, although the firm may invest smaller amounts in certain seed-stage opportunities, or more in other cases. The firm also reserves additional capital for follow on rounds. The firm is most interested in companies based in the US and Europe, although they will invest in Australia, East Asia and Israel as well. The firm could make as many as 7-12 investments over the next year.

The firm invests primarily (80%) in therapeutics, with the rest of their investments in diagnostics and medical devices. Within the therapeutics space the firm has historically invested mostly in the oncology space, but are open to all indications. The firm is willing to invest in small molecules, biologics, and cell and gene therapy. The firm is willing to consider opportunities from preclinical through phase III, and, in some cases, may even form a company around several assets of interest. For medical device companies the firm generally looks for companies with a strategy for the European market due to regulatory considerations.

The firm is willing to either lead or co-invest, depending on the deal and the size of their investment. When acting as a lead investor, the firm does seek board representation, but is also willing to be a more passive investor as part of a syndicate.

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

A seed-stage venture fund focusing on the frontiers of the intersection of science and technology is looking for companies that are changing the market standards through innovative approaches. The firm is interested in US-based companies and generally invests in seed-series A rounds, typically when less than $5m is being raised. The firm invests in pre-clinical/in development technologies but prefers there to be proof-of-concept data. For medical devices, the firm will consider devices in the 510k regulatory pathway. For all investments, the firm prefers that there is a deep data science or computational element to the technology being commercialized. The firm will generally invest between $250,000-1M, and will often connect companies to larger funds for later capital raises.

The firm is agnostic to sector and indication, and will also consider platform technologies. However, the firm is looking for companies that use DNA and cellular engineering technologies for diagnostics and therapeutics. Ideally, these technologies are also leveraging computation to accomplish their ends. The firm is not interested in standard therapeutics approaches such as small molecules. For medical devices, the firm is looking for devices that change the paradigms of care, solving an unmet need with a unique approach.

The firm does not require a board seat when investing. Rather, the firm will be as involved as necessary to help the company succeed, whether through personal intervention or through a connection to an external expert.

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.

Where it comes to Biomedical, 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 their core businesses.

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

An investment management firm based in Tianjin, China manages multiple funds and is engaged in equity investment, asset management, merger and acquisition across several industries including healthcare. The size of investment varies depending on the deal, but the firm is investing from a 1 billion RMB fund for healthcare. The firm is currently seeking equity investment and licensing opportunities in China and the US. The firm is looking for companies with a China angle and has experience helping companies obtain CFDA approval.

Within healthcare, the firm is interested in medical devices, IVD, medical equipment, home-care products, and other healthcare-related technologies. The firm considers products that have at least completed prototype. The firm prefers products that have already obtained FDA clearance or approval, but it is happy to work with companies who are ~1 year away from FDA approval as well. In terms of indication areas, the firm is interested in diseases with large market potential in China, including oncology, reproductive health, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes and metabolic disorders.

The firm seeks to work with experienced teams with strong sector knowledge. The firm is looking for products with a China angle and may request distribution rights in China.

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

A Boston-based private investment group consisting of 145 early stage investors (strategics and angels) is currently looking for new opportunities in the life science space in seed to A rounds ranging from $100,000 to $4M. The group is open to reviewing opportunities from any country around the globe.

The group is open to all types of healthcare and life science companies including medical devices, therapeutics, diagnostics, healthcare equipment and laboratory instrumentation, digital health and material science. The firm looks for companies that have some proof-of-concept or validation data and at least a basic prototype prior to investment and is open to all classes of molecules and devices.

The group is looking for privately held companies with experienced management teams, the firm does not require a board seat following investment.

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

A life sciences-focused growth capital firm recently raised almost $1B for their new fund, which will invest broadly in the healthcare space. The firm seeks to make venture and growth stage investments ranging from $20M-$70M in the form of equity. The fund prefers to lead or co-lead most deals and may or may not seek a board seat along with an investment. The firm has a diverse team of pharmaceutical and finance professionals and seeks to add value to portfolio companies through strategic guidance and a steady flow of capital, allowing companies to focus on developing their products and executing their business plan.

The firm focuses on the following healthcare verticals: biotech/biopharma, medical devices, and life science / research tools and diagnostics. The fund is agnostic to therapeutic area and therapeutic modality, but does favor companies developing and commercializing solutions for significant unmet and under-met medical needs. As for biopharma drug companies, the fund typically likes to see at least GLP toxicology data for pre-clinical assets but ideally early safety/tolerability and biological activity/biomarker data in humans.

The firm has no strict company or management team requirements, but favors experienced/proven management teams and entrepreneurs who are highly skilled and knowledgeable in the specific area (technology and indication area) they are pursuing.

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