Next Phase Newsletter

A private investment company established by a single high net worth individual is looking to make direct investments in the therapeutics space.  Based in New York City the firm manages an evergreen structure allowing it to have a very large range for investment size, capital structure, and holding period. The firm has no set number of allocations that it plans to make over the next 6-9 months and will evaluate all relevant opportunities on a case by case basis.

The firm is currently looking for US based companies in the therapeutics space and is open to considering both Biologics and Small Molecules. Companies with assets in phase II or later are of high interest, and companies in phase I that have some human efficacy data are also open to consideration. The firm is not interested in therapeutics areas with subjective endpoints such as pain and mental disorders.

The firm is looking for both private and micro-cap publicly held companies and evaluates management on a case-by-case basis. Taking a board seat is not a requirement for the firm and their involvement in the management of the firm varies based on the needs of the company. The firm is interested in both leading as well as co-investing in investment rounds.

A multi-family office based in the Greater Cincinnati area is looking to make direct investments in a variety of sectors including healthcare & life sciences.  Investments from this firm in early-stage companies are typically in the form of equity, whereas debt investments in later-stage companies may be considered.  The firm’s allocations are highly variable but are typically at least $3 million.  The firm primarily invests in US-based companies but Canada-based companies may also be considered.

Within the life science sector the firm has diverse interests, with a primary focus on medical devices and medical service providers (including biotech R&D services and healthcare IT companies).  Investments in therapeutic drug development may also be considered.  The firm is a generalist investor, and is open to investing in both preclinical and clinical-stage companies and considers opportunities on a case-by-case basis.  While the firm will consider investments in almost any indication, the firm prefers to invest in large markets and does not consider investment opportunities in rare diseases.

The Firm seeks to invest in solid management teams that have developed a product based on proprietary, patented technology.  While the firm does make investments into pre-revenue companies, they require that the company have a clearly defined path to revenue.

A life-sciences focused venture capital incubator accelerator based in San Francisco, California is looking to provide capital in the form of equity and convertible notes to seed and venture stage companies in the life science space. The firm can provide capital in the range of a few hundred thousand to $2million or more by leveraging its groups of angel syndicates. The firm invests in companies across the United States, Europe and Australia with a preference for California based companies. The firm looks to be involved in 3 new companies per year.

The firm is currently looking for companies in areas of Medical Technology/Devices, Therapeutics and Companion Diagnostics. In the Medical Device space the firm is open in terms of sector and indication and will consider firms that are in the development phase as well as those that have entered clinical trials. In the therapeutics space the firm is generally open as well however the firm is highly interested in areas of cell and gene therapy and oncology. For therapeutics the firm tends to get involved at the preclinical stage or during phase I of clinical trials.

The firm is looking for confident and experienced management teams. Given the early stage investment style that the firm has, they often work with management teams that are incomplete and have primarily academic backgrounds. Part of the value that the firm looks to add is helping firms fill in the gaps in their current management.

A family office based in the Central United States is looking to make equity investments into companies ranging from $.5 – $5 million with a preference for the middle of that range. The firm is also willing to co-invest with investors they either know well or are able to get a strong reference for.  The firm looks to invest in seed and series A rounds and looks to take a significant stake in the company’s equity.  The firm prefers to invest in companies that are not located in an areas highly saturated with venture capital. The firm plans to make 3-4 new investments over the next 12 months.

The family office is currently seeking companies in the therapeutics space and is open to both small molecules and biologics. The firm is looking for companies with pre-clinical assets that have some animal data and will also consider companies in early clinical trials if the valuation is appropriate. The firm is open to review all indications and currently is working with companies in the neurology and antibiotics space. The firm would also consider investments in companies developing high tech medical devices and diagnostics with a special interest in companies that are bridging the gap between Biology and Software. The firm is not interested in investing in drug discovery platforms.

The family office is looking for companies founded by passionate entrepreneurs pursuing novel science.   The firm takes an active investor role and generally looks to take a board seat following investment. The firm is a value-added investor, including providing virtual management team services to support our portfolio companies that don’t have a full team on board.  The firm is looking for companies with pre-money valuations under $5 million, with a special interest in opportunities valued under $2 million.

A venture capital firm based in the Western United States recently raised a $50M fund with a specific focus in blood-related therapeutics and technologies. The firm can allocate up to $10M per company depending on the financial needs of the company. The firm will consider companies located worldwide. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.

The firm is currently looking to invest in regenerative medicine with particular interest in therapeutics for blood diseases and blood-related technologies/products. The firm is particularly interested in cord blood stem cells and the regeneration of red blood cells. The firm will invest in products in early clinical (Phase I) through Phase III of clinical trials. 

The firm seeks companies with an experienced management teams or technical experts in the relevant technology.

The corporate venture capital arm of a global contract research organization (CRO) has the ability to allocate anywhere from $100,000 to $2 million of equity capital to companies. However, the arm only invests in opportunities where it can leverage its CRO services as a piece of the investment, and as such, looks to tailor its CRO services to the needs of its partners, helping them to reach key value-added milestones. The firm will consider opportunities worldwide, and plans to be involved with 6-10 companies over the next 6-9 months.

The corporate VC is willing to consider making investments into companies developing medical devices, diagnostics, and therapeutics that are able to utilize their parent company’s CRO services to advance their product into or through clinical trials. Currently, they are most interested in companies developing therapeutics and biologics with a lead asset anywhere from 6-9 months pre-IND, to Phase III of clinical trials. The arm is completely opportunistic in terms of subsector and indication, and is willing to consider companies targeting orphan indications.

The corporate VC often acts as a co-investor, and generally does not require a board seat. Despite not being active on the board, the firm is a long-term investor and looks to provide market, development, and regulatory insight and strategic advice into selected companies.

A single family office in the US is currently seeking to invest in platform technologies. The firm manages approximately $4 billion in assets with $600 million dedicated to life science investing. The family office is currently allocating out of its 7th fund, a $100 million dollar fund that closed in 2012. Typical investments range from $1-$2 million to $25-$40 million depending on deal stage. The firm prefers to make controlling investments and has an average holding period of approximately 8 years.

The family office primarily invests throughout the United States although they have made investments outside the US in the past. Companies In the therapeutic space developing platform technologies are of primary interest. Companies developing single assets or medical devices are not of interest. The family office is open to considering platform companies from all stages, sizes and indications although they are especially interned in areas of Cell and Gene Therapy, Synthetic Biology, CNS, Neurology, and Orphan Indications.

The family office is looking for companies with experienced management teams and is open to investing in both public and privately held companies.  Companies that previously failed a trial or have incomplete management teams and need re-organization are also of interest. The family office is a very long term hands on investor that looks to add value in addition to capital, thus it almost always acts as the lead in any investment rounds.