Next Phase Newsletter

The corporate venture capital arm of a larger parent company, which is organized as an evergreen VC fund with one LP, makes equity investments in life science companies at various stages of development, and is likely to make about 3 allocations to life science companies in the next 6-9 months. Investments are made from very early, seed stages of development through late stages, and are therefore highly varied in size. The CVC arm invests only in privately held companies.

Preferring to invest in developments at the intersection of life science and technology, the firm is interested in medical technologies that have a significant computational element. This includes bioinformatic fields such as genomic diagnostics or tools, and various subsectors of the healthcare IT space including sophisticated analytics, natural language analysis, medical records management, enterprise software for hospitals, clinical trials management, and data mining tools for pharmaceutical firms.

The arm is also interested in investing in drug discovery platform technologies. In this area, the firm prefers to invest at an early preclinical stage (prior to lead optimization). In general, they are agnostic as to whether a company has reached the prototype stage of product development prior to investment. They do not invest in direct-to-consumer products such as health monitoring wearables or apps.

A Government Sponsored Organization based in the Western US is capable of investing up to $20 million to companies initially and can invest greater amounts over the life of the investment. The firm provides strictly non-dilutive funding in the forms of debt, research grants and forgivable loans. Being motivated partially by the economic development of its home state, the firm is most interested in companies located there, but will consider other investments inside the US as well. For companies outside of the state that the firm chooses to allocate to, being able/willing to set up some business within their borders is ideal. The firm plans to allocate to 10-15 companies in the next 6-9 months.

The organization is currently looking for companies developing therapeutics that in some way trigger or involve human stem cells. This includes cell/gene therapy, regenerative medicine, small/large molecules and biologics. The firm is completely open in terms of indication and will consider companies targeting orphan indications. The firm is looking to allocate to companies with an asset in Pre-Clinical up to Phase II of clinical trials.

A life science-focused Venture Capital firm based in Canada is currently investing from two new funds totaling more than $150 million of new capital under management. The firm’s second fund is more than $100 million of that total, and they are currently looking to invest in companies across North America.

The firm typically makes initial investments ranging from $1-$5 million of equity, and looks to invest $8-$12 million over the lifetime of the investment. The firm plans to make 4-6 investments over the next 12 months.

Through its second fund, the VC is currently looking for companies developing Therapeutics, Medical Devices, and Healthcare IT. The firm has a special interest in immunology, inflammation, cell therapy, vaccines and protein-based therapies, although the firm will also consider other small molecule and biologics therapies in other areas. The firm is specifically looking for companies with assets in phase I and II of clinical trials.

In the medical devices space the firm is opportunistic in terms of device type, but also requires some in-human data to be evaluated for investment. In the past, the firm has invested in devices for cardiology, obesity, medical imaging, and others. The VC will invest opportunistically in the healthcare IT space, particularly in products that help make healthcare systems more efficient.

The firm is looking to invest in companies that are pre-revenue located throughout the United States and Canada. The firm does not look to take an active role on the management team, but does look to take a board seat.

A venture philanthropy fund based in the Western US makes equity investments of varied amounts; significant previous investments have ranged from $1-5 million. The fund invests globally, and will make between 2-3 allocations in the next 6-9 months.

The venture philanthropy group invests primarily in therapeutics to treat a specific orphan disease. However, the fund is open to exploring any therapeutic technology, and has recently invested in small molecule drugs. The fund considers projects are at a range of development stages, from preclinical/drug discovery to Phase II trials for repurposed drugs.

The fund looks for experienced researchers with prior records of success, and projects from both public and private companies are considered.

A venture capital firm founded in 2000 and based out in the Eastern US manages four funds with a combined $250 million in assets under management. The firm’s most recent fund closed at over $100 million, with up to 20% of the committed capital going to seed and early stage companies and projects.

The firm typically invests between $2 and $4 million initially, and up to $10 million over the lifetime of the investment. Investments are generally in the form of milestone-based equity tranches. However, the firm also has experience in working with convertible notes. They are looking to make 4-6 allocations in the next 6-9 months.

The VC is currently looking for early stage companies in the Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Medical Technology and HealthCare IT spaces. In the Therapeutics space the firm is opportunistic in terms of subsector but is most interested in indications of Ophthalmology, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Anti-Infectives, Metabolic Disorders, Renal Diseases, Oncology, Immunology, Dermatology, and Orphan Diseases.

For companies developing therapeutics, the firm is looking for companies primarily with a lead product in preclinical trials, although they will consider companies with products having recently entered Phase I. The firm also has generally stayed away from – and is not currently seeking – companies working with Regenerative Medicine and Wound Care. In the Medical Technology space, the firm strongly prefers that the company have at least have an early prototype of their product and the firm is opportunistic in terms of device subsector.

An angel group that began making investments into life sciences in 2000 and is based in the Eastern US, and manages a fund structure and has raised four funds to date. The firm looks to invest along with other members in its network to companies that are looking to raise $1-$3 million in capital. The firm plans to make 6 allocations in the next 6-9 months.

The group is currently looking for companies in the Healthcare IT and Medical device spaces. The firm is agnostic in terms of indication, but they are not interested in companies whose products will require an arduous FDA approval process. The firm is interested in companies who already have a prototype of their product available.

The group is only interested in companies with experienced management and looks to be an activist investor. The firm will not consider companies whose are going to require more than $ 10 million in total investment over their life time. The firm is looking for highly capital efficient companies that have a clear plan to partner or get bought out by a larger organization.