Next Phase Newsletter

A private equity group headquartered in the Western United States is looking for new opportunities in the life sciences space, and although it has no set time frame to make allocations, the firm would invest in a company within the next six months if a compelling opportunity were identified. The firm’s equity investments can range anywhere from $1-25 million.

The firm is most interested in the biotech therapeutics sector, as well as the medical technology space. In terms of companies in the medtech space, they are most interested in firms producing optical devices and active implantable devices. In the biotech therapeutics space, the firm is looking for firms developing drugs targeting neurological disorders of all kinds. They also have a particular interest in companies that are developing therapeutics targeting orphan diseases.

The firm will invest in both pre-revenue companies, as well as companies that have products that are already on the market. The group has a venture capital approach to investing in pre-revenue companies, and for those that have products on the market, it has more of a growth equity approach.

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A fund based in the Central United States, which has around $400 million under management, was set up by its state government in order to attract start up companies, and is currently seeking new investment opportunities in the life sciences space.

The majority of the funds investments (53%) are in the life sciences space, and since 2005, the fund has dedicated around $900 million to the sector. The fund typically invests in 10-20 companies a year, and their allocation size ranges from $250,000 to $5 million. The firm is most interested in the suppliers and engineering space, biotech therapeutics and diagnostics, and biotech R&D services. The firm is specifically interested in the medical devices space within the suppliers and engineering space, and is seeking firms focused on genomics in the biotech R&D space.

In terms of biotech therapeutics and diagnostics firms, the fund is fairly opportunistic in terms of subsector and indication, however does have a special interest in small molecules. The firm will consider pre-revenue firms, as well as firms that have products on the market. With that being said, the firm is agnostic in terms of the product’s development phase.

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The venture philanthropy arm of a larger organization is currently looking for new companies in the life science space to invest in, and anticipates on investing in at least two new firms this year. The firm has an evergreen structure, meaning that funds come directly from its parent organization, and can be deployed as needed. The fund has over $100 million in total assets currently, and was allotted $4 million in 2013 for new investments, and typically makes equity investments ranging from $500,000 to $3 million.

The venture arm is currently looking for firms in the biotech therapeutics space. They are especially interested in companies that are developing therapeutics that treat diseases that fall within the realm of neuromuscular diseases. There about 40 different diseases within this category, but some of the specific areas of interest for the firm include multiple sclerosis and ALS, but they will consider therapeutics treating any indication within this subsector. They invest internationally, and will consider firms based in the US, as well as those based anywhere else around the world.

Primarily investing in pre-revenue companies, the firm has no criteria in terms of revenue or EBITDA. The firm will invest in firms that have products ranging from proof of concept in phase I to phase III.

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A private equity group with offices worldwide is currently deploying assets from its seventh fund, which closed at nearly $400 million, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to over $1 billion. With that being said, the firm has been very actively seeking and investing in new companies in the life sciences space, and still has a great deal of dry powder on hand from its seventh fund. The firm made 3-4 new investments within the last two months, and anticipates that the group will be investing at around the same pace in 2013 if they continue to source compelling opportunities in the space and also expects that their current fund’s portfolio will consist of around 18-20 companies in total. The firm typically allocates around $5-15 million, but has written tickets ranging from $2-40 million in the past.

The firm is interested in biotech firms creating therapeutics, medical technology companies that develop medical devices, as well as specialty pharmaceutical companies. The firm is especially interested in medical device companies that are creating ophthalmology or instrumental neurology products. In the biotech therapeutics and diagnostics space, the firm is opportunistic in terms the indication the product that a firm is targeting, however is especially interested in firms that are developing drugs for the treatment of orphan diseases.

The firm plans to allocate two-thirds of the group’s seventh fund to US based firms and one-third to firms located in China. In China, they provide firms with growth capital while in the US the firm has more of a venture capital approach to investments. Accordingly, the firm invests in earlier stage pre-revenue companies in the US and later stage companies in China that are generating revenue. With that being said, the firm is looking for US biotech companies whose products are in early stage phase II of clinical trials or later, and in the medtech space the firm’s product must be undergoing clinical trials to be considered.

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A seed stage venture capital firm located in the Eastern United States, which makes equity investments of up to $100,000 into seed stage organizations, is focusing on emerging spinouts from Universities. The firm’s fund has an evergreen structure, and is currently looking to make one additional investment in 2013.

The VC is currently most interested in investing in a therapeutics company, as they have the most experience in that sector. However, the firm would also consider allocating to a company developing a medical technology or diagnostic. Within these sectors, the firm is opportunistic in terms of subsector and indication, and will evaluate these companies on a case-by-case basis.

The firm is always looking to make a strong partnership with their partner’s science teams, so having capable leadership in place that is willing and able to work alongside them is paramount. As they are looking for companies fresh out of the university setting, they exclusively invest in pre-revenue companies.

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The foundation is most interested in medical devices, and will look at firms within the full gamut of medtech subsectors. Typically, the office allocates to firms that have at least one product on the market. They have no strict criteria in terms of a firm’s EBITDA or revenue, but require that any firm in which they invest has goals to lower the cost of healthcare.

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A private equity company based in the Central United States has invested over $700 million throughout its lifetime, and is currently making investments out of its 12^th fund, which raised $100 million. The firm is looking to make a growth equity allocation of around $3-$5 million initially, and up to $10 million over the lifetime of the investment. The firm will consider companies in any location, and is looking to make 4-5 investments over the next 12 months.

The PE invests in approved medical devices, healthcare IT, biotech R&D services and diagnostics. They have experience in delivery devices, implantable devices, and reusable instruments, so companies within these subsectors would be ideal. However, other medical devices may also be considered. The firm also has interest in the biotech R&D services sector, and in subsectors of CRO’s & diagnostic instrumentation.

The firm is looking to invest in a company with approximately $5 million in yearly revenue with a strong management team. They will consider small public or private companies for investment, and seek to acquire an active position on the company’s board.

Tags: biotech, biotechnology, CMO, consulting, CRO, family offices, Fundraising, investor, Investors, issue, letter, life, Life Science, life science nation, medicine, nation, news, newsletter, pharma, Pharmaceutical, private equity, research & development, science, startup, venture capital