Next Phase Newsletter

A corporate venture arm of a global pharmaceutical company. The firm seeks to make strategic investments into early-stage companies that are aligned with the firm’s R&D focus. For equity investments, the firm will lead, co-lead, or participate in syndicated financings.

The firm’s core focus is therapeutic platform technologies. The firm specifically targets investment opportunities that fall within the parent company’s therapeutic areas of interest: Oncology, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Neuro (non-behavioral), Rare Disease, and more. The firm is primarily interested in breakthrough platforms and is generally modality agnostic. The firm does not invest in single therapeutic assets, medical devices or diagnostics.

The firm focuses on early stage investments (Seed and Series A) in pre-clinical, therapeutic platforms. The firm invests using standard institutional venture investment terms without special rights or options.

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

The corporate venture arm of a global company makes seed, venture and growth stage investments in companies in the life sciences space as well as other spaces like IT and mobility. The firm typically makes equity investments in the range of $3-5M per portfolio company. The firm primarily invests in life science companies based in the US, but due to the firm’s global presence, the firm can also invest in companies based in Asia. The firm has no current mandate for the number of allocations it plans to make in the space and will evaluate relevant opportunities as they surface.

The firm invests in early-stage companies in the biotech therapeutics, medical technology and devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT sectors. The firm is sector and indication agnostic, and is opportunistic regarding company stage of development.

The firm is looking for companies with a strong and qualified management team or technical experts in the relevant technology. The firm can act as either a lead or co-investor.

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

The venture capital arm of a global supplier of building materials as well as a manufacturer of innovative material solutions. The firm is looking for companies that will align with the parent company’s strategy for either equity investments, partnerships, licensing or acquisition. Within the life sciences, the firm will consider medical devices, novel materials, diagnostics, instruments and tools. The firm is willing to invest globally, and will invest as early as prototype/proof-of-concept stage.

Within the life sciences, the firm is interested in medical device, diagnostic or instrument and tool companies. The firm will consider all medical devices, but, if FDA approval is required, the firm prefers the company to be in the approval process. For diagnostics, the firm will consider both diagnostic/monitoring machines, tools, instruments & novel materials for Genomics & Cell & Gene therapies. The firm is also interested in instruments or tools that can be used in the medical field or for research purposes.

The firm can lead or co-invest in equity investing, and their involvement in the company after investment will depend on the partnership.

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

A venture capital firm based in the USA is focused on investing in early-stage companies at the intersection of life sciences and technology, with an emphasis on neuroscience. The firm is interested in enabling technologies, biotech platforms, pharma tools, digital health, and health IT related to this area, and is currently looking to either lead or co-invest as part of a syndicate. The firm plans to invest in Seed and Series A rounds, with companies with proof-of-concept data. The firm will make $0.25-2M initial investments, and is currently focused on the US.

The firm will invest in therapeutic platforms, pharma tools, services, health IT, and digital health companies that are related to neuroscience and other related therapeutic areas including oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

The firm is currently looking to lead or co-invest, and may take a board or observer seat, depending on the deal size, portfolio priorities, and operational needs.

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

A global venture capital fund headquartered in Asia has a strong focus in the microbiome and adjacent fields. Atypical for a VC, the firm has multiple mechanisms to support early-stage innovators and entrepreneurs. In addition to equity investments, they have a sponsored research function that provides grants for academics or startups conducting fundamental research, which may lead to future pipelines or new companies. They are also involved in developing a deep phenotyping platform that follows changes in the microbiome of healthy participants for an extended period of time.

For capital investments, the firm is stage and country agnostic but tends to prefer earlier stages (Seed and Series A). Their interest within the microbiome field is diverse and not limited to therapeutics.  As scientists, entrepreneurs, and operators themselves, the firm fundamentally values the underlying science, team, as well as potential synergy with their mission and existing portfolio companies. Moreover, for startups looking to enter Japanese or Asian markets, the firm provides additional value through their extensive networks and track record of launching businesses in these geographies.

The firm is looking to partner with groups addressing complex challenges with the potential to impact society globally, with a preference for first-in-class or best-in-class innovations. While not exclusive, their current areas of high interest are: 1) skin microbiome/gut-skin axis, 2) women’s and infant microbiome, 3) gut-brain axis, 4) phage therapy, gene editing, and virome.  That said, the firm is open to any promising opportunities, even if they are not directly focused on the microbiome, provided they include amazing teams with a global vision to positively impact society.

The firm is looking for companies and technologies that can move its mission forward and have multiple options for funding, including equity investing and non-dilutive funding. They usually prefer syndicate investments with a smaller cheque size as an initial investment but may lead with substantial follow-on investments once the relationship is established.

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

A new venture fund is an impact investor focused on pediatric indications. Within this area, the firm is willing to invest in companies in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices or digital health that help improve pediatric care. As an impact fund, the firm donates 10% of the General Partner’s Carry Interest to fund pediatric research. The firm generally makes initial investments of $3-5M and will invest globally. The firm looks to invest in 12-15 companies out of their first fund.

Within pediatric indications, the firm is interested in Oncology, Infectious Diseases and select Rare/Orphan indications. The firm will consider any technology that helps move care forward in these areas, either directly, as a therapeutic or other treatment device or diagnostic, or indirectly, as a digital health technology that helps support care or complements treatment. For therapeutics, the firm will invest in companies that are 12-18 months from IND. For diagnostics and medical devices, the firm would like to see a proof of concept or prototype. For digital health, some post pilot sales or evidence of market traction is preferred, as is a partnership with a strategic partner, with validation of the technology.

The firm can lead or co-invest, and looks to be a board observer for every portfolio company.

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

A venture capital firm headquartered in USA currently manages 3 funds, and also has an advisory business that is solely dedicated for companies trying to enter the Asian market. The firm has a focus on early-stage investments (pre-Series A to Series B) and has portfolio companies spread over the USA. The firm’s initial investment size varies, but typically falls under the $250K – 2.5M range and is dedicated to follow-on financings of existing portfolio companies. The firm invests only in USA and Canada.

Within life sciences/healthcare, the firm is most interested in medical devices and smart manufacturing in life sciences, and is much more selective when it comes to biotech or therapeutics investments. Most importantly, the firm is focused on assessing the company’s patent status and the degree of novelty. While the firm is agnostic to stage of development, ideally the companies should have a working prototype and significant key data that validates the high potential of their technology. In terms of different types of technologies or diseases areas/indications, the firm is opportunistic.

The firm has no specific management team requirements, but considers patent strategy key in reviewing potential investments. Companies should have key patents issued or a clear strategy on improving their IP portfolio. The firm has great expertise in helping USA/Canada-based companies enter Asian markets (i.e. greater China) and extend their IP coverage. The firm can act as either lead or co-investor and will seek a board seat if they come in as a lead investor.

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