A global leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets provides services, equipment, and support solutions to laboratories worldwide. The firm has an early stage partnership program that works with, and potentially invests in, early proof-of-concept to revenue stage companies that are a strategic fit to Agilent’s core products and services. Apart from financial investing, the firm provides strategic support to the companies with whom they partner. While the firm will partner globally, it has primarily partnered with US and European companies to this point.
The firm partners with early stage companies that provide game-changing tools, technologies and applications to advance the Life Science Research, Clinical Research and Diagnostic markets. Within these markets, the firm is especially interested in the fields of Bioproduction Instrumentation, Cell & Gene Therapy Tools, Cellular Engineering and Analysis, Genomics, Lab Data Analytics & Informatics, Molecular Diagnostics and Sample Preparation. The firm is currently not considering therapeutics or medical devices. The firm has partnered with companies early in proof of concept and up to revenue-generating companies.
The firm’s Early Stage Partnership program will only invest in companies that are a strategic fit, but operates as a financial investor, separating any strategic partnerships from the financial investing.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
Hot Investor Mandate: Investment Arm Branched Out of a Life Sciences Consulting Firm Seeks to Invest in Novel Therapeutics, Medtech, etc. Addressing Unmet Medical Need
A newly established venture capital firm headquartered in Western Europe is tied with a dedicated life sciences consulting firm with multiple offices throughout USA, Europe, and Asia. With the capability to leverage the experienced resources from the consulting firm, the firm is able to invest in and support in early-stage technologies with a derisked strategy. The firm has a pan-European focus and is sourcing globally within industry, start-up communities, and business accelerators, for high potential opportunities.
The firm is interested in proprietary, differentiated therapeutic products addressing high-unmet medical need and platform technologies supporting next-generation patient diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention. The interest areas also include genomics, AI, diagnostics, medical devices, rare diseases, next generation personalized medicine, and more. The firm is interested in early-stage opportunities – pre-clinical assets with a valid proof of concept, devices with a working prototype are all good fits in terms of stage of development.
The firm will look at each opportunity carefully, and is most interested in those with business potential with a 3-5 year runway to strategic partnerships, acquisition by large life science companies or an IPO. The firm will prefer to lead investments and will take a very active role in their portfolio companies, often being involved in the operations of these companies to support their growth and enabling research that generates important, proof-of-concept data.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
Hot Investor Mandate: USA-Based Investment Firm With Ties to Major Insurance Provider Invests Up to $20M in Digital Health, Healthcare Services, and More
An investment firm based in the US looks to invest in healthcare companies of strategic interest to a major healthcare insurance company that the firm has ties with, while seeking strong financial returns. With the fund, the firm is looking to make investments ranging from $1 – $20 million over the lifetime of the investment in stages ranging anywhere from seed to buyout. The firm is actively reviewing new opportunities and will consider companies located around the globe that are commercializing in the US or plan to in the near future. The firm also manages other funds that seek to invest in food and agriculture companies and insurtech companies, respectively.
Within the healthcare space, the firm looks to invest across Healthcare IT, Services, Diagnostics, and Devices, and agnostic towards types of technologies and indication areas the technologies address.
The firm is looking for companies with experienced management teams and prefers working with complete teams although they also have experience and are willing to work with incomplete management teams as well. The firm is looking for privately held companies and prefers to lead in rounds but can co-invest in certain circumstances. The firm generally looks to take a board seat following an investment.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
Hot Investor Mandate: Biotech Company in USA Seeks Pre-Clinical Therapeutic Assets in Immuno-Oncology and Autoimmune Diseases for Potential In-Licensing or Investment
A biotech company based in the USA has an active pipeline of therapeutic assets in immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases. The firm has been seeking novel therapeutics opportunities that are synergistic with the firm’s existing pipeline for potential licensing, investment, and other partnership opportunities. The firm is most interested in opportunities based in US and Europe.
The firm is seeking therapeutic opportunities for potential licensing, investment, and other win-win partnership opportunities. The firm is open to novel targets and modalities; in terms of indication/disease area, the firm is only considering immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases at this time. In terms of stage of development, the firm will primarily consider pre-clinical stage assets.
The firm has no specific company or management team requirements.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
Digital RESI March – Super Early Bird Ends Tomorrow! Take The Test Below and See What Ticket You Should Buy
By Greg Mannix, Vice President International Business Development, General Manager Europe, LSN
One positive lesson from the past 3 years is that digital partnering conferences can be extremely valuable and cost-effective. As much as we all value the chance to go back to in-person events, Digital RESI March 14-16 is a terrific opportunity to meet with 300+ early-stage investors and licensing partners at a fraction of the overall cost of attending an in-person event.
Life Science Nation (LSN) is committed to continuing to offer digital RESI events together with our signature in-person RESI conferences. Digital RESI March will again offer insightful investor and workshop panels, plus the chance to pitch live to a panel of domain-specific investors in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC). Companies that compete in the IPC get great visibility, make valuable connections, and have found they are more successful in getting meetings with investors and licensing partners. IPC applications are now being accepted.
NEW! Global Partnering Campaign & Roadshow Preparation Entrepreneurial Education Series
2023 is an important year for LSN’s Entrepreneurial Education programs. We have devised 16+ focused and very practical 1-hour classes that address genuine issues facing startups. At Digital RESI March we will be offering an educational track for the first time, consisting of 6 focused classes over 3 days and covering topics like:
- It All Starts with The Story
- First-Time CEOs: Avoiding Pitfalls
- Tagline & Elevator Pitch
- Executive Summary & Tear Sheet
- Pitch Deck & The 10 Myths of Fundraising
- Strategies for Successful Partnering
Take The Test and See What Ticket You Should Buy
RESI March with Partnering
Have you already launched your global Partnering Campaign and attended partnering events? Are you into actively seeking capital investors and licensing partners? Do you have your story straight and your branding and messaging in place? Do you have a global target list of partners and are you using a CRM to organize and manage the interactions with that list? LSN suggests a full 3-day partnering conference registration. ($1,195)
Apply for the Innovators Pitch Challenge
Are you ready or have you participated in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC)? This will get you feedback from qualified investors and licensing partner judges and help you with feedback and commentary on your pitch presentation. Click here to apply to the IPC. This package will include a full day 3-day registration plus the IPC package. ($1,795)
On the Edge and Need to Learn More as an Early-Stage Startup Looking for strategic Partners
Just getting started and trying to learn the ropes? Need to learn from the investor and licensing partner panels precisely what partners look for. Seeing is believing. Watch other startup CEOs participate and pitch their startups to global partners. Take advantage of LSN’s Global Partnering Campaign and Roadshow Preparation classes. This low-cost audience pass will give you access to all the RESI content through panels and classes over the three days. The audience pass is aimed at helping startups who are not quite ready for their global partnering campaign see how other colleagues have made the leap and are actively executing partnering roadshows. You can virtually attend our investor panels and entrepreneurial educational classes. ($295)
Super Early Bird ends tomorrow for Digital RESI March so be sure to register here today to save $300!
Digital RESI March Innovator’s Pitch Challenge – Apply Now to Secure a Spot
By Joey Wong, Investor Research Analyst, Hong Kong BD, LSN
The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) at RESI San Francisco made a splash during JPM week 2023, attracting over 50 companies and 60 investor judges to participate. Life Science Nation (LSN) will bring back this exciting opportunity at our next conference, Digital RESI March, taking place on the 14 – 16th, in a virtual format.
The IPC at Digital RESI March provides an unique opportunity to early-stage, seed to series B companies to pitch live to a panel of investors and industry experts, who are highly experienced in the sectors that they are judging for. During the virtual pitch sessions, each IPC finalist will have 4 minutes to present and 8 minutes for Q&A. In addition, all participating companies will be featured on Digital RESI March’s Live Agenda, and each have their own dedicated web page to host their company information and materials. With the flexible, virtual format, we welcome companies and investors from around the globe to join the IPC at Digital RESI March. The IPC sessions have been immensely popular in our previous conferences, so I encourage interested companies to apply early, before the final application deadline of February 7th.
To apply or find information about the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) at Digital RESI March, please visit: https://resiconference.com/pitch-challenge/
Get to Know RESI Sponsor BE Health Ventures
 Arthur Chen |
Interview with Arthur Chen, Managing Partner, BE Health Ventures
By Caitlin Dolegowski, Marketing Manager, LSN |
 Caitlin Dolegowski |
BE Health Ventures is the largest institution in Taiwan with a venture fund and accelerator dedicated to HealthTech, MedTech and digital health startups. Based in Taipei, they leverage the unique strengths of Taiwan’s thriving ecosystem to position themselves as the gateway to Asia for both local and international startups. BE Health was a valued sponsor this past RESI JPM San Francisco in January. In the following interview, BE Health’s Managing Partner, Arthur Chen, gives us insight into BE Health and how they are serving both local and international startups.
Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): Please introduce us to BE Health Ventures.
Arthur Chen (AC): BE Health Ventures is the FIRST and ONLY hospital-backed VC in Taiwan. We launched the accelerator program in 2018 and have helped accelerate about 100 different startups since then, backed by the support of two of the largest hospital networks in Taiwan. The total fund raised by the alumni has surpassed $150M USD.
In addition to helping secure funding, our accelerator program provides non-financial resources to help our startups to validate their solutions and business ideas with our hospital partners. And through our venture capital fund, we invest in companies with exciting potential and help them expand across Asia.
CD: What are some traits of the Asian markets that are different from the USA or Europe markets?
AC: Asia contains 60% of the world’s population and continues to grow. It is estimated that by 2030, the region will also have 60% of the world’s population aged 65 or older. According to a recent report I studied, the total estimated healthcare spending in Asia alone is estimated to exceed $4 trillion by next year, with hospitals, home care, telemedicine, medical device, and drug development expected to lead the way. In fact, the Asia-Pacific region has far surpassed the United States and Europe in terms of the demand for healthcare. Currently, the market growth in Asia Pacific is 19.9%, much higher than the 10% growth rate in the U.S. and Europe. However, unlike the US or Europe, Asia is not a single market. We have China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia… and so on. Different countries have different regulatory paths, such as NMPA in China, PMDA in Japan, and each country also has its own reimbursement policies and payer structure; not to mention that cultural differences add to the threshold for overseas startups to enter the Asian market. Therefore, we have launched the accelerator program to help.
CD: What should we as investors be looking for from startups that want to enter the Asian markets? How do you evaluate whether they made the most of it or not, and is that a good indicator for future success?
AC: Given the diversity of country profiles in Asia, it would not be easy to successfully penetrate different countries’ markets to achieve scale. Each market takes time to operate because of the differences in culture and government health policies. We find that the successful MedTech companies would be those that can offer differentiated technologies that are superior to the competitors but partner locally to provide a customized solution to attract customers in different markets. The companies that can provide end-to-end medical solutions that meet the full range of each customer’s needs will likely gain more market share.
CD: On the topic of American or international startups entering the APAC region, what makes Taiwan an attractive launchpad? Why did you choose Taiwan, and what is your plan for the Asian market hereafter?
AC: There are many reasons why Taiwan is a viable choice to start your business in Asia. Here are some.
1) Taiwan is in the center of Asia: The average flight is 2h55m to six major cities in the western Pacific- Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. 2) Medical Resources: The NHI (National Health Insurance) in Taiwan has collected over 20 years of digitized, single-payer medical data. 3) Supply Chain: Strength in creating proprietary technology, R&D & manufacturing. 4) Convenient Entry for Foreign Talents: Foreign entrepreneurs can apply for the Entrepreneur Visa or the Employment Gold Card, both of which are routes for international talents to reach Taiwan. To sum up, Taiwan serves as an important bridge connecting the West to emerging Asia-Pacific markets. The geographical location of Taiwan makes it the perfect place to start your business in Asia, and then leverage Taiwan as a launchpad to expand your business presence to the rest of Asia.
CD: How would you characterize the current startup investment scene in Taiwan? What kind of opportunities should we be aware of?
AC: Startup investment in the health and medical sector in Taiwan has been heating up year by year. In 2021, the number of early-stage investments in this sector nearly tripled, with over 430 deals funded, reaching a record high. Cell therapy, CDMO, medical AI, and advanced medical devices are some of the hottest topics in Taiwan’s early-stage funding market, serving as the main drivers of this wave of healthcare investment boom. With new medical treatment and new technological breakthroughs, more ICT companies and cross-sector startups are expected to join the industry.
Due to the size and growth rate of the Asian healthcare market and the power of technology to transform the industry in recent years, more technology giants have chosen Taiwan as their base in Asia to form partnerships with the healthcare industry. For example, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have all set up offices and formed R&D teams in Taiwan. This trend of Taiwan becoming a medical technology cluster in Asia Pacific is already taking shape.
CD: What can BE provides for the international startups?
AC: BE supports both local and international startups to start, scale and grow within the challenging healthcare ecosystem in Asia. One thing that sets us apart as a VC is our unparalleled access to hospital facilities. In Taiwan, we partner with two of the largest hospital groups, namely Show Chwan Memorial Hospital and Taipei Medical University. And with these two partnerships combined, we can access about 15 hospitals across the Asia-Pacific region as well as IRCAD Taiwan, the largest non-invasive surgical training center in all of Asia. We offer an acceleration program called PoC (Proof of Clinical Evidence) for every stage of startups to use Taiwan as their launchpad into the Asian market, to verify product feasibility and market demand. The program recruits 1 batch per year and it follows a 20-24-week curriculum.
The BE PoC Accelerator Program provides the ideal opportunity for international startups to explore business opportunities in Asia. With our network of hospitals, startups can explore unmet clinical needs through needs validation, establishing a hospital pilot site, and access to medical resources. Startups interested in clinical trial, manufacturing, data access and fundraising resources will also benefit from our network across Taiwan and Asia.
We are now in the process of recruiting startups for a new batch. Startups interested in Asian market are welcome to apply! https://www.behealthpoc.com/
CD: We were thrilled to have BE Health Ventures as a sponsor and exhibitor at RESI JPM San Francisco! What were some of your takeaways from RESI?
AC: The RESI conference connects startups with early-stage investors and strategic business partners. This year, we led 10 Taiwanese startup teams in the Pitch Challenge, many of which were highly rated by investors, and CytoAurora won second place. This is a proof to Taiwan’s innovative strength. As a startup accelerator and venture builder, BE Health continues to look forward to more cross-border collaborations, connecting the West and the East.
Next Phase Newsletter 