Hot Mandates: A European VC

25 May

The firm is a VC based in Italy. The firm has just completed the investment period of the third fund and raising their fourth fund, with a target fund size of at least $200M. While their third fund is broader in scope in Life Sciences, the firm’s fourth fund will be focused specifically on therapeutics. Around 50% of their new fund will be dedicated to venture building, and the other half will be dedicated to traditional venture investing. The firm will invest in European and Israeli companies, and will invest from lead identification to IND-stage, although the firm is open to investing in clinical-stage companies. The firm will invest between $5-25M per investment (seed, series A, series B).

The firm is looking to invest only in therapeutics. Within therapeutics, the firm is agnostic to modality. The firm is primarily interested in the indications of oncology (particularly glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer and sarcoma), rare diseases and CNS disorders, particularly those with a genetic origin. The firm is interested in First-In-Class and Best-In-Class therapeutics, but may consider repurposed therapeutics for CNS only.

The firm is interested in investing in experienced management teams. The firm prefers to co-invest, and may take a board seat, but does not require it.

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

Hot Mandates: A US-Based VC with a China Partner

25 May

The VC is a US fund, based in Silicon Valley, investing in early-stage startups in many industries with a preference for healthcare and IT technology. Typical equity investment size ranges from US$0.5-2 million in Pre-A to Series A stage companies. The firm is open to either leading or following in a syndicated round. The firm expects to make 10+ deals in the next 12 months and can invest globally with a focus on the US and Canada.

The firm considers broadly across healthcare industries including innovative drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health products. The firm has an increased interest in medical devices and imaging technology. The firm prefers companies that develop disruptive technologies to solve unmet medical needs.

The firm is looking for experienced management teams. The firm can leverage its innovation center in Hangzhou to assist with commercialization in the China market.

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

Hot Mandate: A Mid-East Based Family Office

25 May

The Family Office has an early pharma/biotech fund based in the Middle East. The fund is stage-agnostic, however the fund is fundamentally science-driven and considers mainly early pre-clinical and clinical-stage projects, preferably with POC validation.The fund investment size ranges widely from $0.5M – $20M and comes in the form of straight equity. The firm seeks board representation and is a very active investor, helping guide the company’s development and strategy. The firm invests globally and may lead investments, but typically co-invests in U.S.-based companies. The firm has no targeted number of investments per year.

The firm is open to both pre-clinical and clinical stage companies and is agnostic to technology type and indication. The firm has a specific interest in immuno-oncology, gene therapy, RNA/DNA based therapy and orphan or unmet medical need. The firm is only interested in first-in-class, breakthrough assets and does not consider re-purposed assets or iterative technologies.

The firm prefers to invest early and help take the company through a major inflection point. The firm has no specific management team requirements.

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

Hot AI Mandate: Boston-based VC Invests in Pre-seed to Seed-stage AI/ML Companies

25 May

Founded in 2014, a venture capital is headquartered in Boston, MA. The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments, typically with an initial investment of $500k to $1m as part of the company’s first institutional funding. The firm prefers companies located in the US and Canada. The firm will make 5-10 new investments over the next 12 months.

The firm partners with entrepreneurs solving real-world problems with data and machine learning, focusing on applications of frontier technologies such as AI, computational biotech, connected sensors, AR/VR, and blockchain. Past investments include biomedical and genomics data analytics platforms, data and analysis tools for drug discovery, and related areas.

The firm desires experienced management teams with a vision for the future. The firm can take a board seat when they have specific expertise in the area, and does not have an equity target. Strong technical teams who have a deep understanding of their markets is desired, though they’re comfortable partnering with very early-stage (pre-product) companies.

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

Hot AI Mandate: Hong Kong-based Boutique VC Interested in AI-related Healthcare Technologies

25 May

A boutique venture capital firm founded in 2015 in Hong Kong currently manages a 150M USD fund and a 200M RMB fund. The fund is industry agnostic within China while it focuses only on healthcare ex-China. The firm generally participates in Series A or B rounds but would also consider seed and growth-stage funding. Typical equity investment size ranges from $1-5M. The firm is open to both leading and co-investing. The firm is actively seeking new opportunities from across the world with a focus on companies in China, U.S., Europe, and Israel. The firm helps portfolio companies get into massive and fast-growing markets of China and Asia, and assists Chinese companies to expand abroad.

The firm is opportunistic across all subsectors of healthcare. Within MedTech, the firm is most interested in medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, and mobile health. The firm is seeking post-prototype innovations that are FDA cleared or are close to receiving clearance. Within therapeutics, the firm is interested in therapeutics for large disease markets such as oncology, neurology, and metabolic diseases. The firm is open to all modalities with a special interest in immunotherapy and cell therapy.

The firm is in search of ambitious companies with strong, experienced management teams. The firm takes a hands-on approach to portfolio companies and can work with incomplete teams. The firm can contribute expertise in essential services: branding, marketing, channel development, overseas expansion, human resources and finance. The firm may also request distribution or negotiation rights in China.

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

Hot AI Mandate: CA-based Private Investment Group Interested in AI and Big Data Applications in Digital Health

25 May

A private/family investment vehicle based in CA makes seed investments via an accelerator arm, and also has a stage-agnostic fund. Seed investments are typically $25,000-100,000, and the firm is capable of making larger investments via the fund. The firm also provides a three-month accelerator program, and works with partners in the healthcare industry to strategically invest in startups. The firm will consider investing in companies worldwide.

The firm is interested in investing in digital health and medical technology, and invests in subsectors in which the firm and its industry partners can apply expertise; within medical devices, typically this means products that have a significant software component, including biosensors, wearables and health monitoring devices. Within digital health, interests include the following areas: Care Management, Hospital Workflow, Diagnostics, A.I. & Big Data, Population Health, Patient Adherence, Telemedicine. The firm s is interested in both consumer applications and enterprise software. The firm works with strategic

The firm prefers to invest in companies with at least two co-founders, one with technical expertise and one with business expertise; for the accelerator program in particular, the firm prefers to work with companies that have a technical expert co-founder. In addition to due diligence on the management team and technology, the firm also considers a product’s potential market opportunity.

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

Join These Investor Panelists at Digital RESI June

20 May

By Joey Wong, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

Digital Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) Conference, June 8-10, takes place in just a few weeks! The Life Science Nation (LSN) investor research team has been busy organizing six exciting panels focusing on different investor groups, from big pharma, corporate venture capital, to family offices and angel investors, etc. During these panels, active life science investors will share their insight and provide tactical advice on outreach, positioning, and building the right relationships to move products forward. The goal is to facilitate constructive conversations between investors and fundraising CEOs, and provide insights on how companies can raise capital and acquire partnerships effectively.

Another exciting part of the upcoming conference is the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, where investors and industry experts are invited to participate in the live Q&A sessions to give feedback and ask questions to the pitching companies.

If you are interested in meeting these investor panelists and pitch judges, register here for Digital RESI June! Partnering is open, but there is still time to sign up!

For those who have already registered, we highly recommend you to join the panels that are relevant to your company; you can RSVP for any panels in the partnering system to block off your meeting schedule.

Here are some of the investors who will be joining our panels and pitch sessions at Digital RESI June:

Hamzeh Abdul-Hadi
Principal
Hikma Ventures
Brent Ahrens
General Partner
Canaan Partners
Faz Bashi
Member of BOD
Life Science Angels
Attila Bérces
Advisor
FastVentures
Brian Bronk
Head of External Innovation, Rare Diseases
Sanofi
Hannah Chang
Managing Director
Wu Capital
Elizabeth Cho-Fertikh
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Meda Angels
Chris Church
Associate Director, Search & Evaluation, CVRM
AstraZeneca
Juan Cueva
Senior Associate
Action Potential Venture Capital
Geoff Dacosta
Director, Business Development and Licensing
Medtronic
Ben Evans
Managing Director
InHealth Ventures
Naomi Fried
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Ambit Health Ventures
Robert Garber
Partner
7wire Ventures
Miles Gerson
Partner
Takeda Ventures
Sam Goldberger
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Ambit Health Ventures
Sherry Grisewood
Senior Investment Officer
FoxHill Asset Management
Bryan Grulke
Partner
Volcano Capital
Eric Heinz
Director, Business Development (M&A)
Smith & Nephew
Merom Klein
Entrepreneur Mentor
Keiretsu Forum
Marc Martin-Casas
Seed Investments & Development
Illumina Accelerator
Andy Merken
Partner, Corporate and Securities Co-Chair, Life Sciences
Burns & Levinson
Brian Meshkin
Managing Partner, Profound Ventures Partner, Cancer Fund
Profound Ventures
Petra Meyer
Managing Director – HealthCare Sector Group Lead
Golden Seeds
Junaid Mian
Managing Partner & Longevity Lead
SP8CEVC
Nicholas Mourlas
Senior Director, New Ventures
Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Ashley Ng
Director
McKesson Ventures
John Parker
Founder & Managing Director
Springhood Ventures
Richard Proscia
Senior Associate
Providence Ventures
Meghana Rao
Senior Manager, New Venture Transactions
Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Nadav Shimoni
Head, Digital Health
Arkin Holdings Ltd
Yaniv Sneor
Founding Member
Mid Atlantic Bio Angels
Jill Sorensen
Chief Operating Officer
Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC)
Eran Steinberg

 

Imaging Arts

Ben Sun
Investor/member
Sand Hill Angels
Anna Turetsky
Principal, Venture Investments
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research (MFCR)
Thomas Vogelsong
Investor/Life Science Advisor
KYTO Technology and Life Science
 
Scott Weiner
Partner
Amzak Health
Tim Xiao
Principal
Delos Capital
John Yianni
Managing Partner
Earlybird
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