Hot Mandate: China-Based VC Focusing on Medtech is Interested In AI Applications in Imaging

12 Apr

An investment firm founded by a group of Chinese medical device experts based in China. The firm seeks to allocate 5-20M RMB (0.7-3M USD) in various early-stage life science opportunities. The firm is looking to make several investments in the upcoming year focusing on angel, pre-A, Series A, and B rounds. The firm seeks to make use of the founders’ expertise in the medical device industry to help guide their investments towards growth and success. The firm is investing out of a CNY fund and therefore focuses on companies willing to start a joint venture in China.

The firm is primarily interested in medical devices and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) technologies. The firm’s greatest interest lies in cardiology, neuromodulation, in-vitro diagnostics, and imaging, where the founders have the most expertise. The firm is open to considering other areas, including R&D services, as long as the opportunity is interesting and has the potential to be developed. The firm’s most recent investment was in a company that utilized AI to process images in order for better and faster diagnoses.

The firm strongly prefers companies with China angle. The firm believes that they can contribute more to companies who wish to work in China through their established connections. The firm also prefers to work with companies that are open to collaborating with the firm’s partners so that they can utilize their prior experiences to help the companies grow.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email 4dmeetsai@lifesciencenation.com.

Hot Mandate: Big Pharma Venture Arm Interested in AI for Drug Discovery and Development

12 Apr

Established in 2014, the venture arm of a large pharmaceutical company focuses on novel therapeutics R&D. The firm is seeking for the partnership in new technique platforms, new targets in the therapeutic areas of oncology, IO, neuroscience, diabetes and other areas with unmet medical needs. The firm is also interested in AI for drug discovery and development.

The firm is especially interested in Antibody therapeutics including new structure antibodies, Gene Therapy, Car-T, Targeted Therapy, oncolytic virus therapy, and rare disease.

The firm has no specific requirements for the company and management team.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email 4dmeetsai@lifesciencenation.com.

Hot Mandates: Venture Arm of Foundation

12 Apr

The fund not-for-profit subsidiary of the parent foundation. Launched in 2018 as the venture arm of the foundation and with $72 million under management, the fund focuses on making mission-related investments in companies with projects nearing clinical testing. The fund is geographically agnostic, and has an initial investment allocation range typically between $2M and $5M.

The fund was created to help accelerate life-changing outcomes for people with retinal degenerations through direct mission related investments in therapeutic companies. The mission of the parent foundation is to rapidly drive the research that will lead to preventions, treatments and cures for retinal degenerative diseases – including retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

The fund thesis is generally focused on therapeutic companies that range from nearing a pre-IND to clinically staged programs focused on inherited retinal disease (IRD) conditions and dry AMD. The fund is unique in that it can leverage the full weight of the parent foundation’s knowledge and resources including: natural history studies, world-class scientific advisory board and clinical consortium. As a result, the fund leverages both internal resources, and investment capital to attract additional investors and is open to using financial instruments including convertible notes, equity, fixed multiple return on investments, and/or royalties, with a preference for ground floor equity investments.

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

Hot Mandates: Impact-Focused Venture Fund

12 Apr

The venture fund is an impact, for-profit venture fund with a philanthropic component based in Burlingame, CA. The fund focuses on early/translational stage investments in the diagnosis and treatment of brain-related diseases. The firm is actively investing from its second fund, which closed in 2017. Initial investments will generally range from $200,000-1 million. The firm prefers to invest in the USA but also considers investing in companies based in Canada. While the fund is a for-profit investor, the firm allocates a portion of its investment returns to brain health charities.

The fund invests in therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics for brain diseases. The firm prefers to invest in companies at the translational stage development (moving from preclinical to clinic). While the firm will consider investments in any area of brain-related treatment and diagnosis, there is high interest in technologies that provide meaningful approaches to multiple brain disease to benefit patients, including drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, personalized medicine, and molecularly targeted therapeutics. Investments may be considered in any brain-related disease, and the fund’s previous investments include companies working in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia), stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), memory disorders, traumatic brain injury, and other diseases of the central nervous system (including Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and neuropathic pain).

The fund does not have any fixed requirements for companies or management teams. Among other factors, the fund considers the length of time it will take before a company’s products begin to benefit patients, as the fund would prefer that its investments have an impact within a reasonable timeframe. The firm works closely with brain health foundations to source new technologies.

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

Hot Mandates: Foundation Focused on Investing

12 Apr

The foundation was founded in 2017 and looks to accelerate transformation in cancer research through research grants, venture investing, and company creation. The foundation has flexibility when investing and may offer support through a variety of mechanisms, depending on the stage and context of the startup and its scientific programs. The foundation generally invests in Seed to Series B rounds and will invest globally.

The foundation invests only in companies working on cancer, including therapeutics and diagnostics, that hold promise to improve outcomes for cancer patients. The foundation also considers investments aimed at applying a company’s existing technology or platform to the field of cancer. The foundation is especially interested in novel therapeutic targets and precision medicine approaches that have the potential to impact multiple cancer indications.

The foundation has no specific requirements for the company and management team. The foundation may co-lead investments, in which case they will require a board seat. In all other instances, the foundation requires a board observer seat and an SAB observer seat.

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

Timing and Relationship: The Key to Compelling Investor Mandates

8 Apr

By Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, Creator of the LSN Partnering Conference Series

As the life science arena shifts, so do investment and licensing mandates and the technologies that investors and strategic partners seek. Life Science Nation (LSN) is known for its curated partnering database for fundraising early-stage companies across the silos of drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital health. This database has ten categories of investors ranging from angel groups and family offices to VCs, PEs, Big Pharma/Medtech, foundations and the non-dilutive federal, state and regional agencies.

The LSN mantra to healthcare scientist-entrepreneurs and fundraising CEOs is that partnering is a numbers game, and that getting a Global Target List (GTL) of potential partners that are a fit for your stage of development and product set is a crucial step to a successful fundraising campaign. Furthermore, it’s essential to canvass outside your region, engaging global partners to maximize the likelihood of building a relationship that could secure a partnership. 

The LSN Investor Research Team curates the LSN Investor Database, which consists of profiles that fundraising clients can access with an annual subscription. Tools like the database are essential aids for success in a global fundraising campaign. The database features more than ten thousand investor contacts representing several thousand funding and licensing firms. The team’s goal is to keep all the partnering mandates updated in order to ensure the best fit, and this is done through bi-annual interviews. 

These firms are willing to be part of the LSN Investor Platform because we provide them with quality deal-flow, companies that know they are a fit for the firm’s investment theme or partnering interests. Additionally, each year, five Redefining Ealy Stage Investments (RESI) partnering events attract the who’s-who of early-stage life science investing and give them another avenue to connect with fundraising companies that match their interests. These conferences consist of investor panels, workshops, and matched partnering meetings, taking advantage of the profiles the investor research team gathers and the long-term relationships we build while keeping their mandates current.  

The relationship between LSN and the global investor community is deep and has helped hundreds of companies get funded by connecting with investors and partners. Just this week, the Investor Research Team has updated over forty-five mandates, facilitating super fresh profile updates for LSN clients seeking funding. Check out this week’s investor mandates and reach out to your LSN business development representative to view these investors and learn how to get plugged into the LSN partnering ecosystem.

Want to learn more? The business development team at Life Science Nation is available to answer questions and share additional details to help you meet your partnership goals!
International & MA (USA) West Coast (USA) East Coast (USA) Midwest (USA) & Canada 
Greg Mannix
Vice President International Business Development
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Candice He
Global Investment Strategist
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Ashley Zborowski
Director of Business Development
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Elizabeth Murphy
Manager of Business Development
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Starting with Pep: An Early-Stage Conversation with Creative Bio-Peptides

8 Apr

By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN

Creative Bio-Peptides is an early-stage company, founded and led by Dr. Michael Ruff, with a mission to improve lives through developing oral receptor-active peptides targeting neurodegenerative diseases. We spoke with Chief Business Officer, Michael Simon about the early-stage journey of Creative Bio-Peptides – how it was started, what their strategy looks like today, and where they see the company going forward.

Creative Bio-Peptides is a past participant at an Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) partnering event. Learn more about RESI and sign up by April 9 to save $100 on super early bird rates.