Hot Investor Mandate: Cross-Border PE Firm Invests Opportunistically in the Life Sciences

26 Sep

A PE firm with offices in California and China recently closed two funds, one of USD 750 million and one of $100 million. The firm invests exclusively in the life science sector; the firm invests primarily in the USA and China, but will also invest in other regions such as Europe and Canada. Within China, the firm makes growth investments in companies that have existing revenues; in the USA and other regions, the firm makes both venture and growth-equity stage investments in both pre-revenue and revenue-stage companies. The firm’s allocations are highly varied. From the main fund, investments typically range from $10-30m, though larger investments are of interest as well; the second fund makes investments of typically $2-5 million, generally in financing rounds of $10 million or less. The firm is open to syndication. The firm is also particularly interested in working with companies that are open to or actively interested in seeking partnerships or opportunities in China.

The firm invests in therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, healthcare services, and clinically-oriented healthcare IT, and will consider investing in any indication area or technology subsector; however, orphan indications, dermatology/aesthetics, oncology, and blood diseases are of particular interest in the biopharma space; general surgery, neurovascular, cardiovascular, minimally invasive technologies, women’s health, respiratory care, novel diagnostics and orthopedics are of particular interest in the device space. The second fund focuses on early stage opportunities in biotech; from the main fund, the firm in most cases makes investments in products that have obtained market approval or are very close to commercialization, but earlier investments may be considered for highly innovative products or products that can demonstrate strong efficacy signals at an earlier stage (such as anti-infectives). For devices and diagnostics, the firm only invests in commercial-stage companies. Generally, the firm does not invest in imaging.

The firm is flexible regarding management teams, and works with both serial entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who lack industry experience. In addition to investing in private companies, the firm is able to invest in public companies by means of PIPEs or public market placements. The firm is interested in investing in companies with products that can demonstrate cost-effectiveness.

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

Hot Investor Mandate: Large Manufacturing Company Interested in Partnering with Companies Developing Drug Delivery Systems, Medical Devices, Biosensors and Wearables, and Digital Technologies

26 Sep

The firm is the largest, privately-owned designer, developer and manufacturer of advanced drug delivery systems and is active in R&D, design and manufacturing in all areas of healthcare. The firm is capable of a variety of deal structures, but prefers to enter into joint ventures and strategic partnerships as the firm seeks to be a value-added investor providing their expertise and capabilities in design and manufacturing as well as the resources of a large company while allowing the entrepreneur to drive the development of the technology.

The firm’s expertise lies in drug delivery devices, but has capabilities and is highly interested in all areas of medical technology/devices, biosensors and wearables, B2B or B2C healthcare IT applications including data analytics and cloud computing as well as robotics and AI as it applies to surgery prosthetics, rehabilitation and drug discovery. The firm has a particular interest in the diabetes space and has done work in this area in the past.

The firm is open to working with all entrepreneurs and is open to companies on a global basis. The firm does look for a board seat along with an investment, but strives to not be restrictive in any way and let the management team run the company.

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

Hot Investor Mandate: A Foundation Making Venture Investments to Advance All Cancer-Related Technologies

26 Sep

The foundation operates a $25 million fund focused on capitalizing translational opportunities – that is, the commercialization of academic technologies / financing the first round of commercialization. The fund provides funding to early-stage translational companies via $1M – $5M recoverable grants which are essentially structured as convertible notes with 1) no expiration date and 2) no liquidity preference. Such grants do not reflect as debt on the investee’s balance sheet, and are converted to equity at very reasonable terms only in the event the valuation of the company increases about a pre-determined level.

The foundation has also helped to organize, and is a General Partner of, a $350 million fund focused on pre-clinical, Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III investments. The foundation issues grants primarily within the United States, and via its subsidiary, throughout Asia. The foundation’s funding vehicles invest primarily within the United States, but have a small allocation for foreign investments.

Sector interests include drugs, medical devices, and novel approaches. The firm is also open to funding technologies designed to accelerate cancer research and drug development, such as novel drug discovery tools or algorithms. By using its multiple funding vehicles, the foundation finances projects from the early discovery stage through to Phase III clinical trials. The foundation considers projects in any type of cancer.

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

Life Science Nation Collaborates with McDermott Will & Emery to Host the Inaugural RESI Asia Conference

19 Sep

By Gregory Mannix, Vice President International Business Development, LSN

The Creation of a Global Fundraising Superstructure

Life Science Nation (LSN) is collaborating with McDermott Will & Emery (McDermott) to bring the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference to Asia for the first time. McDermott is a co-sponsor of RESI Asia and will be hosting the global law firm’s 3rd Annual Shanghai Life Sciences Symposium during the RESI Shanghai Event.  The McDermott Symposium will cover hot legal topics in the life sciences and health industries, including international investment, regulatory frameworks in the US and Europe, IP and data protection and “Key Legal Issues on Cross-Border M&A Transactions”. McDermott will invite industry leaders and the program will feature more than a dozen leading attorneys who specialize in the life sciences and healthcare from the US, Europe and China.

RESI Asia will be comprised of RESI Shanghai, taking place on November 12th at the Ritz-Carlton Pudong, and RESI Taipei, taking place on November 14th at the Taipei International Convention Center. These new events, combined with RESI San Francisco, RESI Europe, RESI Philadelphia and RESI Boston in 2019, create a global superstructure for funding early stage assets across the silos of drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital health. This allows fundraising CEOs, investors and channel partners to meet every few months and form global relationships with partners who fit their strategic interests.

Dennis Ford, CEO of LSN and creator of the RESI Conference Series, said that “McDermott has been a longtime partner with LSN.  McDermott was one of our biggest supporters when we launched RESI 6 years ago. Over the years, the partnership has grown to be very complementary to the LSN & McDermott early-stage life science strategies. Together, we have expanded our businesses across the U.S., Europe and now Asia.”

“We are pleased to work with our longtime partners at LSN on our third annual Shanghai Life Sciences Symposium, to be held this year as part of the first-ever RESI Shanghai,” said Michelle Gon, a McDermott Partner stationed in Shanghai .  “This collaboration will provide life sciences companies and funds in China, Europe and the US with the strategies and connections that they need to attract investment resources and grow.  We look forward to this jointly organized event on November 12th in Shanghai, and to co-sponsoring RESI Taipei two days later on November 14th.”

The Asia region has become more central to life science innovation and investment over the last several years. LSN plans to bring fundraising CEOs and investors from outside of Asia who have an interest in accessing the vast Asian marketplace, whether to take advantage of clinical trials or get new products into the key Asian markets. Taipei is a technology leader in nanotechnology, robotics and custom silicon chip monitoring and control devices that will change the fabric of the healthcare world. LSN aims to open up the Asia Pacific to our North American and European constituents fostering partnerships and investment syndicates resulting in new global alliances.

About Life Science Nation

Life Science Nation (LSN) is a global partnering ecosystem that allows early-stage companies with compelling technology assets to get plugged into the early-stage investor and channel partner’s radars with minimal cost and a big ROI. LSN is a global matching platform for early-stage buyers and sellers across the domains of Drugs, Devices, Diagnostics and Digital Health – the “4 Ds”. LSN curates two databases: a buy-side of global cross-border early-stage investors/partners and a sell-side of global cross-domain technology assets. LSN also offers a sourcing and ranking service for clients who need to source and rank technology assets for channel, pipeline and portfolio development. LSN owns and operates the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference series, a funding superstructure that runs five times a year during J.P. Morgan in San Francisco (January), alongside BIO Europe (March), alongside BIO U.S (June), Boston (September) and Asia in Shanghai and Taipei (November). LSN also owns and operates the Focus on Cures Accelerator (FOC) that provides international startups a Boston-based footprint and helps them develop and execute a global investor and channel partner strategy. Learn more at www.lifesciencenation.com

About McDermott Will & Emery

McDermott’s global Life Sciences team fuels the mission of life sciences companies, leveraging a purpose-built and dedicated group of lawyers with demonstrated strengths across intellectual property, regulatory, transactional, employment and litigation law. Combining industry leadership and passion for the work they do – and leveraging the Firm’s deep health care experience – team members are routinely listed as “Life Sciences Stars” by LMG Life Sciences. Additionally, the Firm’s Life Sciences Intellectual Property team was ranked as a leading US practice in Life Sciences on Managing IP’s “2018 IP Stars” list.  Learn more at www.mwe.com

For more information

Contact: the RESI Team at RESI@lifesciencenation.com, or McDermott at lmcallister@mwe.com.

Regional Early Stage Players Need to Go Global

19 Sep

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series

It took time and determination to create a global early stage funding and partnering ecosystem. With the advent of Life Science Nation’s (LSN) two up and coming RESI Asia events. LSN now has a truly unique funding and partnering infrastructure that can be utilized to bring regional technology assets catapulting into the global partnering and commercial distribution arena.

The life science market is an interwoven global fabric – countries in both hemispheres have been collaborating for decades; whether it be academia, foundations or governmental initiatives. Partnering takes the form of cross-border research collaboration, product development, investment and distribution.

Everything starts with international R&D, with advancement fueled by international links and partnerships that have been forged for decades to drive the science and help save lives. Government agencies in The U.S. and Europe have been working with Asian counterparts for years to form agreements on standardized testing and development mechanisms globally.

This standardization is critical so that drug, device and diagnostic product developers can choose from an array of global service providers offering better, faster, cheaper vehicles to validate and certify their products for global commercialization. A global one-stop-shop model for development services can dramatically impact the time factor holding the industry hostage for years.

There will be a tsunami of next generation healthcare products that will dramatically impact the world in the coming decade.  The new science impacting next generation healthcare product development is well documented. Getting these new products validated and certified will require a global vision that takes advantage of service providers regardless of their geographic location.

Back to LSN and the RESI global ecosystem… scientist-entrepreneurs and fundraising CEOs can hop into the RESI partnering ecosystem and develop the investor, service provider and distribution channel partners that will get them to the market faster and cheaper.

The interwoven global fabric of the life science community has taken decades to develop: LSN, with our RESI partnering conferences, hopes to make is easier for the regional early stage players around the world to adroitly take advantage of the burgeoning global market.

Get Your Name Out – Win a Pitch Spot in the RESI Asia Innovation Challenge!

19 Sep

By Claire Jeong, Director of Research, Asia BD, LSN

claireAfter another successful RESI Boston last week, we are excited to talk about our inaugural RESI Asia events, RESI Shanghai (November 12th) and RESI Taipei (November 14th)!

Life Science Nation would like to invite all early-stage life science companies across the globe to apply for the RESI Asia Innovation Challenge through our online portal. Selected finalists will present a poster showcasing their company and technology at our exhibition hall on the day of RESI. All participants will be presented with “RESI Cash” to “invest” in their favorite technologies. This time, we have another special opportunity for the Innovation Challenge finalists!

For the very first time, our RESI Asia conferences will feature a full day track dedicated to pitch sessions, during which companies will present a short pitch in front of a panel of active investor judges. At both RESI Shanghai and RESI Taipei, companies who are selected for the Innovation Challenge will also be granted an opportunity to be part of a pitch session. In combination, the Innovation Challenge and pitch sessions will provide unparalleled exposure to participating early-stage companies who are seeking to meet and grow relationships with new and existing investors for their fundraising efforts.

To shed some light on what the Innovation Challenge is like from the participating company’s point of view, the 1st place winner of the Innovation Challenge at RESI Boston, Zepto Life Technology, shared some comments about their experience at RESI. Jason Payne, Director of Business Development & Investor Relations at Zepto, said, “The RESI Innovation Challenge provided a truly excellent opportunity for my team to showcase Zepto’s pioneering GMR-based “lab-on-a-chip” biotechnology, ahead of our firm’s upcoming $30 million Series A round in 1Q 2020. RESI’s team of well-practiced professionals equipped Zepto with expert guidance throughout each step of the process — from our team’s initial creation of Zepto’s poster through the entire RESI conference’s celebration of Zepto’s eventual 1st Place finish. Moreover, the RESI conference’s excellent web-based scheduling system allowed Zepto to launch our firm’s Series A outreach in style, introducing my team to numerous potential investors with a simple click of my mouse. Thanks to RESI, Zepto’s fundraising process is off to a wonderful start!”

Carmit Levy, CEO of ResMetrix Medical, 3rd place winner in the Innovation Challenge at RESI Boston, added, “The RESI Innovation Challenge provided a great opportunity for Resmetrix to present our unique wearable system for accurately monitoring lung disease patients at home and alert for early signs of deterioration. It opened the possibility to meet other participants that were interested to hear more about Resmetrix technology on top of the meetings that we set before with investors, through the wonderful meetup system on RESI website. Winning 3rd place in RESI challenge also exposed Resmetrix to additional potential investors. Thank you RESI for this great opportunity!”

I’ve also interviewed Soundable Health’s CEO Catherine Song, who won 1st place at the RESI Philadelphia Innovation Challenge in June (you can read it here).

Applying for the Innovation Challenge is free – get started on your application now!

RESI ASIA Innovation Challenge Deadline is Oct. 11th, 2019

Hot Investor Mandate: Western Europe Based Private Wealth Investment Firm Seeks Various Opportunities in Therapeutics, from Traditional Technologies to Digital Therapeutics

19 Sep

A private wealth investment vehicle based in Western Europe is looking to invest in therapeutics companies as well as companies developing digital therapeutics or therapeutic-enabling technologies. The firm is primarily interested in early stage, pre-clinical breakthrough technologies and, especially for digital-based companies, capital efficient business models. While the firm has invested primarily in the UK up until now, the firm is willing to consider companies based outside the UK if they find the technology compelling. For a first investment, The firm invests, on average, 2M, but can invest smaller or larger amounts, depending on the company and its needs.

The firm is looking for companies in the broader therapeutics space. The firm is interested not only in more traditional therapeutics technologies, but also in digital therapeutics and digital therapeutic-enabling technologies, drug development platforms, including digital and genomics-based drug development technologies, and in cell and gene therapy manufacturing technologies. The firm has historically invested primarily in technologies relating to oncology, but will consider any indication.

The firm takes an active role with the companies in which they invest. The firm frequently leads rounds, and supports and mentors the early stage companies, often either taking a board seat themselves or finding an expert to serve on the board.

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

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →