A venture capital firm based in Texas is focused on early and growth-stage biotech and medical device companies. The group is currently raising their second fund and is actively evaluating deals. Initial investments typically are in the $3M-$5M range and are usually in the form of straight equity, but may use convertible notes in select situations. The firm looks to take meaningful stake in portfolio companies and play an active role in their development. The firm is open to companies based in the U.S., with a specific interest in companies located outside of the major biotech hubs of Boston and San Francisco.
The firm is most interested in the biotech/therapeutics space and will consider medtech companies on a secondary basis. The firm does not invest in diagnostic or healthcare IT companies. The firm is mostly opportunistic in terms of technology type and indication area, however the group prioritizes companies with products addressing unmet medical need and unique mechanisms of action. For early-stage companies, the firm targets companies who have at least had a pre-IND meeting with the FDA and invest in companies ranging from pre-clinical to Ph. II clinical trials.
The firm has no strict company or management team requirements, but does look to be a very active investor and always requires a board seat along with an investment.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
A venture capital arm of a large Korean corporate has several offices in the USA. The firm has approximately has invested over $200M in 40 companies in the last year and invested $100M in 20 companies in 2016. The investment size greatly varies, depending on the opportunity. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities in the life sciences and will look globally.
The firm invests in customer-centered health strategies, which may include mobile health IT, digital health, and artificial intelligence applied to healthcare. The firm is also interested in therapeutics, particularly synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and gene therapy. The firm is opportunistic in terms of stage of development.
The firm primarily invests in life science companies with a strong and experienced management team. The firm usually takes a board seat.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
We are expecting significant international attendance at RESI Boston this June, due to its proximity to the BIO International Convention. Over 100 investors are already registered! The conference will be the third RESI of 2018, and is sure to continue matching early-stage investors with Biotech, Medtech, Diagnostics, and Digital Health startups. Check out some of the stats below to see what has happened so far at RESIs in 2018…
BIO Week 2018 starts on June 4th, and it will be a busy time for all of us in the Boston life science scene. RESI aims to kick off the week with a full day of partnering and focused content for early stage entrepreneurs who are looking for financing and strategic relationships. RESI Boston Summer will feature new panels on Investment Opportunities in the Microbiome, Investing In Oncology Innovation, and Investing In Mental & Behavioral Health, as well as the return of RESI’s focused discussions on Family Offices, Venture Philanthropy, Big Pharma and many other topics that span the gamut of life science investment and technology. With an international crowd heading to Boston for the busy conference week, the Asia-North America track will provide access to advice from experienced international delegates. We hope you can join us on June 4th.
An interview with Kouris Kalligas, Founder & CEO, Therachat
– By Greg Mannix, VP of International Business Development, LSN
Greg Mannix
The San Francisco digital health startup Therachat came in 3rd at the RESI on MaRS Innovation Challenge in Toronto. Therachat is a mental health platform which simplifies homework in therapy for therapists & psychologists & their clients. Therapists & Psychologists can customize the homework experience for their clients via a simple web application and their clients can do their homework on an easy-to-use, HIPAA Compliant, mobile application. We believe that homework needed a simpler way and that’s what we have built!
CEO Kouris Kalligas registered early for the conference and put a lot of time and effort into his partnering strategy. When he was notified they would compete in the IC as finalists, he decided to bring along his colleague Sajid Reshamwala so they could maximize their presence at the conference.
Greg Mannix:Â Kouris, how did you prepare for the RESI conference?
Kouris Kalligas:Â I actually spent several solid days preparing our company profile on the RESI Partnering Platform and then reaching out to as many investors as possible who looked like a fit for us. The RESI Partnering is the best match-making platform I have seen! I could get a good idea of what each investor was looking for so I could decide who to request a meeting with.
GM:That’s great! How many meetings were you able to book?
KK: I was able to book 16 meetings! And what was really cool is that 10 investors who couldn’t meet with me at RESI gave me their emails through the messaging system, so I was able to contact them afterwards. I have been doing that since I got home. Fantastic!
GM:Wow! That’s impressive. Why do you think you got so much traction with investors?
KK:Â I actually used 3 different messages and tried each one out on a handful of investors. I saw right away the one that was getting the most responses, so I focused on that message with the rest of investors I reached out to.
GM:Â That is a great approach Kouris! I take it Sajid spent most of his day at the Therachat poster talking to people. How many Ad-Hoc meetings did Sajid have?
KK: I would guess about 20. Also, I sent every investor I spoke to check out our poster and invest their RESI cash in us! That’s so important: Don’t be shy, just ask them to invest. I guess it was a good strategy!
GM: What would you say is the thing you liked most about RESI?
KK: That’s a tough one because we had a super productive day. But I would have to say it is the Partnering Platform. It really allowed me to identify the target investors I wanted to meet with and I could communicate with them through the messaging system. I probably sent out 200 or 300 messages!
Kouris Kalligas, Founder & CEO, Therachat
CEO & Founder of Therachat. I am passionate about technology & mental health. I have already one product under my belt called Addapp (check addapp.io) which I drove to 100k downloads and 10k daily active users. I believe that mental health is important and underserved. Technology can be a big enabler in the revolution that is coming to improving our mental health!
Greg Mannix, VP of International Business Development, LSN
Greg Mannix is Vice President of International Business Development at Life Science Nation. After graduating from the University of California, he moved to Europe where he began a career in the life sciences and obtained a Master’s degree from IE Business School in Madrid. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing management in the medical devices field. He has worked extensively in Europe, North America and Latin America and he speaks English, Spanish and French. Greg’s role at LSN is to provide international early-stage companies with the tools and strategies to succesfully fundraise and to facilitate cross-boarder investments, licensing and M&A transactions.
Therachat is a mental health platform which simplifies homework in therapy for therapists & psychologists & their clients. Therapists & Psychologists can customize the homework experience for their clients via a simple web application and their clients can do their homework on an easy-to-use, HIPAA Compliant, mobile application. We believe that homework needed a simpler way and that’s what we have built! Check www.therachat.io to find out more!
A venture capital fund/family office based in Hangzhou, China currently manages two venture funds in addition to a number of private capital accounts through which investments are made – these two funds focus on life sciences. The firm primarily makes equity investments in early-stage rounds ranging from $1 million initially; for later-stage to pre-IPO companies, the firm looks to make initial equity investments ranging from $3-5 million. The firm looks for companies located around the globe, with a preference in the US and Europe (UK). Currently, the firm is also actively seeking in-licensing opportunities in biotech innovations that has a China angle. The firm is actively looking for investment opportunities.
The firm is a flexible and opportunistic investor and will consider therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics. The firm is open to all kinds of sectors and indications. For therapeutics, the firm has specific focuses on novel candidates for disease, PD1-base approaches, gene therapy, oncology, cardiovascular diseases, and small molecules. For medical devices, the firm is open to novel medical devices of all FDA regulatory pathways, including 510k and PMA. The firm is also interested in diagnostics although this area is less of a focus. In terms of therapeutics, the firm will look at products of pre-clinical stage and later stages from phase II to phase III. Regarding medical devices, the firm will invest at any stage of development.
The firm is looking for private companies only. The firm typically has no specific requirements for the management team, but this depends on how much the firm invests. The firm looks to take a board seat following the investment and is comfortable acting as both 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.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of a global pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Japan is focused on developing innovative products in CNS, dermatology, and pain management. In particular, the pharma has established a strong global presence in transdermal patch products, and has several established products on the market.
The pharmaceutical company is seeking novel products for potential in-licensing and partnering opportunities to strengthen their current pipeline. In addition, the company is unveiling a new initiative through which the company will provide investment to early-stage technologies for which the company could help leverage clinical development. The size of investment will largely depend on the company’s stage of development, but the company is open to invest in seed to mid-stage companies. The company is seeking global opportunities.
With the new early-stage investment initiative, the company is interested in investing and partnering beyond the current focus areas: pain, CNS, and dermatology. Because of the company’s deep expertise in transdermal technology, the company can add significant values to companies with NCEs which can be delivered by patches. The company is also interested in reformulation and repositioning opportunities. The company will consider technologies as early as in development/pre-clinical.
The company has no specific management team requirements. The company has a development and regulatory team that can help companies with advancing towards FDA approval as well as Asian market entry, particularly Japan. Because the company has many resources and support to offer to early-stage companies, experienced management team and successful track record would be a plus, but not a requirement.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
