Medical device innovation is known for being a challenging area for raising capital. Given the timelines and capital requirements involved, as well as the increasing consolidation of the major firms that make up the exit landscape for devices, entrepreneurs may find it difficult to build their investment story. However, LSN is in contact with hundreds of investors who are seeking deals in the device space, either for purely return-driven investments or for adding to a strategic pipeline. At RESI, we aim to bridge the gap between early stage device firms and investors and help entrepreneurs close those ‘last three feet’ to make deals.
At RESI on MaRS, we welcome a Medical Device Investors panel featuring experienced investors from across North America, including both strategic players and financially-driven venture investors who will explore and elucidate the world of early stage device investment from every angle. The panel will be moderated by Sam Ifergan, President & CEO, iGan Partners, and the participants are:
Katherine Parra Moreno, Vice President of Business Development, Epic Capital Management
Zishan Haroon, Chairman and General Partner, Julz Co LLC
V Kadir Kadhiresan, Vice President, Venture Investments, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
A venture capital and private equity firm based in Cambridge, MA provides seed capital out of an angel group subsidiary within the firm, and also provides equity to later stage IT (robotics, AI, IoT, new materials, FinTech, etc.) and healthcare companies. The firm is backed by five public pharmaceutical companies and ten public IT and healthcare companies from Taiwan and China. The angel group subsidiary provides up to $2M seed stage investments in early-stage companies, while the parent firm provides equity of $2M – $5M per company post seed stage. The firm is also actively looking for PE and M&A opportunities worldwide in the $1B ~ 5B range. The firm seeks companies on a global level, though has a focus in Boston and North America East Coast-based companies.
Within healthcare, the firm is interested in biotech therapeutics, medical devices, healthcare IT and digital health. The firm is opportunistic in subsector and indication and has a specific interest in oncology products. For healthcare IT, the firm is interested in software, AI, robotics, and digital health technology that seeks to integrate into hospital systems. For medical devices, the firm is interested in drug delivery system devices that require a therapeutic component. The firm typically seeks companies that already have CE Mark, FDA, CFDA, or TFDA approval.
The firm requires the management team to have technical expertise in their field of study, and prefers companies that also have business development expertise. The firm typically takes a board seat after an investment, but at the minimum will maintain a close relationship with the entrepreneur as a support and advisor. The firm typically participates in two financing rounds per company, and also supports the company in finding add-on investors for the following round.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
A venture arm of a Switzerland-based foundation invests in start-ups that fundamentally improve patient care in the area of orthopedic, spine & trauma surgery. While the firm will invest globally, the current focus is on companies located in North America, Europe and Israel. The firm prefers to participate in Series A rounds, investing between $1-2.5M with the potential to provide additional capital in later rounds. The firm’s sole investor is their parent foundation, a surgeon-led, not-for-profit organization. The foundation has a global network of more than 16,000 healthcare professionals and scientists in over 100 countries specialized in the treatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
The firm looks to fund companies with disruptive technologies in medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT/digital health in the trauma and orthopedic surgery space. This includes technologies for before, during or after surgery, such as imaging, surgical tools, implantable devices and clinical data management. However, the firm is not currently looking to fund any regenerative medicine or tissue engineering applications within this space. If a medical device or diagnostic, companies should have a working prototype and preclinical data, while healthcare IT/digital health companies should have a running MVP as well as the ability to show market traction.
The firm invests in teams and companies that solve fundamental problems. The firm is looking for a clear market understanding and strong USP.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
A venture capital fund, angel group, and registered exempt market dealer based in Toronto, Ontario is affiliated with early stage venture funds, including their accelerator fund I and II as well as an angel group. The firm usually acts a lead investor in rounds of up to $2M, with between $300K – $750K coming from the first-mentioned fund, and with additional capital usually coming from the angel group or other family offices or institutional investment partners. The firm has also participated, and will continue to participate, in larger syndicated investment rounds. The firm prefers to lead priced equity rounds and does not usually make investments in uncapped convertible debt or SAFEs (Simple Agreements for Future Equity).
Annually, the firm works with, and makes investments in, 8 to 12 early stage (Seed and Series A) companies in the IT, CleanTech and MedTech sectors. In the MedTech sector, the firm typically does not invest in products with a complex regulatory pathway. The firm is also interested in platform technologies and R&D service/tools companies. Historic MedTech investments include investments in (i) a company which has developed an imaging agent that illuminates tumors both at the surgery planning phase and inside the operating room, (ii) a company that manufactures the world’s only natural, non-toxic, mono-disperse nano particle extracted from sweet corn which has applications in the personal care/cosmetics, nutraceutical and biomedical spaces; and (iii) a company that has a proprietary in silico software platform that maps interactions of drug compounds against the human proteome to identify drug efficacy, side effects and toxicity risks.
The firm is focused on Canadian companies, but will also evaluate U.S.-based and international companies if there is a potential investment fit. The firm’s principals have significant technology, financial and legal experience. The firm’s ideal investment candidate is a company that will benefit from and can leverage this experience and network and to which the firm can provide additional long-term value beyond its cash investment. The firm tries to avoid taking on technology risk but will take on some commercialization risk and prefers entrepreneurs that have had at least one ‘win’ (or event better, at least one ‘loss’)
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
A development capital fund of 30+ years of investment experience actively seeks opportunities in the life sciences. The firm’s mission is to provide returns to its 600,000+ shareholders, and contribute to Québec’s economic growth through investments in small and medium-sized businesses from all industrial sectors. Its evergreen fund structure ables the firm to take a long-term approach on investments. Allocations in co-syndicated deals start at $1M but mostly range from $3-10M. The firm could co-lead investments. The firm seeks to invest in businesses with a significant presence in Québec, defined as having over half of its employees based in the province, or significant activities in the province.
The firm has been a consistent life sciences investor for the past 30+ years. The firm is interested in both single asset and platform technology companies across a wide range of therapeutics including small molecules, biologics, cell therapy, gene therapy, etc. The firm is agnostic to therapeutic areas and invests at multiple development stages from pre-IND activities to Phase III. In medical devices and diagnostics, the firm invests only in profitable companies or those with an approved product.
The firm is looking for experienced management teams with expertise in the indication area. It will consider first-time-CEOs who have been able to attract seasoned professionals on the board and SAB.
If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com.
An interview with Zishan Haroon, Chairman and General Partner, Julz Co
– By Claire Jeong, ResearchAnalyst, LSN
Claire Jeong
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Zishan “Z” Haroon, Chairman and General Partner of Julz Co. Z has been a tremendous supporter of the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference Series and a frequent contributor to several of our ongoing investor panels. As many of you already know, the RESI Conference is a one-day partnering conference dedicated to early-stage life sciences technologies, from therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. In fact, we have recently learned that the firm’s latest investment was in a company Z had met through RESI! In this interview, Z discusses his perspectives on his RESI experience, Julz’s most recent investment, and some tips for fundraising CEOs.
Claire Jeong: First of all, please tell us a little bit about your background.
Z Haroon: My name is Zishan “Z” Haroon and I am the Chairman and General Partner of Julz Co, an investment management firm which invests in healthcare companies internationally including the USA, Europe, and China. I am an MD, Ph.D. by education. I graduated from Duke University and initially worked in academic and pharma research. Later, I moved into venture, private equity, and corporate/business development. I have worked on helping entrepreneurs with commercialization for many years, and have been involved in transactions and operations in China for 15+ years before founding Julz.
Claire Jeong: How many RESI conferences have you attended? What was your first impression of the RESI Conference series?
Z Haroon: I have attended 5 conferences to date and found them to be a very fast-paced and active environment. The timeline of RESI is great because it allows us to go through companies we have interviewed in depth and make our decision regarding next steps and then prepare for the next event. Overall, the experience we have had with companies at RESI has been very positive.
Claire Jeong: In general, what do you think of the companies that attend RESI?
Z Haroon: There has been a constant improvement in the quality of attending companies, and our interaction with them has always been positive. In comparison to other similar events, there are more early-stage companies and we like that mix. Some conferences are therapeutics-focused, some are medical-device-focused, but at RESI there is a very good mix of all sectors and we enjoy this diversity.
Claire Jeong: What successes have you experienced through RESI?
Z Haroon: We just closed an investment in a company called PhotoniCare. This is our first successful investment in a company we’ve met at RESI. We first met the company at RESI San Diego in June 2017 and continued a great relationship that eventually led to an investment. (You can read more about this investment in-depth at http://www.julzco.com/2018/03/09/photonicare-secures-series-seed-funding.)
Claire Jeong: In your opinion, what are the greatest strengths of RESI?
Z Haroon: One of RESI’s greatest strengths is the partnering platform, which is a very approachable system for reviewing companies and scheduling meetings. You make it extremely easy for investors to attend your conferences and engage with companies. It is only a one-day event but highly efficient and a win-win for both sides.
Also, from the investor perspective, it is helpful to be able to touch base on a periodic basis with companies that we previously spoke with. This enables us to continue to build and strengthen relationships with companies. What we have found from many companies is that they are very responsive to the feedback we provide, and we find them significantly improved since our initial RESI meeting.
Claire Jeong: Do you have any suggestions for RESI?
Z Haroon: I would suggest RESI expand to other geographies, such as the Midwest. Currently, most of your events are done in the West or East coast in major biotech hubs, but we would be curious to explore technologies in different areas. Companies with innovative technologies that may not have enough bandwidth for travel would find your conferences very helpful and valuable.
RESI would also do well internationally, in regions like Europe or China. RESI’s partnering system is great for small companies, so a start-up-focused event like RESI would definitely gain a lot of international momentum.
Claire Jeong: As an active investor and partner seeking early-stage opportunities, do you have any advice you would like to give to startups?
Z Haroon: The biggest gaps we see in early-stage companies when they present to us is that they themselves are not very well caught up with their technology and business plan. Like other sophisticated investors, we get to the nitty gritty very quickly. I would encourage start-ups to do their homework: understand what they are trying to accomplish and be focused about it. If we see that the management team is not on top of the technology and commercial landscapes and are vague or elusive in answering our questions, we will likely pass on the opportunity.
The initial meeting is where you have to create the right impression about the company and the management team, educate us on the market opportunity and technology, and explain how you are seeking to scale and enter the market. Answering these questions well and leaving us with a good impression will lead to a great, long-term relationship and potential investment.
We obviously enjoy our time at RESI and it is always very exciting. Keep it up!
About Julz Co:
Julz Co is an investment management company focused on investing in early-stage healthcare companies in the area of therapeutics, medical devices, services and digital healthcare. The company has offices in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA and Suzhou, China. Julz invests globally in companies that have novel and proprietary technology addressing a vital market need and are driven by experienced management teams.
By Gregory Mannix, Vice President International Business Development, LSN
Life Science Nation’s Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference series is a great opportunity to network and make connections with key players that can help move your company to the next phase. The RESI conference series, because of its unique focus and format, is by far the best opportunity for early-stage companies to meet and partner with investors and strategics. But, like everything else in life, it is competitive and it is challenging.
I have worked with many sell-side RESI attendees. Some are consistently very successful getting many good investor meetings at each and every RESI conference they attend, while others struggle to get any meetings at all.
So what is the key to success?
Clearly, your degree of success is directly proportionate to the effort you put into it. There are 4 key elements to successful partnering:
Create a compelling and complete profile for your company and yourself on the Partnering Platform
Spend time on developing an outbound meeting request message
Request as many meetings as possible
Follow up frequently
Yes, this is a big task and a lot of work over the weeks leading up to a conference, but the effort you put into partnering will determine the outcome. Let’s have a look at each key element of your partnering strategy.
PROFILE
a. Start with brief overview, similar to your “elevator pitch”, that simply introduces your company and describes what you do and what makes you special.
b. Complete all of the sections in the profile with concise information that investors can easily navigate. The sections to complete are:
Technology Overview
Alliances and Collaborations
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
Current Financing Needs
Current Investors
Current Timeline
IP Status
Management Team Highlights
Recent milestones
Personal profiles of attendees at RESI
c. Upload your logo, your website and any supporting materials for investors to review, like an investor deck and Executive Summary
OUTBOUND MEETING REQUEST MESSAGE
Make your message compelling as this is what the investor is going to see before deciding whether to look at your profile in more depth. Include the key points, without making it so long that you lose the interest of the reader. The key elements should include the following:
1. Introduce yourself, your title, and the name of your company. Although obvious, you might be surprised by how many people don’t do this.
2. Introduce Your Company. Give a brief overview of your company so that an investor can determine from the first sentence whether you are a fit for their investment mandate. Here are five key data points that are likely to affect investor fit:
a. Where your company is based
b. What sector your company is in (biotech, medtech, diagnostics, healthcare IT, etc.)
c. The indication you are treating or problem you are trying to solve
d. Your product’s stage of development
3. Key Value Proposition/Elevator Pitch. Use the next part of the email to describe the key value proposition of your technology. This should include a high-level description of the core technology and its major differentiators from currently available products or solutions. This is the core of your messaging and should reveal enough information to grab the investor’s interest.
4. The Stage of Your Fundraising Campaign. You should clearly state where you are in the fundraising process (beginning, middle or end) and what the use of those proceeds will be. This way an investor can gauge if your round is a fit for their capital allocation.
5. Reaffirm. You should do your homework on every investor you reach out to and reference a relevant data point to reaffirm the reason you are reaching out.
6. Request the meeting.
REQUEST MANY MEETINGS
Keep in mind that investors are juggling their own agendas for the day of the conference and are in high demand. Use the RESI Partnering Platform to determine which investors are a fit for you, and request meetings with all of those that you target. Our data show that the fundraising companies that get the most meetings sent out upwards of 50 invitations. See graph below:
FOLLOW UP FREQUENTLY
A common pitfall in partnering is to not follow up sufficiently until you achieve your goal: to get that investor meeting. It is usually not sufficient to send a meeting request out and just wait for the answers to come rolling in.
The best strategy is to begin your outreach as soon as the Partnering Platform opens. This will give you time to follow up sufficiently with investors you want to meet with. After sending out all of your initial meeting requests, wait for about a week. At that point, send a message through the Partnering Platform using the “SEND A MESSAGE” option to all those who have not answered you after a week, simply reminding them that you hope to meet with them at RESI. If you still don’t hear back, continue to reach out. Be organized and persistent. Use the platform messaging option, email (if you have Premier Partnering Plus), LinkedIn, telephone… whatever it takes to get a response back.
If you follow these steps, you will see the results and have a better partnering experience.
