Hot Investor Mandate 1: China-based Private Equity Firm Invests in Biopharma, Medical Devices and Equipment, Diagnostics, HCIT, and R&D Services

A China-based private equity firm with additional offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong with an affiliation to an established Silicon Valley-based investment firm has raised 10 funds to date. The firm invests across several sectors including healthcare. The firm is a full-spectrum investor and will invest from Series A to pre-IPO and PIPE. The firm may also consider buyout and add-on acquisition for its portfolio companies. The firm can invest up to US$100 million per company. Typical investments range from US$5-50 millions. In terms of geography, the firm is China focused, but is also interested in opportunities from US and Europe with a strong China angle.

The firm invests opportunistically in the Healthcare sector and considers each deal on a case-by-case basis. Sectors of interest include biopharma, medical devices and equipment, diagnostics, HCIT, and R&D services that have large market potential. The firm is agnostic to the stage of development. The firm will consider products in pre-clinical up to market approved products.

The firm invests in both private and public companies. The firm invests in Chinese companies as well as US- and Europe-based companies with a China angle.

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

Hot Investor Mandate 2: Japanese Pharmaceutical Company Seeking Global Collaboration and In-licensing Opportunities

A global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, with USA operations, is actively seeking global collaboration and in-licensing opportunities within the early-stage ecosystem to strengthen their pipeline.

The company is seeking innovative therapies with highest focus on the following: CNS diseases, autoimmune diseases, and diabetes/kidney diseases. The company’s pipeline covers other indications as well and the company may review such opportunities on a case-by-case basis. The company is open to all stages of development, and those who have passed PoC are considered most ideal. The company has a strong interest in excellent technologies in biologics, including therapeutic antibodies, vaccines, and nucleic acid drugs, as well as cell-based phenotypic screening models of CNS or skeletal muscle diseases for new drug discovery.

Currently, the company’s main research focus can be broken down into 3 main branches: (1) nucleic acid medicine, (2) vaccines, and (3) macrocyclic compounds. In terms of their first interest, the company is highly interested in novel nucleic acid delivery systems targeted CNS and skeletal muscle, particularly those that could enable successful delivery from the gut. In terms of vaccines, the company is looking for innovative vaccine platforms to strengthen their current pipeline, which targets a broad range of infectious diseases. The last area of interest involves macrocyclic compounds with peptide modifications that could increase their cell permeability and therapeutic potential.

The company seeks to work with management teams with strong scientific expertise.

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

Hot Investor Mandate 3: Silicon Valley-based Venture Capital Investing in Series A to B Rounds in Therapeutics, Diagnostics, and Digital Health/Healthcare IT

A Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm works closely with major incubators globally, through which they are able to identify high-potential, disruptive technologies, but is also seeking opportunities outside of their network. The firm is actively investing in early-stage companies and generally participates in Series A to B financing rounds. The initial size of investment depends largely on the company’s stage of development. The firm seeks investments globally.

The firm will consider opportunities in therapeutics, diagnostics, and digital health/healthcare IT. The firm is most interested in data-centric and enterprise technologies. The firm is agnostic to subsector and indication, but the firm will generally avoid medical device companies and early-stage therapeutics companies (i.e. those that take longer than 18 months to commercialize), but the firm may consider derisked assets or those that have an accelerated pathway to commercialization. Within healthcare IT technologies, the firm would like to see revenue-generating companies with good consumer traction.

The firm invests in both publicly traded and privately-owned companies. The firm is an active investor and will directly engage in the growth of their portfolio companies through a number of value-ons, including brand building, international expansion, talent recruiting, operation and technical guidance, etc. The firm need not have a fully established management team prior to investment.

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

Hot Investor Mandate 4: Florida-based Private Investment Firm Invests in Series A-B Rounds in Therapeutics, Devices, Diagnostics, Healthcare IT and Life Science Tools

A private investment firm based in Florida makes co-investments into early stage life science companies. The firm prefers to invest in Series A-B rounds, and does not make seed investments. The firm makes investments of up to $300,000 out of the firm’s own capital, and is also working with an international partner that makes investments of up to $30 million in medical devices. The firm invests in startups US-wide.

The firm invests broadly in the life sciences and will consider opportunities in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, healthcare IT and life science tools. The firm’s partner org is focused on late stage opportunities in the electronic medical device sector and will invest up to $30 million in these opportunities, with an interest in opportunities in which this org can act as a manufacturing partner. In other sectors, the firm makes early stage investments in companies that have established proof of concept, and interests include orphan drugs, the microbiome, healthcare data science, tools and some devices.

The firm prefers to invest in companies that have already received a significant round of funding in the past. For data and healthcare IT companies, initial revenues are preferred. The firm focuses on opportunities that will provide a short path to exit. The firm takes an active role with portfolio companies, particularly in making strategic and market connections with partners in Asia.

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

Meet The RESI San Francisco Innovation Challenge Finalists

By Chris Cummings, Senior Marketing Manager, LSN

Happy Holidays! With just under 3 weeks until the 4th annual RESI San Francisco, LSN is proud to announce this year’s crop of innovative new life science companies participating in the RESI Innovation Challenge.

The RESI Innovation Challenge covers startups in therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics and healthcare IT companies from around the globe. All applicants are vetted based on not only the quality of the company’s scientific work, but also the strength of the management team and how well-positioned the company is to receive investment.

Previous Innovation Challenge participants have proven to be successful entrepreneurs; we have seen as many as 50% of companies in a Challenge receive funding within one year of the conference. Top competitors are able to find a balance between utilizing both the structure of RESI’s partnering system, and the ad-hoc nature of the Innovation Challenge.

On January 9th, RESI SF’s estimated 1000 attendees will receive “RESI Cash” to allocate to the entrepreneurs whose technologies they expect will be most influential. The capital invested will be tallied up and the top three winners will receive prizes and be featured in our RESI newsletter recap that will go out to LSN’s 20,000 newsletter readership.

Therapeutic

Medtech Device

Diagnostic

Healthcare IT

Big Pharma Firms Head Upstream For New Pipeline Assets – Learn Their Strategies at RESI

By Lucy Parkinson, Director of Research, LSN

Major pharma firms are increasingly looking to startups to supply new assets for their pipelines, and LSN’s research has found that many are interested in inking deals at the earliest stages of drug development. Going into 2017, we found that a plurality of pharma deals announced in the previous year concerned preclinical assets.

Due to RESI’s focus on early stage life science companies, the vent has become known as a venue for top pharma firms to uncover new therapeutic opportunities. At RESI San Francisco, the panel on Big Pharma will provide an opportunity to hear straight from five experienced scouts on what they’re looking for, how they make deals and what makes a pharma partnership work.

Moderated by Chris Haskell, VP, Head of West Coast Innovation Center, Bayer Healthcare, the panelists are:

  • Kevin Lynch, Vice President, Search & Evaluation, AbbVie
  • Chris Sheldon, Head, Oncology Search & Evaluation, AstraZeneca
  • Lesley Stolz, Head, JLABS California, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
  • Chris DeRespino, Director Transactions, Amgen

Orphan Drug Investors Discuss the Current Rare Disease Environment during RESI@JPM

By Cole Bunn, Senior Research Analyst, LSN

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A large number of early stage biotechs are pursuing orphan disease indications.  This trend is driven by the large number of rare diseases with either no current treatment options or severely inadequate therapies as well as the unique regulatory/development advantages available for these therapeutics. However, orphan drugs also face some unique challenges, such as clinical trial recruitment, pricing, and small market sizes. Recent developments in the space should make for an interesting year to come with the new FDA head, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, planning to eliminate the backlog of orphan drug designation requests and the halving of the orphan drug tax credit.

In the highly anticipated RESI @ JPM conference on January 9, 2018, a varied group of investors active in the orphan/rare disease space will discuss the financing and business development environment for startups working on developing drugs for orphan indications.

Moderated by Ken Kengatharan, General Partner, Atheneos Capital panelists include: