Tag Archives: Life Science

Hot Life Science Investor Mandate 1: Angels Band Together for Therapeutics, Diagnostics & Medical Devices – May 17, 2013

15 May

An angel group based in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States is currently seeking new investment opportunities in the life sciences space. The firm has no set timeframe to make an allocation, and is thus always opportunistically looking for new firms in the space. They would therefore invest in a new firm within the next six months if a compelling opportunity were uncovered. The group typically invests around $1-2 million per firm.

The firm is interested in biotech firms creating therapeutics, as well as those developing diagnostics, and is also looking for firms in the medtech space. The firm is seeking to invest in pre-revenue companies, and will consider firms in the medtech space that are in development, or firms that have a prototype.

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Hot Life Science Investor Mandate 2: CROs, CMOs Prime Targets for Opportunistic PE – May 17, 2013

15 May

A healthcare investment firm based in the Eastern US, which runs both a private equity fund and a hedge fund, is currently looking for new investment opportunities for their second private equity fund, which recently closed at $200 million. The firm has more than $500 million in assets, and has raised two private equity funds and one hedge fund in the past year. They have plans to invest in 3-5 new firms by the end of 2013, typically making equity investments ranging from $10-25 million.

The firm is currently most interested in firms in the biotech R&D services and medtech space. Within biotech R&D services, the firm is looking for contract research organizations (CRO’s) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMO’s). They have also recently started looking for firms within the medtech space, specifically those that are producing medical devices. The firm mainly invests in US-based companies, but has allocated to international firms in the past; they would consider European firms on a case-by-case basis.

The firm provides growth equity, expansion capital, and engages in buyout and recapitalization transactions. The firm only invests in established, cash-flow-positive companies. With that being said, the firm will not consider any companies in the medtech space that do not currently have a device on the market.

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Hot Life Science Investor Mandate 3: VC with Dry Powder Seeks Firms in the Genomics Space – May 17, 2013

15 May

A venture capital fund with offices in the US and abroad is currently deploying capital from its third fund, which raised around $400 million. The firm was founded in 2001 and currently has nearly $1 billion in assets under management. The firm, which is currently looking for new opportunities in the life science space, has no set time frame to make an allocation, but has a lot of dry powder on hand, and would invest in a company within the next two quarters if a compelling opportunity was identified. The group invests up to $10 million in equity per firm.

The firm is currently most interested in the biotech R&D services and medtech space. Within the R&D services space, the firm is interested in genomics and diagnostic instrumentation. They also invest in companies within the medtech space, and will look at the full spectrum in that space. The firm will not consider any companies within the biotech therapeutics space due to the long time to market for these products.

Currently, the firm is only looking for early-stage pre-revenue companies. With that being said, the firm will not consider medical device companies that currently have a product on the market. The firm provides seed stage and growth capital, and typically takes a minority position (less than 50%) in their portfolio companies, but does usually take a board seat.

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Hot Life Science Investor Mandate 1: Global PE Looking to Invest up to $80m in CROs, CMOs, Biotech R&D – May 9, 2013

8 May

A private equity group with offices worldwide has approximately $20 billion in total assets, and has raised more than 15 funds to date. Currently, around 15% of the firm’s portfolio is dedicated to the healthcare/life sciences space, and they are currently looking for new opportunities for their most recent fund, which closed at more than $10 billion. The firm is unsure of how many investments it will make within the next 6-9 months, however, they would allocate to a company within the next few quarters if a compelling opportunity were identified. The firm typically allocates between $20-80 million per company.

The PE is looking for companies in the biotech R&D services, therapeutics and diagnostics, as well as medtech space, and are most interested in contract research organizations (CROs), contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), diagnostics, and medical devices. Because the firm has a global footprint, they invest in companies all over the world.

This particular PE only engages in growth and buyout transactions. They typically look for companies that have between $50-250 in EBITDA, and an enterprise value of at least $250 million. With that being said, the PE will only consider companies that are cash flow positive with a product currently on the market.

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Hot Life Science Investor Mandate 2: Non-Profit Seeks Biotechs Developing Brain Disorder Therapeutics – May 9, 2013

8 May

A non-profit based in the Western US with nearly $50 million in assets is interested in biotech firms developing therapeutics that target brain disorders. The firm typically allocates from the hundreds of thousands into the millions per firm, and is looking to allocate to one more firm in the life science’s space for their second fund. They are especially interested in technologies that are able to deliver therapeutics across the blood brain barrier, as well as the personalized medicine space. The firm prefers funds that are in between phase I and phase II of the clinical development process, but will consider products in preclinical, phase I, and phase II development.

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Hot Life Science Investor Mandate 3: PE Firm Looking for Biotech Diagnostics – May 9, 2013

8 May

A private equity group based in Canada that provides growth equity to firms in North America is looking for new opportunities in the life sciences space, and will make 5-6 new investments next year. They have allocated to five companies within the last twelve months. The firm typically allocates in the tens of millions per firm. They are most interested in the medical device and biotech diagnostics spaces.Two of the fund’s current investments in the life sciences space include a firm in the medical device market, as well as a firm that focuses on diagnostics for women. They are looking for firms that are pre-revenue, and thus, in the biotech diagnostics space, they will consider firms with products in the preclinical, phase I, phase II, and phase III stage of the development process, and in the medtech space they will consider firms that have a prototype of their device.

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Gene Therapy: The Next Hot Subsector For Private Investors

8 May

By Max Klietmann, VP of Research, LSN

Investor interest in companies developing gene therapy products has risen quite dramatically in recent months. In fact, according to the LSN Company database, 20 companies in this space raised new capital in the last twelve months (approximately 50%), indicating strong investor interest. But why are investors suddenly interested in this space again? It all comes down to a wealth of new data surrounding this space, suggesting that gene therapy may be more clinically viable than previously thought.

Gene therapy boils down to using DNA as a therapeutic agent for a specific indication. The basic concept is to take a patient with a genetic disease, and replace the mutated or defective gene of a patient with a healthy, functional gene. Theoretically, this should solve the issue. However, historically, the data was dubious at best, and many investors lost faith in the technology. But this has changed substantially in recent time. Due to a growing body of positive data surrounding a number of gene therapy products, and market approval of a handful in recent months (especially for orphan indications), many investors that previously steered clear from this risky space are now chomping at the bit to make placements. Most interestingly, it is largely private investors willing to take a risk in this emerging field rather than big pharmas. In fact, there are many gene therapy programs actively being pursued by the big pharma players. However, if this space is as promising as the data suggests, it could be the next hot acquisition target for pharmaceutical companies seeking to expand their pipelines.

Keeping a watchful eye on this subsector and capitalization/development trends will be a strong indicator of things to come for the industry. We could be looking at a total industry game-changer.

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