Corporate VCs Step Up Carefully to Fill VC Void

As institutional venture firms gird themselves for difficult times ahead in raising new funds, investment programs at pharmaceutical companies and large medical device companies are at least partially filling the gap by committing corporate dollars into private life sciences companies, even in earlier stages.

When Entellus Medical Inc. set out to raise its Series E financing, the company solicited offers from both institutional and corporate investors, looking for the capital necessary to sell its line of products used in ear, nose and throat procedures. ( See "Entellus: Helping The Interventional Revolution Balloon In Sinus Therapy," IN VIVO, June 2011 Also see "Entellus: Helping The Interventional Revolution Balloon In Sinus Therapy" - In Vivo, 1 June, 2011..) Guido Neels, managing director at Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, declined to give details on the financing but said Covidien Ventures, the corporate arm of Covidien Ltd., beat out both institutional and corporate investors looking to lead the financing. Covidien Ventures led the $35 million Series E investment with the participation of prior investors Split Rock Partners, SV Life Sciences and Greenspring Associates. [See Deal]

Corporate venture programs clearly are playing a larger role in the ecosystem of early-stage life science companies. As institutional venture...

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on In Vivo for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from Archive

Final Chance To Have Your Say: Take Our Reader Survey This Week

 

Editor’s note: This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.

Early Development Deals: Ipsen's Strategy For Biomarker-Driven Success

 

Mary Jane Hinrichs, Ipsen’s head of early development, talks to In Vivo about getting ahead of the competition by securing deals for candidates before they enter Phase I trials.   

Shape Our Content: Take The Reader Survey

 

Editor’s note: We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in the coverage topics, content format or the method in which you receive and access In Vivo, or if you love it how it is, now is the time to have your voice heard.

In Partnership with Cerba Research

Prioritizing Safety in CAR-T Therapy: Patient Monitoring with Cerba Research’s Testing Portfolio

The cell and gene therapy (CGT) clinical trial landscape in general and CAR-T cell clinical trials in particular are a special focus for the FDA, EMA, and other regulatory agencies. The whole industry is thus aware of the recent FDA safety investigation and requirements for labeling CAR therapy products.

More from In Vivo

Crisis Or Opportunity? US MFN Policy Could Test Japan’s Appetite For Reforms

 
• By 

While the adoption of most favored nation drug pricing in the US stands to affect Japanese biopharma firms now heavily reliant on this market, it might also present an opportunity for pricing and policy reforms at home.

Rising Leaders 2025: Ovid’s Meg Alexander On Neurology’s Next Frontier

 
• By 

Ovid Therapeutics' president and COO Meg Alexander is leading the company’s strategic pivot toward innovative neurological treatments, potentially creating a new class of medicines for rare neurological disorders.

The Goldilocks Isotope: Perspective Therapeutics’ ‘Just Right’ Alpha Radiotherapeutic

 
• By 

Thijs Spoor's bet on lead-212 is paying off as Perspective Therapeutics advances three clinical programs with promising early efficacy signals and a comprehensive manufacturing strategy.