The life sciences sector is undergoing various technological shifts in the context of an increasingly digitised, mobile and data-driven world.
Much of the innovation has been driven by developments in the democratisation of technology and enablement through mobile devices, the internet-of-things, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics.
Demographics also play a big role, and for healthy ageing analysis, see our supplement.
The role played by general economic conditions cannot be underestimated, particularly the low interest rates since the Great Recession of 2008, which have now hit record lows amid the pandemic. Cheap credit benefits R&D in the sector.
Innovating in medicinal drugs and medical devices is notoriously risky, expensive and time-consuming. According to a study on clinical trial success rates in the US from 2019, the probability for a new compound to successfully go from Phase I trials to approval stands at about 6.9%. This means that only about seven out of every hundred newly created molecules is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to data from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, it takes at least 10 years, on average, for a new drug to go from discovery to the marketplace. The average costs of a successful drug are estimated at $2.6bn.
It is clear at the moment how vital the pharmaceutical sector is for the economy and for normal human existence. Many are placing their hopes on pharma to quickly come up with a cure or vaccine for Covid-19, so that the world can return back to normal. At the time writing, there are already some notable hopefuls. Pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Barda committed more than $1bn to vaccine research and development. Biotechnology company Moderna Therapeutics announced positive interim clinical data of its mRNA vaccine candidate from Phase 1. In May, Gilead Sciences received emergency use authorisation from the FDA for its investigational antiviral remdesivir to treat severe cases of Covid-19.
Bearing in mind the risk involved in pharmaceutical or medtech innovation and the low-interest-rate environment, it is not hard to see why many incumbents have opted for externalising R&D costs and sharing risks with other co-investors – through licensing, spinouts, mergers and acquisitions, venture investing and joint ventures. As long as there are no drastic changes in the costs of capital (which seems unlikely with an economic crisis looming), this characteristic of the industry is not likely to change.
The life sciences sector has also been facing digital and datafication challenges, like most other sectors of the economy. The “2020 Global Life Sciences Outlook” by auditing and consulting firm Deloitte notes that “the greatest returns will likely accrue to organisations that successfully mine data to deliver personalised solutions and meet consumer demands”. It also explains that “increased adoption of new technologies like telemedicine, virtual clinical trials, and AI could increase access to medical research and expand diversity”.
According to the report, data streams and new technologies play a crucial role in bringing efficiencies to R&D: “As data-driven technologies provide biopharma and medtech organisations with treasure troves of information, and automation takes over some mundane tasks, new talent models are emerging based on purpose and meaning. The integration of AI and machine learning approaches within life sciences is making drug discovery and development more innovative, time-effective, and cost-effective.”
The report also underscores the disruptive potential of genetics technologies and gene-therapeutics and observes: “Large pharma companies will need to keep acquiring gene therapy companies, while smaller companies may take an increasing share of the market from big pharma by developing and commercialising products independently.”
The digital transformation of the health sector, impacting everything from care provision through clinical trials, creates opportunities for startups and new entrants, as incumbents will likely seek partnerships and outsource to drive costs down. Some new entrants are big tech companies like Alphabet or Apple, while others are emerging businesses. The Deloitte report also notes “large tech companies are new partners bringing computing power, manufacturing analytics, and advanced supply chain control towers to provide operations agility and better decision-making.”
Digital technologies now exert a significant impact on clinical outcomes for patients. This has to do with the evolving field of “digital therapeutics”, which employs digital and internet-connected tools, such as software or devices to monitor and treat different medical and psychological conditions. There are mobile applications that help patients with medicine dosage and regularity of medication intake or monitor their vital statistics, while others offer sensor-based alternatives to chemical drugs for conditions like depression, insomnia and addiction. Digital therapeutics solutions tend to focus on chronic diseases or neurological disorders.
According to Allied Market Research’s “Digital Therapeutics Market by Application – Global forecasts to 2025”, this market globally is projected to reach $6.9bn by 2025, up from $2.12bn in 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.7%. The report explains that growth is mainly driven by “the growing incidence of preventable chronic diseases, the need to control healthcare costs and rising investments in digital therapeutics”. There are factors that hinder the wider adoption of digital therapeutics solutions as well – lack of awareness and access in developing countries, resistance from healthcare providers and unstable payment models.
North America, according to the report, forms the largest market for digital therapeutics. When segmenting by conditions, the diabetes segment accounts for the lion’s share of the market thanks to its increasing prevalence worldwide and government initiatives to reduce its burden using digital health.
The benefits of digital therapeutics solutions – from digital tracking and monitoring of patients to instilling healthy and preventive habits and lifestyle – could be beneficial for society’s health at large. This will ultimately help lead to a more customised care and patient-centric model of healthcare.
Digitisation, however, is most affecting the medical devices and diagnostics space. According to the EY report, the global medtech industry continues to grow, although “growth outlook is at risk due to underinvestment in R&D and lack of collaboration between industry providers, payers and patients”.
The report found that in 2018-2019, the revenues of medtech companies increased by 7% to $407bn, the highest on record to date and the third consecutive year of growth. The report also notes valuations of these companies have outperformed peers from the broader health sector: “Valuations were also robust, as cumulative public valuation rose by 38% in the 18 months to 30 June 2019, far outpacing the broader life sciences industry.” Medtech companies returned $17bn to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks, which was more than the total R&D spending of $15bn.
The potential longer-term problem may stem from low investment levels in R&D. The EY report observes: “While R&D spending increased 11% in 2018, showing promise after a disappointing 2017, uncertainty remains as to whether this rebound signals the beginning of sustained reinvestment.”
According to survey of medical device companies, cited by Deloitte’s latest “Medtech and the Internet of Medical Things” report, the internet-of-medical-things (IoMT) market is expected to be worth $158bn in 2022 and represents an opportunity to deliver more value to health care. The report defines the area as follows: “Major advances in technology are driving innovation in medtech, leading to the development of an increasing number of connected medical devices that are able to generate, collect, analyse and transmit data. The data, along with the devices themselves, are creating the IoMT – a connected infrastructure of medical devices, software applications and health systems and services.”
According to an earlier version of the same report, around 48% of all medical devices today are connected, while respondents expect 68% of them to be connected in five years. This implies that a lot of data is being created and will be created, which will open many opportunities for synergies with innovative startups.
The pharmaceutical sub-sector of the life sciences space is perhaps the most important, today more than ever. As in previous years, the global outlook for the pharmaceutical industry in the near term appears relatively promising, though riddled with concerns on pricing. On the one hand, there is pressure on governments that pay or co-pay for medicines of their citizens to reduce costs by placing limits on drug pricing. On the other hand, health insurers and care providers are increasingly more demanding and requiring evidence of effectiveness, cost savings and clinical benefits before including a new drug.
According to the latest survey from GlobalData (which was conducted before the pandemic), drug pricing pressure was expected to remain, while aggressive negotiation tactics to continue to drive prices down. The survey revealed 49% of global industry respondents believed that drug pricing and reimbursement constraints would have the biggest negative impact in 2020, followed by political divide in the US (14%).
In the same survey, global industry stakeholders also said immune-oncology (40%) or personalised medicine (34%) were the most impactful trends to shape the pharmaceutical sector through 2020. The survey results were published in GlobalData’s latest annual outlook report “The State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry – 2020”, which also mentions other trends such like the increasing importance of real-world evidence – 28% – and a rise in the use of electronic health records also garnered attention (22%).
Within pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, cancer treatment has experienced a significant transformation in recent years. As the Quintile IMS Institute’s “Global Oncology Trends 2019” report notes that late-stage development of cancer treatments expanded 19% in 2018 alone and 63% since 2013, with the most intense activity focused on nearly 450 immunotherapies with more than 60 different mechanisms of action.
The report also mentions spending on cancer treatments reached “nearly $150bn in 2018 up 12.9% for the year and marking the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth, driven entirely by therapeutic drugs which grew 15.9%”. It also forecasts that a growth in spending of 11-14% over the next five years, bringing the total market size to $230bn. A large part of the biopharmaceutical deals tracked by GCV Analytics are directly related to cancer treatment. The deal flow in this category is likely to remain high.
For the period between May 2019 and April 2020, we reported 353 venturing rounds involving corporate investors from the health sector. A considerable number of them (220) took place in the US, while 27 were in China and 19 in Japan.
The majority of those commitments (323) went to emerging enterprises from the same sector (mostly pharmaceuticals, medical devices diagnostics, healthcare IT and administration) with the remainder going into companies developing other technologies in synergies with the life sciences sector incumbents: nine deals in the industrial sector (mostly agtech related to biotechnology) and six in the IT sector (most cybersecurity and big data).
Co-investments of health corporates shows a wide range of interests. The commitments range from eye cancer treatments (Aura Biosciences) to IT platforms (XHealth, GNS Health) to microbiome-based treatments of a variety of conditions (BiomX) and genetics tech (eGenesis).
On a calendar year-on-year basis, total capital raised in corporate-backed rounds went down from $13.9bn in 2018 to $12.63bn in 2019, representing a 10% increase. The deal count, however, grew by only 4%, from 326 deals in 2018 to the 339 tracked by the end of 2019. The 10 largest investments by corporate venturers from the health sector were concentrated in the same industry.
The leading corporate investors from the life sciences sector in terms of number of deals were pharmaceutical firms Novo, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
The list of health corporates committing capital in the largest rounds was headed by Eli Lilly followed by pharmaceutical firms Novo and J&J.
The most active corporate venture investors in emerging health businesses were diversified internet conglomerate Alphabet, life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria and Eli Lilly.
The emerging life sciences businesses in the portfolios of corporate venturers came from treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and incurable diseases (Arrakis, SpingWorks) through immune system diseases (Vedanta) and genetics and gene-therapy (Freenome, Suzhou) to IT and telehealth platform and software (TytoCare, Collective Health, Kyruus).
Overall, corporate investments in emerging health-focused enterprises went up from 471 rounds in 2018 to 539 by the end of 2019, suggesting a 14% increase. The estimated total dollars in those rounds, however, went down by 14%, from $21.2bn in 2018 to $18.29bn last year, suggesting that valuations of emerging life sciences enterprises may be experiencing a correction.
Deals
Corporates from the health and life sciences sector invested in large multimillion-dollar rounds, raised by enterprises from the same sector. None stood above $1bn.
Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical group Ferring Pharmaceuticals spun off a gene therapy company called FerGene with $570m in funding. The parent company provided up to $170m while the remaining $400m was invested by Blackstone Life Sciences, a specialist investment platform owned by asset management firm Blackstone. FerGene will concentrate on the late-stage development and commercialisation of nadofaragene firadenovec, a gene therapy for patients with bladder cancer that has proven unresponsive to the BCG vaccine. Its candidate is currently in late-stage phase 3 development and the FDA has granted it Breakthrough Therapy designation. Ferring will potentially handle the launch and commercialisation of nadofaragene firadenovec outside the US.
Babylon Health, a UK-based developer of AI applications for the healthcare sector, announced a $550m series C round featuring reinsurance provider Munich Re and other corporate backers. Health insurance provider Centene provided $50m, while Munich Re invested $7m through its Ergo Fund with the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund supplying $200m. Investment firms Kinnevik and Vostok New Ventures also participated in the round, which valued Babylon at more than $2bn post-money. The company has built a range of AI-based health services, including a chatbot used by the UK’s National Health Service to help diagnose minor ailments. Its partnerships also include a telehealth app created for private health insurer Bupa. The company, which currently operates in the UK and Rwanda, will use the series C funding to expand into the US and Asia. The money will also allow it to increase its research and development efforts to diagnose more serious and chronic conditions.
Switzerland-based oncology drug developer ADC Therapeutics raised a $276m series E round backed by pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. The transaction was led by private equity firm Auven Therapeutics in late 2017 and also featured hedge fund Redmile, Wild Family Office and undisclosed backers. ADC is working on antibody drug conjugates that target haematological cancers and solid tumours and has multiple assets in the clinic. The capital will support preparations for a phase 2 trial of ADCT-301, a potential treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma that is being evaluated in a phase 1b trial. The funding will also go towards preparations for a possible biologic licence application – required for US interstate sales of a drug – for ADCT-402, a candidate being developed to treat relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
US-based digital manufacturing technology provider Carbon secured more than $260m in funding from investors including pharmaceutical group J&J sporting apparel producer Adidas, chemicals provider Arkema and advanced materials manufacturer JSR. VC firm Madrone Capital Partners and investment manager Baillie Gifford co-led the round, which also featured investment and financial services group Fidelity Management & Research, Temasek and Sequoia Capital. Adidas and J&J participated in the round through corporate venturing vehicles Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC and Adidas Ventures. The cash will fund the completion of a facility that will fuel research and development by enabling Carbon’s engineers to enhance the technology. It will also support European and Asian growth along with the enhancement of its software and base materials. Carbon has created a method of additive manufacturing it calls Digital Light Synthesis, combining digital light projection, programmable liquid resins and oxygen permeable optics to produce 3D printed components it claims have the consistency of injection-moulded parts.
Leaps by Bayer, an investment vehicle for pharmaceuticals and chemicals producer Bayer, invested $215m to lead a $250m funding round for US-based immuno-oncology drug developer Century Therapeutics. Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, a biotech-focused subsidiary of imaging technology producer Fujifilm, also participated in the round, as did VC firm Versant Ventures. The round was disclosed as Century emerged from stealth. Its co-founders include Marcela Maus, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Hiro Nakauchi, professor of genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Founded in 2018 by Versant Ventures, Century is working on allogeneic cell therapies that are intended to target haematologic and solid cancers. The therapies are based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), a type of stem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells, and which have an unlimited capacity to self-renew, according to the company.
Novo Holdings contributed to a $200m series F round for US-based precision medicine developer Tempus that valued the company at $3.1bn. The round also featured Baillie Gifford, Franklin Templeton, New Enterprise Associates, Revolution Growth and funds and accounts managed by T Rowe Price. Tempus will use the money to bolster its operations and accelerate its expansion efforts into additional therapeutic areas and new markets. Robert Ghenchev, head of growth equity at Novo, will join its board of directors. Founded in 2015, Tempus uses a combination of artificial intelligence, genome sequencing and computer vision technology to extract meaningful data from a library of molecular and clinical data aggregated from academic medical centres and community-based hospitals. The company has so far concentrated its efforts on oncology, helping physicians better understand a patient’s tumour and personalise treatment plans.
US-based diagnostics technology developer Freenome completed a $160m series B round that included pharmaceutical firm Roche, Alphabet and care consortium Kaiser Permanente. Investment firms RA Capital Management and Polaris Partners co-led the round, participating alongside American Cancer Society’s BrightEdge Ventures, T Rowe Price Associates, Andreessen Horowitz, Data Collective Venture Capital and Section 32. Roche and Kaiser Permanente took part in the round through their Roche Ventures and Kaiser Permanente Ventures vehicles respectively. Alphabet invested through its Verily Life Sciences subsidiary and its GV unit. Freenome has developed a blood testing platform that uses machine learning and computer science to detect early signs of diseases such as colorectal, breast and prostate cancer. The company will use the series B capital to accelerate development of its platform, as well as to bolster its laboratory and software resources. It also plans to conduct a validation study for the application of its technology in colorectal cancer screening.
China-based medical supplies distributor GKHT Medical Technology raised more than RMB1.1bn ($154m) in a series C round led by insurance firm Taikang Life. 6 Dimensions Capital, the investment firm co-founded by pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec, also participated in the round, along with Legend Capital, the VC firm launched by conglomerate Legend Holdings. The round was filled out by China Merchants Capital, a private equity vehicle for state-owned investment holding company China Merchants Group, VC firm Sherpa Venture Capital and Cash Capital, which invests on behalf of Chinese Academy of Science. Founded in 2013 as an affiliate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences-owned Osic Holding Group, GKHT provides items such as medical adhesives, dressings, hygiene products and materials for implants and medical sutures. The company oversees some 30 subsidiaries spread across its home country, and sources wholesale goods from about 20 international partners.
Legend Biotech Corporation, a cellular therapy subsidiary of China-based biotech producer Genscript Biotech, agreed to raise approximately $151m from investors including pharmaceutical firms Eli Lilly and J&J. Hudson Bay Capital Management’s HBC Asia Healthcare Opportunities III fund, Capital Group’s Smallcap World Fund, Vivo Capital and RA Capital’s Healthcare Fund, Nexus Fund and Blackwell Partners vehicle are also participating in the round, designated as a series A. The corporates took part through corporate venturing vehicles Lilly Asia Ventures and JJDC. The round will value Legend Biotech at approximately $1.95bn, according to a stock exchange filing. Formed in 2015, the company is developing cell-based therapeutics to treat diseases including cancer and has drug candidates for haematological malignancies and solid tumours in clinical testing from phase 1 to 3. It also has an HIV drug in the pre-clinical phase. The company made a $133m loss in 2019 from $57.4m in revenue, according to the filing, which stated that JJDC will take a 1.3% stake in the company through the round while Lilly Asia Ventures will hold 0.5%.
Concerto HealthAI, a US-based oncology data technology spinoff from AI-focused holding company SymphonyAI Group, has secured $150m in a series B round that included SymphonyAI. Declaration Partners led the round, which was also backed by fellow investment manager AllianceBernstein and investment firm Maverick Ventures. Concerto intends to combine AI technology with real-world data to generate insights that can assist in the development of precision cancer treatments. The funding will support product development and its expansion into other disease areas. The round was announced alongside a multi-disease collaboration deal with Janssen Research & Development, J&J.
Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested $250m to lead a series D round of undisclosed size for US-based medicine delivery service Alto Pharmacy. The round valued Alto at more than $1bn and included investment firm Greenoaks Capital and VC firm Jackson Square Ventures, according to two people familiar with the development. Vision Fund invested out of its Fund II and had at one point considered providing $300m before dialling its participation down slightly, according to the sources. Formerly known as ScriptDash, Alto runs an online pharmacy that manages prescriptions, delivers medication and offers discounts as well as support on call. It also negotiates with health insurers and streamlines work for care providers.
PharmEasy, an India-based online pharmacy backed by insurer Medi Assist Healthcare Services and healthcare supply chain services provider Ascent Health and Wellness Solutions, raised $220m in funding. Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek led the round, which included Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, financial services firm KB Financial Group and Eight Road Ventures, an investment vehicle for investment and financial services group Fidelity. The round was filled out by LGT, an asset manager controlled by the royal family of Liechtenstein, plus Bessemer Venture Partners, Orios Venture Partners, Fundamentum Partnership and private investor Nandan Nilekani. Founded in 2015, PharmEasy operates an online pharmacy that sells healthcare products, diagnostic tests and medicines. Users can either upload their prescription or, if they do not yet have one, receive a free phone consultation during the checkout process.
The SoftBank Vision Fund led a $205m funding round for US-based workplace health management technology provider Collective Health. The round included GV, a subsidiary of Alphabet, as well as financial services firm Sun Life, PSP Investments, DFJ Growth, G Squared, Founders Fund, Maverick Ventures, Mubadala Ventures and New Enterprise Associates. The capital will be used to beef up Collective Health’s technology capabilities, expand its range of healthcare partners and hire more sales, engineering and customer experience staff. Collective Health supplies software that helps businesses manage their employee health plans more efficiently and easily, providing analytics tools that helps them monitor and control costs.
MGI Tech, a gene sequencing technology subsidiary of China-based genomics services provider BGI, raised $200m in funding. The cash was supplied by Goldstone Investment, a fund managed by investment banking firm Citic Securities, as well as VC firm Green Pine Capital Partners and Orient Securities Capital Investment, a subsidiary of investment bank Orient Securities. Founded in 2016, MGI develops gene sequencing systems for use in life sciences research and drug development. Its products cover genetic testing, gene editing and synthesis, and include sequencing reagents, materials and biochemical reaction systems. The spinoff had initially targeted a $1bn round that would have valued it at $5bn, private fund sources told Caixin Global in July 2018 but cut the round’s size due to comparatively slow sales, another source said.
US-based biosimilar medicine developer EQRx launched with $200m secured in a series A round featuring healthcare software provider Nextech and GV, the subsidiary of Alphabet. The corporates were joined by healthcare investment firm Casdin Capital and VC firms Arch Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Section 32 and Arboretum Ventures. EQRx aims to help bring down the high cost of medicines by using innovative technology and science to create more affordable patent-protected versions of existing treatments for chronic and life-threatening diseases. The approach will involve the application of technology to accelerate the drug development process, though the treatments will copy existing approved medications.
Exits
Corporate venturers from the health sector completed 57 exits between May 2019 and April 2020 – 30 initial public offerings (IPOs), 26 acquisitions and one merger. On a year-on-year basis, the total number of exits remained at roughly the same level but the total estimated capital dropped significantly (33%) from $12.84bn in 2018 to $8.67bn in 2019, suggesting a downwards pressure on valuations.
Biopharmaceutical company Alkermes agreed to acquire US-based neurological disease drug developer Rodin Therapeutics for up to $950m, enabling J&J and internet technology conglomerate Alphabet to exit. The transaction will consist of $100m in cash upfront and up to $850m in milestone payments related to regulatory and clinical progress and pre-set sales levels. Rodin is developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, Huntington’s disease and frontotemporal dementia as well as sickle cell disease and cancer. The company’s small molecule therapeutics will rely on targeting selected protein complexes which can modulate gene expression. They are intended to complement Alkermes’ range of treatments for central nervous system diseases.
Tilos Therapeutics, a US-based biopharmaceutical company established by pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim and hospital network Partners HealthCare, agreed to an acquisition worth up to $773m by pharmaceutical group Merck & Co. Merck will, through an unnamed subsidiary, purchase all outstanding shares in Tilos and make an upfront payment, with additional contingent milestone payments. Details of the size of each part of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2016, Tilos is developing treatments targeting TGFbeta, a small protein that plays a crucial role in immune and stem cell regulation. It is hoping to develop antibodies aimed at cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune diseases. The company was co-founded by Boehringer Ingelheim’s corporate venturing subsidiary, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, and Partners Innovation Fund, the strategic investment arm of Partners HealthCare, in 2016.
Pharmaceutical and chemical producer Bayer acquired US-based stem cell treatment developer and portfolio company BlueRock Therapeutics in a deal that could value it at up to $1bn. BlueRock is looking to engineer stem cells using its proprietary induced stem cell platform in order to treat neurological, immunological and heart diseases. Its drug candidates include a potential Parkinson’s disease treatment it aims to advance into the clinic by the end of 2019. The company was founded by VC firm Versant Ventures in 2016 and emerged from stealth the same year with $225m in series A funding from Versant and Bayer’s Lifescience Center, which owned a 40.8% stake prior to the acquisition deal. The terms of the transaction involve Bayer paying a total of up to $600m to acquire the shares in BlueRock it did not already own, investing up $240m upfront that will be followed by preclinical and clinical milestone payments that could reach $360m. Tilos commercialises research led by Howard Weiner, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, founder of the Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center and a co-director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, owned by Partners HealthCare.
Amal Therapeutics, a Switzerland-based cancer-focused biotechnology spinout from University of Geneva, agreed to an acquisition worth up to €325m ($365m) by one of its existing investors, pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer Ingelheim will make an upfront payment of undisclosed size, with the remainder due once contingent clinical, developmental and regulatory milestones are hit. A total of $112m will be paid out if treatments reach commercial milestones. Founded in 2012, Amal Therapeutics is working on peptide-based therapeutic vaccines using a technology platform called Kisima. The spinout’s lead asset, ATP128, is aimed at stage 4 colorectal cancer. The spinout previously inked a collaboration agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to enter ATP128 into a phase 1b clinical trial that will evaluate the candidate in combination with one of the corporate’s compounds, BI754091. Boehringer Ingelheim plans on developing additional therapies by combining its own assets with Kisima’s capabilities.
Livongo Health, a US-based health management technology developer backed by corporates including pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co and care provider Humana, went public in an IPO sized at more than $355m. It consisted of approximately 12.7 million shares priced at $28 each, significantly above the $20 to $23 range it had set, with the number of shares also increased from 10.7 million. Livongo’s shares peaked at $45.46 before closing at $38.10 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, giving it a market cap of $3.39bn. Founded in 2014, Livongo helps patients living with a chronic condition to manage their health through a data-driven platform that relies on smart devices and offers users personalised digital guidance and around-the-clock access to health professionals. The company is targeting users dealing with diabetes, hypertension, weight management and behavioural health. It had raised $222m in funding ahead of its IPO.
Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer agreed to acquire portfolio company Therachon, a Switzerland-based developer of treatments for rare genetic disorders, in a deal sized at $340m upfront. The transaction also has up to $470m in milestone payments related to the development of Therachon’s lead asset, TA-46, a treatment for a bone growth disorder called achondroplasia that causes dwarfism. The disorder affects approximately 250,000 people worldwide and which can lead to serious cardiovascular, neurological and metabolic complications. TA-46 has completed phase 1 trials and secured orphan drug designation from US and European Union regulators. Founded in 2014, Therachon is developing therapies for rare genetic diseases.
Pharmaceutical firm Takeda acquired one of its portfolio companies, US-based coeliac disease drug developer PvP Biologics, in a deal sized at up to $330m. PvP was founded in 2011 from a project submitted for University of Washington’s Genetically Engineered Machine contest that used software designed by UW professor of biochemistry David Baker to find an enzyme able to break down gluten in the stomach before it damages the intestine. The enzyme, KumaMax, was developed by a team headed by PvP’s co-founder and chief scientific officer Ingrid Swanson Pultz, also part of UW’s biochemistry department. It forms the basis of PvP’s lead drug candidate, TAK-062. TAK-062 recently successfully passed through a phase 1 proof-of-mechanism study for coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition where gluten consumed by a patient ends up harming their intestine.
Adaptive Biotechnologies, a US-based drug discovery technology developer backed by multiple corporate investors, went public in a $300m IPO. The company sold 15 million shares priced at $20 each, above its targeted range of $18 to $19, valuing it at more than $2.4bn. Its shares more than doubled in price on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market to close at $40.30. Founded in 2009 as Adaptive TCR, Adaptive Bio has developed technology intended to understand precisely how an individual patient’s immune system detects and fights disease. That data, known as clinical immunomics, is fed into a database and forms the basis of treatments for conditions such as cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, by exploiting computational biology and machine learning technologies. The company signed a collaboration and licensing agreement with biotech developer Genentech in a December 2018 deal that included a $300m upfront payment, and which could be worth up to $2bn if milestones and sales targets are met.
Cancer therapy developer Revolution Medicines, based in Redwood City, California, raised $238m in an IPO on the Nasdaq Global Market. Sanofi became a shareholder when it acquired Warp Drive Bio, a genomic medicine developer co-founded by the pharmaceutical firm, in an all-share deal in 2018. Subsidiary Sanofi Research Invest held a 7.8% stake in the company but it was diluted to 5.9% in the offering. Revolution priced its shares at the top of the $15 to $17 range, which it had increased from the original $14 to $16. The company also increased the number of shares from 10 million to 14 million. The price surged 70% on their first day of trading and closed at $28.90, valuing Revolution at just under $1.65bn. Founded in 2014, the company develops therapies for a range of cancer indications. It is focusing on inhibitors of frontier targets, proteins that play an important role in cancer but for which no treatment exists, or where therapies do not suppress all factors contributing to cancer growth. Its lead asset, RMC-4630, is being co-developed with Sanofi and is undergoing phase 1/2 trials.
Schrödinger, the US-based life sciences platform developer backed by Alphabet and pharmaceutical firm Wuxi AppTec, closed its IPO at more than $232m. The company floated issued nearly 11.9 million shares on the Nasdaq Global Market priced at $17.00 each. Its shares closed at $28.64 on the first day of trading. Underwriters Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Jefferies and BMO Capital Markets Corp subsequently took up the full over-allotment option, purchasing more than 1.78 million additional shares. Schrödinger’s software platform is used by pharmaceutical and industrial product developers to discover molecules for use in the creation of new medicines and material designs. It grew its revenue 21% year on year in the first nine months of 2019 while cutting losses to $18.5m.
GCV also reported several exits of emerging health-related enterprises that involved corporate investors from other sectors.
Virtual care provider Teladoc Health agreed to acquire US-based telehealth services provider InTouch Health for $600m in a deal that will allow domestic robotics technology producer iRobot to exit. The transaction will involve Teladoc paying $150m in cash and $450m in shares for the company. InTouch had raised about $93m in funding pre-acquisition, according to press releases and securities filings. The company received $6m from iRobot in 2012 as part of the expansion of an existing collaboration deal. Its earlier backers included Beringea’s InvestCare Partners fund, Galen Partners, Acacia Venture Partners, Twenty One East Victoria Investments and Cathedral Pointe Ventures. Founded in 2002, InTouch combines a cloud network with dedicated telehealth technology that allows healthcare systems to diversify their care. It has partnerships in place with about 450 care providers worldwide.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund sold approximately $377m of shares in US-based, publicly-listed oncology diagnostics technology developer Guardant Health. The fund sold 4.9 million shares at a price of $77 each, more than four times the price at which Guardant floated in October 2018, though below the $110.30 price at which they peaked last month. SoftBank and its affiliates held almost 27.9 million shares at time of the IPO. Guardant is developing blood tests to detect early signs of cancer in high-risk populations or returning cancer in existing patients. It increased revenue 178% year on year to $54m for the second quarter of 2019, while almost halving its losses to $11.6m over the same period.
BridgeBio Pharma, the US-based Mendelian disease therapy developer backed by insurance group AIG, floated on the Nasdaq Global Market in an IPO sized at approximately $349m. The offering consisted of 20.5 million shares issued at $17.00 each, above the IPO’s $14 to $16 range. The company also increased the number of shares in the offering from 15 million. The share price gave BridgeBio a valuation of just over $2bn. Its shares closed at $27.55 on their first day of trading. Founded in 2015, BridgeBio has a pipeline of 15 programs in development for Mendelian diseases – illnesses triggered by a defect in a single gene – as well as cancers that have clear genetic drivers. Up to $235m of the proceeds and BridgeBio’s existing cash reserves will fund development and potential commercialisation for three late-stage drug candidates: BBP-831, BBP-454 and BBP-631.
Funds
Between May 2019 and April 2020, corporate venturers and investing in the life sciences sector secured over $17.37bn in capital via 56 funding initiatives – 46 VC funds, five accelerators, two new CVC subsidiaries, two incubators and one other initiative.
On a calendar year-to-year basis, the number of funding initiatives in the health sector increased, registering a total of 58 in 2019 versus 42 in 2018, though still down from the peak of 74 in 2016. The total estimated capital, however, increased – it stood at $19.5 bn by the end of last year – though $8.5 TA XIII fund was a significant proportion of that.
Insurance firm Taiwan Life committed $20m to TA XIII, a vehicle closed at $8.5bn by growth-focused private equity firm TA Associates in June. The investment was one of several commitments to equity and debt funds made by Taiwan Life in 2019. TA XIII focuses on financial services, consumer goods, healthcare, business, services, technology, media and telecommunications companies, investing in North America and Western, Central and Eastern Europe. Taiwan Life also supplied $30m for private markets firm StepStone’s $310m Secondary Opportunities Fund IV, $25m for private equity fund manager HIG Capital’s $185m Middle Market Fund III fund and $33.6m to an unnamed solar investment fund, among other investments.
Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca partnered investment bank China International Capital Corporation to create the $1bn Healthcare Industrial Fund and drive healthcare innovation in China. The fund will focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and will particularly seek out opportunities in the drug and diagnostics spaces, as well as startups that use artificial intelligence and digital technologies to improve healthcare. The vehicle will invest in domestic firms and international businesses looking to expand into China. AstraZeneca is particularly keen on backing companies based at its innovation hub, the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Campus.
Taiping Financial Holdings, a subsidiary of China-based, state-backed insurance firm Taiping, joined investment bank China International Capital Corporation’s CICC Capital unit to form a $1bn investment fund. TP-CICC GBA Investment Master Fund will invest in companies located in China’s Bay Area, which encompasses 11 metropolitan centres including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Areas in which the vehicle will invest include financial, healthcare, consumer and insurance technology providers as well as internet-focused startups.
Netherlands-based life sciences investment firm LSP closed a $600m fund, having raised capital from backers including pharmaceutical firms Bristol Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical. LSP 6, which the firm claims is the largest life sciences VC fund raised in Europe, also features unnamed insurance firms, pension funds, wealth managers, family offices and state-owned funds among its limited partners. Founded in 1987, LSP operates out of offices in the Netherlands, Germany and the US and invests in both private and publicly listed companies. Its recent deals include investments in oncology drug developer ImCheck Therapeutics and patient management platform developer Endotronix.
Rabo Frontier Ventures, the CVC arm of financial services firm Rabobank, invested in a $500m fund closed by UK-based VC firm Northzone. The vehicle’s other limited partners include unnamed contributors to earlier funds and undisclosed new investors. The firm has now raised €1.5bn ($1.7bn) across nine funds since it was founded in 1996. Northzone IX is primarily concentrating on series A and B rounds but will also take part in a limited number of seed deals, targeting consumer and business-facing startups in areas like healthcare, financial services, education, mobility and construction.
UK-based life sciences-focused investment firm Medicxi closed a €400m ($450m) fund with LPs including healthcare corporates Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline. Verily, a life sciences research subsidiary of Alphabet, has also thrown its weight behind Medicxi III, as have a range of unnamed hospital foundations, medical institutions and other institutional investors. J&J provided the money through its Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC arm. The fund will invest in discovery-stage through to late-stage biopharmaceutical companies. Medicxi was spun out of VC firm Index Ventures and launched its first fund, a $230m early-stage vehicle called Medicxi Ventures 1, in 2016. The firm has made more than 90 investments.
US-based VC firm VenBio Partners closed its third fund at $394m, with undisclosed pharmaceutical companies among the limited partners. Founded in 2011, VenBio Partners invests in life sciences technology developers, generally concentrating on companies working on biopharmaceuticals for unmet medical needs. It typically leads or co-leads rounds and has secured about $1bn in capital across its funds. VenBio Global Strategic Fund III’s LPs also include unnamed financial institutions, corporate pension funds, family offices, funds-of-funds, endowments and foundations.
France-based VC firm Truffle Capital has closed a €250m ($278m) fund that featured medical imaging technology producer Guerbet, reinsurer Caisse Centrale de Réassurances and digital services provider Sopra Steria as LPs. French investors provided 60% of the capital and also included cosmetics producer L’Occitane Group’s startup studio, Obratori, as well as financial services group BPCE and pension funds ProBTP and Agrica. Undisclosed family offices also contributed to the close. Truffle Capital invests in life sciences technology developers, but the BioMedTech fund will support the creation of approximately 12 companies to develop medical devices and therapeutics sourced from research at 50 partner universities across Europe and the US. New companies launched by the vehicle include PKMed, which is working on a slow-release drug delivery device, and HoliStick Medical, the developer of a catheter-based system designed to repair heart tissue.
UK-based investment firm Ahren Innovation Capital closed its inaugural vehicle at more than £200m ($253m) from LPs including consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, insurance firm Aviva and broadcaster Sky. The LP list also featured diversified holding group Wittington Investments, undisclosed US families, and individual investors including André Desmarais, Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor and the eight scientists who co-founded the vehicle. The fund reached a $129m first close in September 2018. Founded in 2017, Ahren Innovation Capital focuses on technologies covering the human brain and AI, genetics and biotechnology, space and robotics, and energy and environmental technologies. The firm both invests in and helps build companies, offering access to the expertise of its founding science partners. It is in particular seeking out opportunities that take a multidisciplinary approach to tackle challenges.
Business insurance provider Talanx is among the LPs for a life sciences fund closed by Germany-based venture firm Wellington Partners at €210m ($234m). Wellington Partners Life Science Fund (WPLS) V also secured contributions from European Investment Fund, European Investment Bank, the German state-owned KfW Capital and Utimco, a joint investment company of University of Texas and Texas A&M University. Several undisclosed family offices and trusts, which had backed previous Wellington funds, also committed capital. Wellington Partners is stage-agnostic and typically invests between $2m and $23m in each portfolio company. WPLS-V will invest in between 15 and 20 companies, targeting segments such as biotech, therapeutics and medical devices. The fund will mainly operate in German-speaking countries while potentially making investments in North America and Asia.
University backing
By the end of 2019, there were 408 rounds raised by university spinouts, up 13% from the 360 registered in the previous year. The level of estimated total capital deployed in 2019 stood at nearly $8bn, up 32% from the $6.07bn figure in 2018.
Parvus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical spinout from University of Calgary, signed a collaboration and licensing deal with biotechnology developer Genentech worth more than $800m. The companies will work together on the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of treatments based on Parvus’ Navacim platform. They will focus on inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune liver diseases and coeliac disease. Parvus will receive an upfront payment, and is eligible to receive research, development and commercialisation milestone payments. It is also eligible for additional milestone payments in other disease areas, as well as royalties on net sales of products resulting from the collaboration. The spinout will be responsible for pre-clinical and phase 1 development, with Genentech taking over from phase 2. Founded in 2007, Parvus Therapeutics is working on treatments for autoimmune conditions without impairing the normal functioning of the immune system. Alternative therapies tend to affect the entire immune system, making a patient vulnerable to other issues. The spinout’s approach has applications in a wide range of conditions, from type 1 diabetes to multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Biontech, a Germany-based immuno-oncology therapy developer spun out of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, closed a $325m series B round led by financial services group Fidelity Management & Research. Redmile Group, Invus, MiraeAsset Financial Group, Platinum Asset Management, Jebsen Capital, Steam Athena Capital, BVCF Management, the Struengmann Family Office as well as unnamed new and existing investors took part. Biontech previously obtained $91.5m in equity funding from pharmaceutical firm Sanofi as part of a research and development collaboration agreement in January 2019 and secured $120m from Pfizer in August 2018, also as part of a strategic agreement. The company did not specify whether either of these two investments formed part of the series B round. Founded in 2008, Biontech is working on immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. It advances research by co-founder and chief executive Uğur Şahin, professor of medicine at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
US-based immuno-oncology drug developer Century Therapeutics emerged from stealth with $250m in funding to commercialise research from Harvard University’s Medical School and Stanford University School of Medicine (see p. 41). Leaps by Bayer, a vehicle for pharmaceuticals and chemicals producer Bayer, invested $215m to lead the round, and was joined by Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, a biotech-focused subsidiary of imaging technology producer Fujifilm. VC firm Versant Ventures also took part in the round, having established Century Therapeutics in 2018 to develop allogeneic cell therapies to target haematologic and solid cancers.
CMR Surgical, a UK-based surgical robotics developer raised £195m ($240m) in series C funding from investors including Cambridge Innovation Capital, the patient capital fund affiliated with University of Cambridge. Asset management group LGT, investment firm Watrium, private equity fund Zhejiang Silk Road Fund and Escala Capital also contributed to the round, together with unnamed US-based investors. The round valued CMR at more than $1.2bn, according to the Financial Times. Founded in 2014, CMR has created a robotics system designed to conduct minimal access surgery, utilises high-definition 3D video and individually cart-mounted arms to help surgeons work in parts they otherwise find it difficult to reach. The round comes after CMR obtained CE marking for its Versius system, a certification that indicates conformity with the EU’s with health, safety and environmental protection standards. It performed 30 first-in-human procedures during a clinical trial that is ongoing.
People
Darren Carroll, senior vice-president of corporate business development at US-based Eli Lilly, left his position after 22 years with the company that included the development of its US and Asia-focused corporate venturing units and later became a partner at VC firm Polaris Partners. Heather Wasserman was promoted to vice-president of corporate business development at Eli Lilly, with responsibility for business development transactions, emerging technologies and innovation, and venture capital. Wasserman has spent a year as senior director for external innovation, emerging technology and innovation, and six years with Lilly, having been a senior scientist at biopharmaceutical company Human Genome Sciences before its acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline in 2013.
Healthcare administration services provider Change Healthcare appointed Ryan Miller as its senior vice-president of corporate development. Miller will report to the firm’s chief financial officer, Fredrik Eliasson, and will oversee strategic activities in areas including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and exits, working closely with the company’s business development team. The move followed 18 months as vice-president of corporate development for health insurance provider Anthem, where he was in charge of corporate venturing, M&A and partnership deals. Miller had been vice-president of strategy and corporate development at Anthem’s Availity healthcare administration subsidiary for six years prior to the promotion, after seven years at Anthem-owned health information technology service WellPoint.
Russell Greig, previously president of SR One, the corporate venturing arm of UK-listed pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), joined Israel-based phage therapy developer BiomX. Greig spent about 30 years at GSK and was president of SR One between 2008 and 2010. During his time at the unit, Greig served as chairman of biopharmaceutical companies Ablynx and Syntaxin – both SR One portfolio companies the corporate later exited, through acquisitions by pharmaceutical firms Sanofi and Ipsen respectively. Greig will chair the board of directors at BiomX, whose $32m series B round in early 2019 included corporates Johnson & Johnson and Takeda. He will contribute his pharmaceutical business development know-how, leveraging drug research and development experience.
Busy Burr, the founder of corporate venturing unit Humana Ventures, was hired by digital health technology developer Carrot as its president and chief executive. Burr was US-based health insurance provider Humana’s chief innovation officer between 2015 and late 2018, leading investments in digital health startups Livongo, Aspire Health and Omada Health through Humana Ventures. Prior to joining Humana, Burr had been managing director at Citi Ventures, the VC arm of financial services firm Citi, having spent four years as the bank’s global head of disruptive innovation until 2015.
Weeks after leaving Alphabet’s GV unit, Vineeta Agarwala was confirmed as one of the investors overseeing a $750m fund for US-based VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. Agarwala’s departure was officially announced after more than four years in GV’s life sciences team overseeing life sciences-related investments in areas such as genomic data and health technology. Andreessen Horowitz revealed its Bio Fund III in a blog post co-authored by Agarwala and fellow general partners Jorge Conde, Vijay Pande and Julie Yoo. The vehicle will focus on the intersection of software and healthcare and follows the $200m Bio Fund in 2015 and its $450m successor in 2017. Describing the fusion of technology, biotech and the general health system, the post stated: “Bio is not the ‘next new thing’ – it is becoming everything.”
Chris Picariello was promoted to president of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC following the retirement of Tom Heyman. JJDC appointed Picariello to the role. He came from J&J’s North America consumer organisation where he had been vice-president of finance since July 2017. Picariello had previously been J&J subsidiary Janssen Research & Development’s chief financial officer and global head of procurement, its government grants office and project management office. JJDC was formed in 1973 and takes minority equity stakes in third-party entrepreneurs, making it one of the oldest and most consistent investors in CVC.
US-listed pharmaceutical company Horizon Therapeutics hired Scott Brun, former head of corporate venturing unit AbbVie Ventures, as an adviser to its research and development leadership team. Brun joined pharmaceutical firm AbbVie as vice-president of pharmaceutical development in 2012 when it spun off from Abbott Laboratories, where he had been since 2002. Brun took the reins at AbbVie Ventures four years later and was named AbbVie’s vice-president of scientific affairs. He made GCV’s 2018 Powerlist before leaving in April 2019.
Sven Harmsen left his role as investment director at M Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for Germany-based pharmaceutical firm Merck Group formerly known as Merck Ventures. Harmsen joined Merck in 2016 to help set up and lead the unit. He oversaw its performance materials portfolio, including metallisation technology provider Aveni, reflective display technology producer Clearink and sensor technology developer Peratech. Nova, France-based glass maker Saint-Gobain’s strategic investment arm, hired Harmsen as director of external ventures, which will entail him partnering and financing emerging companies on behalf of the corporate.
US-headquartered pharmacy chain CVS Health has promoted its corporate development and venture investing team’s senior director, Gregor Kevrekian, to executive director. Kevrekian was a senior director at medical insurance provider Aetna for almost three years, moving to the same position at CVS when it acquired Aetna for $78bn in November 2018. His role at Aetna involved leading mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and joint venture deals and conducting early-stage investments through the corporate venturing unit, Aetna Ventures.
Evan Norton left his managing director role at Abbott Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of US-based medical equipment producer Abbott Laboratories, to join healthcare technology-focused investment firm Accelmed Partners. Norton spent almost 10 years at Abbott Ventures from 2010, first as director of venture investments, before being promoted to lead the unit in 2013. Its areas of focus include medical devices, medical diagnosis tools and pharmaceutical distribution. Accelmed has appointed Norton general partner and he will leverage his experience from his time at Abbott Ventures to oversee investments and identify untapped markets for the firm.
Michael Brandkamp, formerly managing director of High-Tech Gründerfonds, a German state and corporate-backed VC fund, left to become a general partner at European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF). ECBF will be established in Luxembourg to accelerate late-stage companies and bring circular technologies – an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources – to market. The European Commission was a cornerstone investor as part of its work on developing so-called blended finance.
Two of US-based healthcare company Johnson & Johnson’s most experienced investors, Renee Ryan and Marianne De Backer left the venturing unit Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC. Ryan became CEO at its portfolio company Cala Health and Germany-based firm Bayer hired Marianne De Backer to manage its acquisitions and licensing deals. Wearable neuromodulation device manufacturer Cala Health had completed a $50m series C round, backed by corporates Alphabet, Novartis and the Novartis and Qualcomm-backed DRX Capital as well as by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC. Ryan, a GCV Rising Stars award winner, had spent eight years at J&J, after nearly 15 years in healthcare-focused investment banking. De Backer had joined J&J’s Janssen subsidiary in 1991 and moved from the lab to leading a commercial business in Europe to late-stage pharmaceutical deal making and corporate venture investing.
Bruce Meadows was appointed head of investments for Takeda’s digital health corporate venturing unit, Hatch. Meadows has a long history in digital health and medical devices, stretching back 20 years to VC firm GBS Venture Partners and more recently as a partner at medical technology accelerator MD Start and a founding partner at wealth manager Innovation Investment Partners. Founded in 2017 by Bruno Villetelle, now at Novartis, Hatch is run from Zurich by Stephanie Bova. Takeda maintains a separate corporate venturing unit, Takeda Venture Investments, run by Mike Martin, for biotech investments.
Ladi Greenstreet, formerly US-based head of healthcare for Accenture Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of professional services firm Accenture, was promoted to head of UK and Ireland for the unit. Accenture hired Greenstreet in 2011 as a UK-based management consultant to oversee digital strategy, analytics and technology transformation, before transferring him to the US for a one-year stint at the Fjord design division for the firm’s digital marketing arm, Accenture Interactive, in 2014. Greenstreet joined Accenture Ventures the following year, to develop and implement market strategies for the unit’s health and public service group, also leading digital health efforts and backing growth-stage enterprise technology developers.
René Pompl left his position as principal at Next47, a CVC vehicle for Germany-based industrial equipment and appliance producer Siemens. Pompl has been appointed manager of venture technology role at Siemens’ medical technology subsidiary, Healthineers. Its digital incubator targets companies developers developing precision medicine and care delivery technology.
Priyanka Mitra joined M12, the CVC subsidiary of software provider Microsoft, following turnover in its team. Mitra had been at VC firm Tola Capital since November 2018 after nearly two years working in corporate venturing as an associate at Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated healthcare provider in the US.
The move comes after Rashmi Gopinath and Ronan Kennedy left for BCG-backed VC firm B Capital Group. Founder member Lisa Nelson also left.
The GCV Analytics definition of the health sector encompasses pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, healthcare IT services and administration, care provision and on-demand services and other life sciences products and services.