Image of Joel Krikston, managing director of venture investments at MGHIF, courtesy of LinkedIn.
US pharmaceutical firm MSD’s venture capital unit is planning to spend $38m across Europe and Asia over the next three years and is looking to beef up its presence in those markets with the launch of two hubs that will help them engage with local entrepreneurs.
MSD, known as Merck in the US and Canada, has tended to focus the majority of its startup investments in the US, with just a handful of startup investments in Europe and Asia including vaccine developers Baseimmune and Evaxion Biotech, based respectively in the UK and Denmark.
The team at the MSD Global Health Innovation Fund will open centres, dubbed Idea Studios, in Singapore and Berlin with an aim of forming partnerships with entrepreneurs in these regions working on novel healthcare offerings. Target areas include cancer therapies, vaccination access, disease diagnostics, patient monitoring and clinical trial recruitment.
“The initiative aims to facilitate collaborations between MSD business units and the startup ecosystems in Europe and Asia,” said Joel Krikston (pictured), managing director of venture investments at MGHIF.
“It will focus on existing startups that already possess capabilities aligned with prioritised use cases identified by MSD. So its core role will be mostly that of an accelerator, helping to grow and develop these selected startups.”
Formed in 2010, MGHIF now invests out of its $600m evergreen fund, having made more than 60 investments in early to growth-stage companies. GCV Powerlist mainstay Bill Taranto, who is president and general partner of New Jersey-headquartered MGHIF, leads the 10-person team.
Regarding Idea Studios, Taranto adds: “This is an exciting strategic opportunity to expand the influence of the GHI Fund into dynamic innovation ecosystems where MSD plays a prominent role in delivering life-saving vaccines and medicines to patients.
“Berlin is renowned as a major health tech hub in Germany, while Singapore acts as a crucial regional centre for MSD and is celebrated for its thriving innovation landscape.”
