HealthCap

HealthCap is a specialized provider of venture capital within life sciences. HealthCap invests in innovative companies with focus on therapeutics.^[1] HealthCap has invested in over 100 companies since inception and completed initial public offerings of more than 35 companies. HealthCap has offices in Stockholm, Oslo and Lausanne.

Type	Private
Industry	Private Equity and Venture Capital
Founded	1996
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden, Oslo, Norway and Lausanne, Switzerland
Products	Venture Capital
Total assets	EUR 1 billion
Number of employees	~25 (2015)
Website	www.healthcap.eu

History

The firm was founded in 1996 by Björn Odlander^[2] and Peder Fredrikson^[3] and the first fund was started the same year. As of 2012, HealthCap has established six funds. The first five funds have financed 91 companies, 35 of the companies were start-ups. The most recent fund, HealthCap VI, was established in the spring of 2011. In 2015, HealthCap had approximately 25 employees out of which eleven are partners. The team combines venture capital investing experience with competencies and work experiences from small as well as large companies across the health care industry, spanning disciplines of scientific research, drug development, clinical practice, investment banking, and industry management.

Specialties

HealthCap provides funding to innovative companies within the area of life sciences with a focus on therapeutics. Investments have to meet certain criteria such as fulfilment of important medical needs, high degree of innovation/transformational technologies and improvement in the economics of the health care sector.^[4] The firm invests in a variety of instruments.

Assets under management

HealthCap has raised six main funds. HealthCap IV-VI are Delaware Limited Partnerships with a Swiss general partner. Investors in HealthCap funds include, among others, Skandia Life Insurance, the 4th and 6th Swedish National Pension Funds, The Kresge Foundation, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University and Washington University.^[5] In 2012 HealthCap had committed capital exceeding €900 million.^[6][7]

Investments

HealthCap invests in companies developing disruptive technologies that hold the potential to change clinical practice. Over the years the portfolio companies have developed more than 20 pharmaceutical products and over 40 med-tech products to the market.^[8] Many of these products, such as Firazyr®, Xofigo®, Tracleer®, are breakthrough therapies addressing life-threatening diseases. Examples of technologies financed by HealthCap are

• Endoscopic Lung volume reduction surgery developed by Pulmonx^[9] whereby open thoracic surgery can be avoided in treatment of emphysema.
• Alpharadin developed by Algeta^[10] for treatment of bone metastasis in prostate cancer.
• Trans-femoral Aortic valve replacement developed by CoreValve^[11] that evades the need for open heart surgery when replacing a malfunctioning heart valve.
• Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide for monitoring of asthma developed by Aerocrine.^[12]
• Injectable synthetic bone substitute, Cerament, to enhance bone remodeling and fracture healing developed by BoneSupport AB.
• Novel cancer therapies developed by Oncos Therapeutics.^[13]
• Bioengineered organs and tissues developed by Tengion, based on experiments on autologous tissue engineering technology and optimal biomaterials.^[14]
• Studying and advancing the clinical development of WTX101, or bis-choline tetrathiomolybdate, by Wilson Therapeutics.^[15] WTX101 is an orphan drug used as a therapy of Wilson's disease, an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues and leads to neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease.^[16]

Private equity and venture capital investment firms
Investment strategy	Venture Growth Mezzanine Secondaries Leveraged buyout
History	History of private equity and venture capital Early history of private equity Private equity in the 1980s Private equity in the 1990s Private equity in the 2000s
Investors	Angel investor Corporate venture capital Commercial bank Crowdfunding Institutional investor Insurance company Investment bank Endowment Family office Fund of funds High-net-worth individual Merchant bank Pension fund Sovereign wealth fund
Private equity firms Venture capital firms Portfolio companies

External links

• HealthCap

References

1. ↑ "The investments". HealthCap. 
2. ↑ "Björn Odlander". Bloomberg Businessweek. 
3. ↑ "Peder Fredrikson". Bloomberg Businessweek. 
4. ↑ "The Investment Objective". HealthCap. 
5. ↑ "The Funds". HealthCap. 
6. ↑ "Company Overview of HealthCap". Bloomberg Businessweek. 
7. ↑ "Nordic HealthCap announces final close of its fourth biotech fund at $322m". The Alternative Assets Network. 
8. ↑ "HealthCap website". HealthCap. 
9. ↑ "Pulmonx Raises $32 Million for Launch of Emphysema Products". Reuters. 
10. ↑ "Algeta ASA Raises Euro 23 Million in Series A Round". CRM. 
11. ↑ "Medtronic Buying CoreValve for $700 Million+". Thomson Reuters. 
12. ↑ "Aerocrine: 3.32m EUR in new funds". Tornado Insider. 
13. ↑ "Oncos Therapeutics raises € 4 million from HealthCap to develop oncolytic viruses into cancer treatments". Oncos Therapeutics. 
14. ↑ "Investors up their stake in Tengion". The Business Journal. 
15. ↑ "Wilson Therapeutics" Life Science Sweden. April 17, 2014.
16. ↑ Ala A, Walker AP, Ashkan K, Dooley JS, Schilsky, ML (2007). "Wilson's disease". Lancet 369 (9559): 397-408.