Angel Group Aims to Give Medtech Start-Ups an Inside Track

Citing a dearth of investment organizations focused exclusively on supporting young life sciences companies, a coalition of 15 financial and scientific firms have launched an angel group to help seed and early-stage biotech and medical device companies position themselves for venture-backed funding.

The newly formed group calls itself Life Science Angels Inc. (LSA; Menlo Park, CA), and is sponsored by both technology and service providers to the life sciences industry. The group will target investments of approximately $250,000 to $1 million, and expects to distribute between $4 million and $6 million in 2005.

“There is a huge need for an effective organization to fill the void between the early-stage need for capital and expertise and the need for well-vetted, high-quality opportunities for active investors in the life science area,” says Allan May, chairman and CEO of Vascular Architects Inc. (San Jose) and one of the founders of LSA. “We only began accepting investment opportunities in January and have over 50 deals in our pipeline, most contributed through our sponsors and members.” According to LSA's Web site (www.lifescienceangels.com), the group anticipates investing in four to six companies this year.

According to May, LSA has also had success in recruiting investors eager to secure a stake in promising companies that might otherwise fall under the radar of traditional venture capitalists. “Our initial threshold to begin operations was 50 investors, with an ultimate limit of 80,” he says. At the end of January the group was already three-quarters of the way to its enrollment limit.