BOSTON & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, a venture capital firm investing in private biotechnology companies, has officially emerged from stealth with the announcement of its inaugural $50mn fund: Mirae Asset Capital Life Science Inception I, LP. The firm is supported by a diverse global investor base comprised of Limited Partners within the Mirae Asset Financial Group.
The firm plans to invest the fund in private biotechnology companies from seed to series C with a primary focus on therapeutics (modality agnostic) but will remain opportunistic to diagnostics and AI/ML tools for drug discovery and protein engineering. The core sectors of interest include: Oncology, Immunology, Cardiovascular/Metabolic Disease, CNS/Ophthalmology, and Genetic Disease. The group can lead or follow deals, intends to support its portfolio companies through exit, and seeks to be an active investor at the board level. First check size can vary but will not exceed $10mn except with co-investment with other Mirae Asset affiliates. The firm has investment team members in Boston and San Francisco while receiving legal and administrative support from its New York office.
Mirae Asset Capital Life Science distinguishes itself as the sole U.S. affiliate investing in life science within the Mirae Asset Financial Group. Over the past decade, Mirae Asset has invested in more than 100 prominent biotech companies worldwide, including BioNTech and Vividion, and sees this as a golden opportunity to build its presence in the U.S. “We are honored to have the full support of the Chairman and Mirae Asset in building and growing the U.S. affiliate focused on life science and remain committed to finding the best companies that can bring therapies to patients who need them most,” said Managing Director Naveen M. Krishnan, MD, MPhil. “As a testament to this, we are proud to lead a $75mn Series C investment in a company that has pioneered the development of novel small molecule precision therapies for patients with cancer.” Dr. Krishnan will join the Board of the company following the investment which will be announced in the coming weeks.
About Naveen M. Krishnan, Mirae Asset Capital Life Science Managing Director
Naveen Krishnan, MD, MPhil has nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare with nearly a decade of clinical/medical training and a decade of biotech experience across basic science drug discovery (Harvard/Broad Institute/MGH), operating experience building public and private companies, and as a venture capital investor at Bayer where he sat on the board of seven companies and led or supported over 20 deals.
Dr. Krishnan obtained a BS in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT, an MD from Dartmouth (Albert Schweitzer Fellow), clinical residency training based out of Georgetown University Hospital, and a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPhil) from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar.
About Mirae Asset Capital Life Science
Mirae Asset Capital Life Science is the first and only U.S. affiliate of Mirae Asset Financial Group dedicated to life science investment. We invest in companies prioritizing the delivery of safe and effective treatments for patients who need them most and believe that superior returns will follow. Our strategy is rooted in core principles that include delivering near-term value, calculated risk, finding innovative yet validated modalities, and rigorous evaluation using our unique backgrounds across biomedical research, drug discovery, company building, clinical/medical training, and venture capital investing. For more information, please visit us at www.lifesci.miraeasset.com, or follow our LinkedIn or Twitter pages.
Sidley acted as counsel to Mirae Asset Capital Life Science for fund formation.
