London, UK and Melbourne, Australia, July 31, 2017 / B3C newswire / -- Leading healthcare investment specialist BioScience Managers Limited (BioScience Managers) announces today that it has appointed Elizabeth Klein as an Investment Consultant, to facilitate BioScience Managers’ UK investment deal flow, in particular to support its collaboration entered into in December 2016 with London-based investment firm Downing LLP. Her primary focus will be on sourcing and reviewing investment opportunities for BioScience Managers’ and the Downing FOUR Healthcare Share Class Venture Capital Trust (VCT) plc (Downing FOUR Healthcare).
BioScience Managers has over three decades’ investment experience in healthcare and life sciences, and operates a high value-add model, providing assistance and support to portfolio companies via a global team and international network of independent industry advisors.
Downing FOUR Healthcare is targeting £10m for its allocation and anticipates investing between £0.5m to £1m per company, alone or as part of a syndicate. The focus is on organisations with clear technological and market advantages and near to mid-term commercialisation potential, across a wide spectrum of areas including therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and digital health.
Ms Klein holds a first class degree in Applied Biology with Genetics, an MA in Medicine, Science and Society, and an MBA. During her career as a UK financial analyst she has worked at Dresdner Kleinwort, RW Baird, Bridgewell, Teathers and N+1 Singer. She was the Starmine Healthcare Stockpicker of the year in 2006 and 2013. She established her own consultancy, Klein-Edmonds Associates, in 2015 through which, alongside her role for BioScience Managers, she also provides consultancy to the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Radnor Capital Partners, amongst others. Jeremy Curnock Cook, Managing Director of BioScience Managers, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Liz to the BioScience Managers team. She is highly regarded and well connected in the UK life sciences sector, and will provide excellent on-the-ground access to innovative investment opportunities, as we further expand our investment horizons.” An industry veteran with over 30 years’ experience in healthcare investing, including as head of biotech investments at Rothschild for over two decades, Mr Curnock Cook established BioScience Managers in the UK in 2000, opening the Melbourne, Australia-based investment firm in 2003. It has established a track record of supporting the transformation of its investee companies and delivering impressive returns for its financial backers, with its first fund, IB Australian Bioscience Fund I, providing a net 22.5% IRR.
Ms Klein, Investment Consultant at BioScience Managers, said: “Whilst the UK is recognised globally for the strength of its science and medical innovation, it hasn’t always had access to sufficient capital and expertise to succeed commercially. That has changed and VCTs are an important and tax-efficient part of the UK investment capital ecosystem. Given the backdrop of an ageing population and increasing global expenditure on healthcare, there are opportunities to find and fund innovative companies with the potential to deliver better healthcare for patients, improved efficiency for payors and attractive returns to investors.”
BioScience Managers currently manages or advises four funds including Downing FOUR Healthcare, with a total of £130 million (~US$170 million; AUD$215 million) under management. It brings an international perspective to its investments, with investees listed on stock markets in Australia, the US and the UK. For example, it has supported the strategic development and growth of Adherium (ASX: ADR), a company founded on technology invented in New Zealand and now a global leader in digital health technologies with operations in Australasia, Europe and the USA, and customers and collaborations worldwide including with AstraZeneca.
About BioScience Managers
BioScience Managers Pty Ltd is a leading life sciences investment firm, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2000, BioScience Managers has a global, multi-disciplinary team, bringing an international perspective together with the track record, networks and expertise required to convert that perspective into informed, high return investment decisions.
The firm operates a high value-add model, providing assistance and support to portfolio companies via its global team and international network of independent industry advisors. With combined experience of over 170 investments, more than 40 IPO’s/reversals in Europe, the USA and Australia, and a diverse skillset specific to the bio-based industries, BioScience Managers aims to provide investee companies with significant value-add over and above capital invested. Current funds are:
• Asia Pacific Healthcare Fund II
• BioScience Managers Ventures I
• BioScience Managers Translation Fund I
• Downing FOUR VCT plc – Healthcare Share Class
About Downing
Downing LLP is a London-based investment management firm. It helps UK businesses grow by investing in them via a range of venture capital trust (VCT), enterprise investment schemes (EIS), inheritance tax (IHT), individual savings account (ISA) and open-ended investment company (OEIC) products. So far, it has more than 35,000 investors and has raised over £1.7 billion to invest into businesses across a range of sectors, from renewable energy, care homes, health clubs, pubs, and children’s nurseries, to app-technology, sports nutrition and satellite earth stations. It currently has over £875 million of funds under management.
About Downing FOUR VCT Plc
The Downing FOUR Healthcare Share Class is seeking to provide attractive returns to investors by investing in a portfolio of healthcare companies. The focus will be on development and expansion funding for innovative healthcare and biomedical businesses.
