The biotechnology sector is a rapidly growing part of the public and private equity markets. The aging population is one of the overriding themes for the last half of the 20th century and the first half of the 21st century. By the year 2030, nearly 30% of the population in developed countries will be over age sixty—the least healthy population segment. As a result, cancer, respiratory diseases, endocrine disorders, Alzheimer's and other central nervous system disorders should increase in prevalence.

The costs of these uncured diseases are expected to drive annual healthcare expenses in the U.S. to over $2.2 trillion, which represents 15% of the gross national product. Annual expenses on pharmaceuticals could exceed $200B within a decade. For many of these age-related diseases the amount of time required in clinical development has come down by 30-50% over the last decade. These demographic and economic factors and the maturing of the biotechnology industry create a strong foundation for investing in life sciences.

We focus most of our investments in the area of clinical-stage pharmaceutical product companies, with a few high pay off platform technology companies as well.

Pharmaceutical Products
In the pharmaceutical industry the process of discovering, developing and launching a single successful new drug takes an average of $100M, 14 years, and the ability to manage development risk. Biotechnology companies backed by venture capitalists often shorten this timeline.

We focus on investing in companies with clinical-stage compounds. Optimal investment opportunities will have some proof of efficacy in humans prior to our investment. Many of these investments will be spinoffs of existing products from biopharmaceutical companies or involve products that have been developed through grants sponsored by the government.

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