A market driven investment strategy:

Sunstone Life Science Ventures’ invests in early-stage Life Science companies in the therapeutic, medical technology and diagnostics fields. Our geographical scope is Europe with particular emphasis on the Nordic countries, Germany and Switzerland.

Our point of entry differs depending on the type of Life Science opportunity. In the therapeutic field, we invest when drug candidates are in the pre-clinical or clinical phase I.  In the areas of medical technology and diagnostics, we tend to invest in companies just before the pivotal clinical trials required to support the intended use and marketing claims.

Sunstone Life Science Ventures investment strategy has a strong industry focus vis-à-vis potential buyers of our portfolio companies. Since we believe that most exits in the Life Science sector will continue to take place in the M&A space, we prefer business models suitable for this exit route. To appear on potential acquirers’ radar screens, we invest in opportunities that have the potential of becoming either a threat or a complement to existing products on the market. We look out for opportunities which target unmet medical needs in commercially attractive markets, and we seek products which, once approved, are likely to receive attractive reimbursement and pricing structures. We have a preference for companies targeting niche markets. In the therapeutic area, opportunities aimed at specialty pharma and orphan drug indications are especially interesting, whereas we consider opportunities aimed at widespread diseases already addressed by established medical treatment regimes less interesting.

We believe that the single most important factor when developing a successful company is the quality of the management team. This is not the same as saying that we only invest in savvy entrepreneurs with a strong track record. But less experienced management teams should be open to change if needed to accelerate the company.

We are committed to working hands-on with our portfolio companies to build value. In most cases, Sunstone is represented on the board of directors and works closely with the management team and the board members to develop the company. Another unique offering aimed at building the value of our portfolio companies is Sunstone’s Business Development Board, established in 2007 and consisting of leading Life Science executives from Europe, the US, and Japan.

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