MedScience Ventures (MSV), an emerging medical technology and life sciences venture capital firm, has made its initial investments in the dermatology, disinfection, medicinal cannabis, cardiovascular and renal sectors.
MSV identifies outperforming early stage companies with disruptive technologies, obtains licensing rights, and makes equity investments in these fast-growing sectors.
“The increasing digital role of emerging medtech and life sciences companies, as well as important global policy changes, are creating new opportunities for this industry,” says Christopher Ford, founder and general partner. “We look forward to identifying disruptive technologies that will produce the next giant step forward in solving urgent unmet clinical needs through cutting edge research that ultimately generates significant returns for our investors and partners.”
The members of MSV’s general partner have invested, operated and exited medtech and life sciences firms throughout North America, Europe and Asia. MSV has made investments in four early stage companies that have demonstrated exceptional performance and will make additional commitments during further rounds of financing. These companies include:
UV Light Care, a developer of ultraviolet light technologies for disinfection, with a focus on vascular access devices and indwelling catheters. Antibiotics are not always effective in destroying bacteria, and catheter infections are a top cause of hospitalisation in the US and overseas. UV Light Care is creating an innovative and low cost hand-held device to answer unmet disinfection needs of the global catheter market, worth more than USD30 billion.
3Derm Systems, a teledermatology triage system enabling users to take clinical-quality 3D images of skin lesions and upload them to dermatologists for review. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer during their lifetime, but the wait time to see a dermatologist can be months or even longer than a year. By remotely triaging patients' skin concerns, dermatologists can give peace of mind to patients with benign conditions, while expediting appointments for patients requiring immediate care.
Yofumo Technologies is a developer of proprietary technology and devices to eliminate bacteria, mould and other agents in cannabis products. Growers, dispensaries and delivery services had no effective method to sanitise cannabis and its byproducts until now. 2016 saw medicinal and recreational cannabis sales reach USD6.7 billion in the US, according to Fortune Magazine. Regulated cannabis products are legal in 28 states, including California and Massachusetts, as well as in Washington, DC.
Bret Siarkowski, MVS founder and general partner, says: “We are thrilled to launch a pioneering venture firm focused on medtech and life sciences, which we believe will generate superior risk adjusted returns and a consistent yield overtime. MSV’s Managing Partners’ global experience and track record in the sector will enable our portfolio companies to accelerate the development and commercialisation of their technologies and products to generate shareholder value.”
