Skyline Ventures

edit

Skyline Ventures, formed in 1997, is a nationally-known venture capital firm that specializes in investing in outstanding product-focused healthcare companies. Their areas of expertise include small molecule and protein therapeutics; medical devices; diagnostics; and technologies that facilitate drug discovery and life science research.

They all have MD or PhD degrees, and hands-on operating experience in various start-up healthcare companies that later went public. As a result, they are known for the value they offer their companies, as board members and shareholders. They are also known for being fundamental, extremely patient investors.

The days when momentum investing drove the public biotechnology markets are long gone, and they are glad that they are. The public markets demand data, not dreams. As a result, it is data that drives their decision process. In considering a new investment, they focus on whether there is adequate proof of principle to believe that the company’s products will work.

In therapeutics, for example, they look closely at whether the biochemistry, animal models and any human data make it more probable than average that the product will eventually prove to have an important therapeutic benefit. The size of the potential market and the quality of the management or founding team are critical in their evaluation as well.

Skyline Ventures are value and return driven, more than driven by the stage of the investment. Most often they lead or co-lead a company’s first or second institutional venture round, but have previously helped found companies and invested in PIPEs and leveraged buyouts.

In October 2007, they completed raising Skyline V, which has $350 million in committed capital. They have approximately $800 million under management. We target investments of $15-35 million per portfolio company over the life of the company.

Investments

Add Comment

Sources

1. Sirtris closes $13 million financing (boston.bizjournals.com) [edit]