French investment firm Seventure said it is actively looking to invest in early-stage UK biotech companies, equating biotechnology to early investment in personal computers.

Seventure said it plans to make two investments per year in the EUR 3-5M ($4-6.7M USD) range and hopes to announce its first investment in the next six weeks. Seventure also says it may not necessarily stick with pure biotech plays, but go more towards diversified life sciences sectors such as diagnostics and medical devices because of their decreased capital requirements.

Iain Wilcock, an advisor for the Seventure’s life sciences division said this:

“In the same way that I suppose the PC has leaped into all aspects of life (after it) started out as an academic tool … you can see that in biotech we are at the beginning of that curve. Now is the right time to invest (in biotech) because there’s not a lot of competition; there are more opportunities than there is money, and this is the way you rebuild your track record if you’re smart. It’s a counter cyclical business.”

Some of Seventure’s portfolio companies include Bioalliance Pharma (currently in a nasty legal battle with SpePharm), Noxxon Pharma and Santaris Pharma.

Image from listverse

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