Investment Strategy

Knowledge, Networks and Capital

Our team is comprised of investment professionals and scientific entrepreneurs with a long history of creating value. We are not just investors, we are company and value builders that work in partnership with our Portfolio companies to create superior value. The combination of our knowledge, networks and investment capital gives our portfolio companies an edge in chasing their goals for success.

Our criteria for investment are simple and clear - we seek Early Stage, Innovative, Disruptive technologies, with clear Intellectual Property protection, large and addressable markets, with the potential for significant exit value. We typically (though not exclusively) aim to be a Series A investor and to support the growth of portfolio companies through to exit.

While the agbio/renewable fuels and medical device industries are quite distinct, we believe they share common characteristics in terms of investment payoffs which have earlier exits than Life Sciences/Pharmaceuticals, but still have meaningful intellectual property. Importantly, our team has many years of successfully applied expertise in these industries, and is well-connected in science and business networks that provide both sources of dealflow and co-investors. We also possess a deep understanding of the potential acquirers and strategic investors available to the portfolio company in these industries. Together these factors enable us to mitigate the risks to our investors, and help entrepreneurs grow outstanding new ventures.

Our sector focus: Food, Energy & Health

The agbiotech and agritech industries are technologically diverse and address global problems that extend far beyond Food. The industry is developing technologies that enhance the quantity, quality, health and functionality of outputs from microbes, plants and animals with technology applications in the energy, pharmaceutical and food safety industries. The segments which Finistere Ventures has specific interest in include:

1. Increased Agricultural Productivity – increasing the production of food and food related products; using genomics to produce crops or livestock with unique traits and capabilities, animal and plant health, disease resistance and pest control with the end goal of increasing agricultural productivity. As global demand for food increases due to growing world population, resource constraints, and land limitations, increased agricultural productivity through genetics becomes the only solution. An excellent source of further information can be found at www.agbioforum.org
    
2. Green Energy – Green energy takes multiple forms that include liquid transportation fuel generated from plant biomass and waste streams such as ethanol or biodiesel and electrical power generated from sustainable sources including co-generation from biomass enabled by crop by-products. As the costs of traditional materials (petroleum based plastics, fossil fuels, etc.) that have powered the 20th century increase, there is a growing demand for new sources of energy and industrial materials. Furthermore with increasing concern from the twin drivers of Energy Security and Climate Change, there is sustainable and growing demand for alternative means of energy production that can be made locally, are cost effective and environmentally friendly. Given our access to dealflow, and expertise in plant and animal biotechnology, Finistere Ventures is uniquely placed to leverage our expertise in agricultural biotech applications to the Green Energy field. We are already participating in this opportunity through investing in emerging technologies that enhance both the quantity and quality of plant and animal derived materials, which can in turn empower a shift to renewable energy sources and industrial intermediates. A useful overview of trends and players in this sector can be found at www.cleantechnetwork.com and also at www.e2.org
    
3. Plant and Animal Based Pharmaceuticals – aimed towards the expression of components necessary for large molecule drugs including human therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies, produced within plant or animal-based systems. In order to address the long term imbalance between supply and demand of large molecule drugs, most companies are turning towards transgenic plant technologies as a possible alternative to current microbial and animal systems. Advances in genetic engineering now make it possible to use crops such as corn and tobacco as drug factories. Industry estimates for unit costs of therapeutic production with animal cell bioreactors range from as low as $106/g to $650/g of antibody, whereas the cost of producing the same amount of therapeutics from plants is estimated to be four to five times lower.
    
4. Agriculture Enhancing Technologies (so-called “agritech”) – tools, software and mechanical devices that improve on-farm productivity and enhance value through technologies such as traceability and predictive modeling for food product integrity, reproduction of livestock or crop yield optimization to name but a few examples. In an industry of fine margins, investments into technology that ensure product quality and consistency on a supply chain filled with breaks are essential. Consumer demand for quality assurance of food products, especially in the wake of potentially global epidemics from BSE or Mad Cow Disease, Avian Flu, etc., is creating vast opportunities for companies with technologies capable of more efficient processing, traceability, and maintaining product integrity. We see this segment as offering considerable synergy with our focus in agbiotech for Food and Fuels.

Medical Device Investments

Finistere Ventures believes Early Stage Investing in the $400 B Medical Devices industry will continue to be a significant growth opportunity for venture investing, due to increasing demand for less invasive and more efficacious treatment being driven by sound demographic factors.

To date, Finistere Ventures has focused on companies in the cardiology and drug delivery systems markets. We are also expanding our scope of interest to include products in the orthopaedics field.

We believe the Healthcare sector in general, and Medical Devices in particular, will continue to offer returns which reward venture investment models. Early stage medical devices companies offer opportunities often over looked by larger funds, and Finistere will continue to focus on this area with a business and investment model that is well suited to helping these businesses realize their potential. More information on trends and players in the Medical device industry can be found at www.devicelink.com