Financing Opportunities for Early Stage Innovations Stephan Christgau, Novo Seeds, Novo A/S
Agenda Introduction to Novo Seeds Pre-Seed and Seed program What is Novo Seeds looking for The Novo Seeds portfolio How we work with Companies The Novo Seeds team
Novo Seeds: Bridging the gap between research and commercialization Launched in September 2007 Operates two programs: Pre-seed program managed on behalf of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Seed program, with investments for financial return Provide financial and operational support to commercialize Scandinavian Life Science projects 31 pre-seed grants and 15 seed investments consummated since launch 5 years ago.
The difference between our programs Pre-Seed Grants Seed Investments Grant administered on behalf of Novo Nordisk Fonden Granted to advance research with commercial potential No equity or other claims Grants between 0.2 to 2 MDKK per project Equity investments on behalf of Novo A/S Investments made to advance the company s commercial potential Commercial terms Investments up to 30 MDKK per company
07 Novo Seeds Focus Invest broadly in Life science Drug development projects Medical Devices Diagnostics Industrial Biotech Active investor Lead or co-lead >20% Equity Works with team to support company No strategic or operational links to Novo Nordisk or Novozymes
8 Novo Seeds Deal Flow Novo Seeds receives approximately 150 project-proposals or company presentations Most projects is received by mail. We do some scouting for interesting technology Most projects have not prepared comprehensive business plans Distribution of deal-flow: 50 60% from Denmark. Remainder from the rest of Scandinavia 40 % pre-seed and 60 % seed 4 5 new pre-seed grants 3 4 new seed investments
Main Factors Evaluated by Novo Seeds The technology Level of innovation Stage of research and development needed Reliability of testing to be done (proof-of-concept, etc) The team Expertise, past experiences and motivation The market Need for the product/therapy, superiority over existing solutions Size and stability, potential for new markets Development time and cost, regulatory issues Competing products/solutions The commercial protection IP and other barriers to competition
Typical Novo Seeds Project Evaluation Process Novo Seeds receives proposal E-mail/ conferences / meetings (info@novoseeds.dk) Novo Seeds evaluates main factors, Weigh risk and reward levels Novo Seeds group decisions, Feedback on proposal Questions, dialogue, meetings Due diligence phase, possible Pre-seed grant or Seed investment
What to Expect from Novo Seeds Response time varies greatly (!). OK to follow up Very high competition about the our time and money we see an increasing deal-flow All Novo Seeds team members have strong scientific background so be prepared. We value the scientific component of new projects highly (while of course recognizing that good science alone is not enough) We will ask to competitors and market The decision process may be long We have a strong preference to syndicate deals
Novo Seed Company Portfolio 2008 2009 2010 2011 Acession 2012
Companies developed in the Novo Seeds Value Chain Pre-seed Grant Pre-seed grant Pre-seed grant Pre-seed grant Pre-seed grant Seed Investment Seed investment East Jutland Innovation Seed investment Seed investment East Jutland Innovation Seed investment Includes Merck Serono Ventures Sunstone and Seed Capital Venture Investment EUR 14M Series A round With participation of Novo ventures, Aescap and Sunstone
14 How to make the startup company survive Be flexible and adaptable to external and internal changes Pursue opportunities opportunistically Maintain a good dialogue with investors and other stakeholders Cash is king. Spend money wisely Pursue only value creating opportunities
15 Development after Financing is Obtained work Closing work Keep investors informed Meet milestones and deadlines Fundraising Development Stay focused Stay aware of your competitors Build and expand your network work Milestones work Keep sense of urgency Stay optimistic but be realistic
The Novo Seeds Team Bobby Soni bygs@novo.dk Novo Seeds Stephan Christgau scga@novo.dk Novo Seeds Søren Møller smq@novo.dk Novo Seeds Henrijette Richter heri@novo.dk Novo Seeds Nanna Lüneborg nllb@novo.dk Novo Seeds Berit Mikkelsen bmkk@novo.dk Novo Seeds Søren Carlsen Managing Partner Novo A/S Novo Ventures Novo Seeds