GSK Puts Up (Another) Venture Fund
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
The name of GlaxoSmithKline's just-launched, $500 million venture fund--GSK Venture Fund--lacks pizzazz, but might do more for the pharma firm on a broader scale than its precursor, SR One. The new effort, which has yet to be formally announced, takes a more conventional--and maybe more assertive--VC approach to nailing down rights and/or starting product- and technology-focused companies.
You may also be interested in...
Corporate Venture Takes Center Stage
Corporate venture groups are poised to become one of the main sources of funding for early-stage biotechs thanks to the current economic climate. Even if corporate venture groups invest at the same levels as previous years, some industry veterans believe they could play a role in up to half of the early-stage financings this year, largely because the traditional sources of financing--the public market and venture capital groups flush with cash--have disappeared. And the new vigor of corporate venture offers big benefits to both small biotechs and Big Pharma.
Corporate Venture Takes Center Stage
Corporate venture groups are poised to become one of the main sources of funding for early-stage biotechs thanks to the current economic climate. Even if corporate venture groups invest at the same levels as previous years, some industry veterans believe they could play a role in up to half of the early-stage financings this year, largely because the traditional sources of financing--the public market and venture capital groups flush with cash--have disappeared. And the new vigor of corporate venture offers big benefits to both small biotechs and Big Pharma.
GSK Sets Up $500 Million Venture Fund
SR One will become part of new effort that reports to CEO.