Posted on: Monday, December 13, 2004
Biotech firms draw investor
Advertiser Staff
A Southern California-based venture capital firm that manages more than $3 billion in investments says it will soon begin investing in Hawai'i biotechnology companies, a move that will provide a boost to the fledgling industry in the Islands.
Advertiser library photo Participation by Hawai'i investors in one of Ventana's U.S. technology funds helped "open the door" for Ventana to invest in Hawai'i, Parks said.
State-sponsored Hawaii Strategic Development Corp. was one of those investors, committing $500,000 to Ventana's Technology Gateway Partnership II LP fund, said John Chock, HSDC president.
Since its inception in 1990, HSDC has invested nearly $16 million in nine limited partnerships that provide equity and debt financing to Hawai'i companies, from startups to firms in advanced stages of business development.
Chock said Ventana's decision to invest in Hawai'i was "significant" and will provide a "new infusion of capital into the marketplace."
Ventana has been doing due diligence on a number of Hawai'i biotechnology companies for more than a year and will begin making investments in the "very near future," Parks said. He said Ventana was looking at a "variety of different firms" in which to invest, but he wouldn't comment on specific companies or how much would be invested.
"Hawai'i's life science community is exciting," with emerging biotechnology companies with strong federal funding that fuels research and development, Parks said. "This is a place we want to be."
The National Institutes of Health last week awarded a $15.5 million grant to Hawaii Biotech Inc., to fund pre-clinical development of its West Nile and dengue vaccines.
Parks said he was impressed by the commitment to biotechnology research by the state.
"Biotechnology in California grew by default; there was no public-sector effort. In Hawai'i, there is a shared vision and the private-sector capital structure to make it happen," he said.
Ventana invests in 75 companies — 33 in high-tech, and 42 in biotechnology and life sciences. Ventana's Hawai'i operations are headed by Richard Sherman, a longtime associate of Parks' and a Ventana partner.
Sherman, a Kaua'i resident, has more than 30 years of experience as a venture capitalist, licensing executive, attorney and consultant in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
"We believe Hawai'i has many of the same elements that San Diego had a decade ago," said Elliot Parks, managing director of life sciences at Ventana Capital Management LLC, based in Irvine, Calif. "This accelerated pace has been striking, and this is a great time to participate."
The National Institutes of Health last week awarded a $15.5 million grant to Hawaii Biotech Inc., to fund pre-clinical development of its West Nile and dengue vaccines.
