Venture capital fund · 2 deals
Venture firm backing early-stage healthcare companies
Melbourne, VIC
Every published round GBS Ventures took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elastagen Pty Ltd | Series B | Jan 2016 | $13m | Participant | GBS Ventures, Brandon Capital portfolio | |
| Spinifex Pharmaceuticals | Unnamed stage | Jul 2005 | $3.2m | Participant | bionity.com, GBS Ventures (Tue 30 Jun 2015), clinicalleader.com, GBS Ventures (Thu 3 Aug 2006), GBS Ventures (Tue 26 Jul 2005) |
Companies GBS Ventures has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elastagen Pty Ltd | Jan 2016, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Spinifex Pharmaceuticals | Jul 2005 | 1 | 0 |
Investors that coverage says has money in a fund GBS Ventures runs. This is a stake in the fund, not in any company the fund has backed.
Companies GBS Ventures has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal GBS Ventures did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spinifex Pharmaceuticals | Novartis International | Acquisition | 29 Jun 2015 | $200m+ |
| Spinifex Pharmaceuticals | Novartis | Acquisition | 29 Jun 2015 | $700m |
| Elastagen Pty Ltd | Allergan plc | Acquisition | 7 Feb 2018 | $350m |
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Brigitte Smith | Managing Director | GBS Ventures (Mon 2 Nov 2020), GBS Ventures (Mon 3 Aug 2020), GBS Ventures (Fri 28 Sep 2018), GBS Ventures (Tue 30 Jun 2015) |
| Dr Andrew Baker | Partner (former) | GBS Ventures, GBS Ventures team page |
Stories naming GBS Ventures. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
GBS Ventures marks its fourth FDA drug approval as Hatchtech's head lice treatment Xeglyze clears the regulator, recalling earlier wins behind Picato, Synribo and Aridol with Australian biotech firms.
Sydney-based tropoelastin biotech Elastagen agreed to an Allergan takeover offering US$95 million upfront plus contingent payments; the GBS Ventures-backed company previously drew MDF and federal grant funding.
Also GBS Ventures·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
ASX-listed breast reconstruction device maker AirXpanders secured commitments for a 20 million dollar placement at 76 cents per CDI, and appointed Scott Murcray CFO/COO ahead of its planned US launch.
Sydney clinical-stage medical company Elastagen closed a A$13 million Series B, adding KIP, AMOREPACIFIC Ventures and Wellcome Trust to its existing backers; KIP's Sangwoo Lee joined the board.
AirXpanders' needle-free breast-reconstruction device is showcased at a major American plastic surgery conference, with trial results presented; the ASX-listed company awaits a US regulatory decision.
Also GBS Ventures·GBS Ventures
Australian diabetes biotech Verva sold all its IP to two biotechs and entered liquidation with PKF Australia appointed; background recalls early Adipogen backing from Uniseed, QIC BioVentures and GBS Ventures.
GBS Ventures reports Novartis has agreed to acquire chronic-pain drug developer Spinifex Pharmaceuticals for US$200 million upfront plus milestones, recalling the company's 2005, 2008 and 2014 venture rounds and its Australian investors.
Also GBS Ventures·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·Brandon Capital portfolio·Brandon BioCatalyst portfolio·novartis.com·clinicalleader.com·Brandon Capital portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·anthillonline.com·@AuManufacturing·materresearch.org.au·Business News Australia
Pain-drug developer Spinifex Pharmaceuticals hires Dr Ronald Marcus as chief medical officer; CEO Tom McCarthy cites a recent $45 million raise backing further phase 2 trials of EMA401.
Hatchtech announced FDA sign-off on its DeOvo Phase 3 trials and two extra patents; its profile names GBS Venture Partners among the company's investors.
Melbourne drug developer Hatchtech raised A$12.6 million, with OneVentures Innovation Fund leading, to advance its head lice treatment toward Phase III trials; board changes brought in Richard Treagus and Hugh Alsop.
Australian medtech Endoluminal Sciences has licensed its technology for sealing leaks around artificial heart valves to Swiss valve maker Symetis for use in transcatheter valve products; backers of both companies are named.
A bare stub on GBS Ventures' site dated December 2011, pointing readers to a downloadable ASX announcement about Sunshine Hearts; the page itself gives no details of the announcement's contents.
Sydney medical device company Elastagen completed a first-in-human study of its synthetic elastin skin products and plans two further trials, targeting a European launch in early 2013.
A short GBS Ventures news post from May 2011 pointing readers to an attached CEO update document about Sunshine Heart; the page itself gives no details.
Sunshine Heart has locked in A$3.7 million from US institutional investors via Summer Street, with a larger rights issue of up to A$11 million still planned pending shareholder backing at an October meeting.
Also GBS Ventures
AIMEDICS announced $2.04 million in fresh backing from GBS Venture Partners' government-supported IIFF vehicle and a founding backer, to commercialise its HypoMon device that monitors low blood glucose overnight in people with diabetes.
Opal Therapeutics partners with Massachusetts General Hospital on an HIV immunotherapy collaboration as human trials begin in London; the biotech counts Alloy Ventures, Alta Partners and GBS Ventures among its backers.
Leo Pharma has agreed a US$287.5m cash takeover of Peplin, the ASX-listed skin-disease drug developer in GBS Ventures' portfolio; GBS recalls leading its late-2008 round alongside two American venture backers.
GBS Ventures' letter to Arana Therapeutics shareholders covers Cephalon's proposed cash takeover, an attached dividend, the board's recommendation to accept, and Cephalon's pre-bid purchase of a 19.8% stake.
Sunshine Heart says the US regulator has conditionally cleared its first American trial of the C-Pulse heart assist device, with about twenty patients to enrol across six US hospitals from late 2008.
Biotech Proacta's release: its Phase I cancer-drug trial is underway, and Alta Partners' new funding tops the Series A up to $12M alongside lead backer GBS Ventures; Alta's David Mack joins the board.
A 2005 GBS Ventures news post records Portland Orthopaedics' stock market debut at a 12% premium, with detail left to an attached document rather than given on the page itself.
Also GBS Ventures
GBS Ventures' news page carries a brief entry linking to a downloadable Sunshine Heart ASX announcement, without describing what the announcement contains.