Opportunity
We need more cutting-edge medical breakthroughs to produce medical devices and treatments that can improve health outcomes for everyone.
Solution
Brandon Capital has the funds, experience and expertise to support life science companies from proof-of-concept through to commercialisation.
As New Zealand's deep tech ecosystem continues to evolve, Brandon Capital has emerged as a key player in nurturing innovative local startups setting out to change the world.
The global venture capital firm has raised over $1 billion so far through six funds, investing in local innovations TamoRx and Amaroq Therapeutics, two companies targeting novel cancer treatments which have collectively raised over $30 million between them.
"Brandon Capital's approach to running a deep tech incubator is characterised by a focus on nurturing high quality, science-driven opportunities with commercial potential,” says Duncan Mackintosh, Brandon Capital’s Senior Investment Manager, New Zealand.
"We love good science. We love novel biology. The more generated in New Zealand, the more chance we've got of matching it with an unmet disease need and creating new therapies that can make a difference to people's lives," he says.
Brandon Capital partnered with Callaghan Innovation in the Deep Tech Incubator Programme in 2019 with participating companies benefitting from the $750,000 repayable grant offered through the scheme.
The incubator takes a hands-on approach, says Mackintosh, working closely with researchers and academic founders to build out business cases for their innovations. That crucial commercial guidance is complemented by Brandon's connections with more than 55 research organisations across Australasia, and its international networks allowing the incubator to leverage existing infrastructure and expertise to support its early-stage participants.
Mackintosh says the Deep Tech Incubator Programme has bolstered efforts to gain momentum in life sciences, an area that is both challenging technically, and from a regulatory point of view.
"The appetite and interest from mid-career researchers in the commercialisation pathway has really grown over the last 15 - 20 years. There's a much greater interest in and the importance of impact by our startups," he says.
One area of opportunity is to play to New Zealand’s strengths in animal health, says Mackintosh, who has a background in veterinary science.
"Animal health uses much of the same capability in pharmaceutical manufacturing and biological science. But the capital requirements to get a product to market can be closer to $10 million rather a billion dollars, which some suggest is what many drugs developed for humans cost.”
Despite Brandon’s funds, a key challenge remains the capital required to progress a candidate along the drug development lifecycle to commercialisation.
"The funding that New Zealand and Australian companies need to be able to compete globally, is significant, with current estimates suggesting it takes one billion dollars to bring a drug to market” says Mackintosh.
“Although we're careful and efficient in New Zealand, it is a long, expensive journey."
In a country like ours where everything is spread out and it's hard to get scale in a particular area, it takes time and patience. That's where having early access to grant funding really helps.
- Duncan Mackintosh Brandon Capital
Read more from the Unleashing innovation: A decade of Deep Tech report.
