Advent Life Sciences

Backing life sciences companies from early stages

Advent Life Sciences is a London-based venture and growth investor that focuses on life sciences businesses in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. Its stated purpose is to turn early scientific research into approved medicines and medical products. The firm says its team has a long record of entrepreneurial and investment success, and that it looks for companies with a first-in-class approach.

Stages and areas of interest

The firm starts and invests in early and mid-stage companies, often at seed or Series A. Its investments concentrate on new drug discovery across every modality, on medical technology, on enabling technologies and on vaccines. The partners describe themselves as entrepreneurs and experienced, pragmatic investors who bring the intellectual capital of their network to support each company.

Alongside capital, the firm works in close alignment with its management teams. It describes a hands-on approach in which the team helps each company realise its vision, with the aim of achieving strong financial returns by bringing innovation to patients.

Track record and portfolio news

According to the firm, companies it has backed since 2006 have brought fifteen innovative medicines and products to approval, and it expects that number to rise as the mid- and late-stage pipelines of its portfolio companies grow. Its site reports recent portfolio developments, including an FDA clearance that lets a multiple sclerosis candidate move into a first-in-human study, and positive topline data from a pivotal trial in an inherited eye disease. The firm presents these developments as part of its own record of backing early science.