Logos Capital

Biotechnology investing treated as a scientific discipline is how this San Francisco partnership describes itself. Its name is the Greek word for logic and discourse, and the firm says that points to a philosophy of seeking empirical truth, with rigorous scientific diligence behind every investment.

Scientific and financial skills together

The partnership combines scientific and financial expertise with clinical trial analytics done in-house. Its team is made up of trained experts in chemistry, engineering, biology and data science, and it says it uses medical, scientific and statistical disciplines to deepen its diligence when identifying investment themes.

How an investment is judged

Success in drug development, the firm says, depends on more than the science, so it looks at the clinical, operational, regulatory and commercial sides too. Its process is built around event tracking, clinical trial underwriting and risk management, within a culture of technical diligence and constant improvement. It assesses an asset from its preclinical data through to its commercial potential in order to decide its intrinsic value, and it applies several layers of risk management so that its reasoning stays in line with the investors who back it. The firm tracks private and public companies across the sector, hunting for first-in-class and best-in-class companies at attractive valuations.

What it looks for

New technologies and treatment approaches are bringing functional cures, wider patient access and longer life expectancy, and the firm screens for clear advances on the current standard of care. Its mission is to generate superior long-term returns while financing innovation that moves that standard forward.

Examples from the portfolio

The site lists companies working in several areas of medicine. They include a developer of curative therapies for liver diseases and viral infections such as chronic hepatitis B, a clinical-stage company working on a checkpoint that cancer cells use to evade the immune system, and a pioneer of inhibitors aimed at autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. Others are a company developing regenerative therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, a private biotech pioneering antibody oligonucleotide conjugates, and a precision oncology company developing small molecule therapies that are not tied to a tumour type.

Logos Capital is a biotechnology-focused investment partnership based in San Francisco. It pairs scientific and financial skills with clinical trial analytics done in-house. The name comes from the Greek word for logic and discourse.

Services

• Biotechnology investing: direct investment in public and private companies in the sector.
• Clinical trial underwriting: analysis of trial data as part of each investment decision.
• Event tracking and risk management: systematic follow-up of company milestones and risks.
• Asset assessment: reviews assets from preclinical data through to commercial potential.

Who it serves

Biotechnology companies working on new therapies. Portfolio companies named on its site include Aligos Therapeutics, ALX Oncology, Annexon Biosciences, Athira Pharma and Avidity Biosciences.

Key facts

• Based in: San Francisco, USA
• Team backgrounds: chemistry, engineering, biology and data science, plus medical, scientific and statistical disciplines