BioStar Capital

Proper guidance, necessary resources, business acumen, and clinical expertise are essential to take transformational medical technology innovations forward to resolve the unmet needs in the industry.

A leading venture capital firm, BioStar Capital is best known for having the right mix of these elements to help medtech companies bring their revolutionary devices into the market. Home to world-renowned clinicians, medical thought leaders, industry experts, and experienced healthcare investors, it excels at identifying promising medical devices and robotics in cardiovascular and orthopedic medicine as well as other niches.

“We are proficient in marshaling a rare combination of domain expertise, industry connections, and access to medical facilities as well as innovators to produce exceptional outcomes for patients and rewarding returns for investors,” says Dr. Alan Davis, a BioStar Capital Managing Director.

BioStar’s panel of physician investors, many of which participate in the General Partner of the fund, has shaped the innovation and commercialization journey of many medtech companies. Take, for instance, Corindus Vascular Robotics, a medtech company that was on a perpetual search to identify the right niche for its product. Corindus CEO Mark Toland worked closely with Dr. Louis A. Cannon, Founder and Senior Managing Director of BioStar and a member of the Board of Directors at Corindus, and physician members of the Corindus Scientific Advisory Board, to pivot the company towards telerobotics, where they could offer devices for remote stroke and heart attack therapy. The new direction and necessary resources transformed Corindus into a billion-dollar acquisition by Siemens Healthineers. This expert involvement demonstrates BioStar’s capability in helping medtech companies structure and strategize to meet patient care needs that can be successfully commercialized.

BioStar’s continuous successes owe much to its Medical Venture Partner (MVP) model, a innovative methodology developed to maximize fund performance. Unlike other funds, the BioStar model integrates key opinion leader physicians into the actual General Partner of the fund, thereby leveraging a network of elite medical professionals to provide strategic advisement for portfolio companies while ensuring alignment between industry clinicians and lay investors.

The BioStar team validates each opportunity for clinical significance, originality, the likelihood of market acceptance, comparative advantage, commercial relevance, and potential exit value.

The MVP network of cutting-edge healthcare clinicians and thought leaders brings many critical benefits, including activating research sites, setting up appropriate system evaluations, identifying potential technologies, and providing deep insight into FDA processes. The tried and tested model improves diligence processes, optimizes product development, and seamlessly de-risks deal flows. It enables BioStar to negotiate additional special carve-outs for their clinical domain expertise.

“Biostar has significant relationships with C-suite decision makers in potential strategic acquirers of our portfolio companies. In addition, our historical MVP value-add and trust in the industry allows us to syndicate device company deals,” adds Dr. Davis.

Another case in point is Ellipse Technologies, a privately held medtech company that developed a non-invasively adjustable magnetic platform for treating a broad spectrum of spinal, orthopedic, and deformity conditions. BioStar helped elevate and transfigure its procedural solutions for complex skeletal deformities. The promising technology attracted NuVasive, and led to the acquisition of Ellipse Technologies, marking yet another successful deal in the annals of BioStar’s legacy.

Since its inception, BioStar has kept improving patient care as its overarching mission. It holds a track record of bringing early-stage companies from the US and Israel into the global medtech market. Nearly 70% of realized BioStar investments have had positive exits (100% or greater returns). BioStar Fund IV has a realized Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) of 6x and a Net IRR in excess of 70%.

BioStar Fund V has invested in four portfolio companies to date. One of these, Amplitude Vascular Systems, originated from the University of Michigan’s incubator program, for which BioStar provided seed funding and substantial technical support. Its novel intravascular lithotripsy balloon catheter for peripheral and coronary interventional procedures has cleared first-in-man studies in New Zealand and Australia with flying colors, illustrating BioStar’s ability to identify and help realize the potential of life-changing technologies.

The coming months will witness BioStar leveraging its decades of medtech venture experience and unique combination of investment professionals, renowned clinicians, and healthcare executives to help its portfolio companies achieve a rewarding exit. BioStar is always on the lookout for medtech companies developing transformational innovations with the potential to significantly impact patient care.