The New Zealand Venture Investment Fund has signed a partnership agreement with Pacific Channel, a local affiliate of US life sciences firm The Channel Group.
Under the agreement, Pacific Channel and the NZVIF will invest $8 million-$12 million in new biotech ventures.
In a statement announcing the partnership, NZVIF chief executive Franceska Banga says “We see significant investment opportunities in the life sciences industries in New Zealand. With this partnership, we hope to see greater investment biotechnology innovations which have the potential to advance to the commercial stage in global markets.”
Pacific Channel director Brent Ogilvie, a former New Zealand Trade commissioner to New York, says “There is a lack of seed funding available to life sciences start-ups and early-stage companies, particularly in the bio-medical field.
“Coupled with the considerable opportunities in international markets for life sciences products, we see a unique opportunity for investment.”
The fund represents a boost for the New Zealand biotech sector, which received a blow last month when Auckland firm ICP Biotechnology went into receivership.