PharmaTelevision - Uniseed Management: Investing in Australia

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Video title: Uniseed Management: Investing in Australia

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In this exclusive interview, Fintan Walton talks to Peter Devine, CEO of Uniseed Management, about the origins of the business. He discusses how it began as a US$20 M fund, founded by the Universities of Queensland and Melbourne, to bridge the gap between the Universities’ research and the financial market. He describes how the company has evolved through investment commitment from Westscheme (Western Australia's largest non-government superannuation fund) and the University of New South Wales, along with further investment from the founding Universities. Dr Devine also talks about the criteria used by the company when considering an investment opportunity, as well as discussing a few specific examples of investments made.

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Origins of Uniseed Management.

Fintan Walton:

Hello and welcome to PharmaVentures Business Review here in Brisbane, Australia. On this show I have Peter Devine the CEO of Uniseed Management, welcome to the show Peter.

Peter Devine:

Thank you.

Fintan Walton:

Peter, Uniseed Management is a firm that was founded back in 2000.

Peter Devine:

That's correct

Fintan Walton:

And it's specifically the set up to invest in the start ups coming out of the Universities particularly two universities, could you tell us first of all the origins of the business and how was set up and then later I will ask you more about how it has evolved?

Full video transcripts are available with PharmaTelevision Premium Content. Click here to buy a subscription or sign up for a 14 day free trial.

Fintan Walton

Dr Fintan Walton is the Founder and CEO of PharmaVentures. After completing his doctoral research on the genetics of cell proliferation at the University of Michigan(US)and Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland), Dr Walton gained broad commercial experience in biotechnology in management positions at Bass and Celltech plc (1982-1992).

Peter Devine

CEO

Dr Peter Devine joined Uniseed in January 2003 and worked as Regional Director, then as Investment Director, before he was appointed CEO in November 2006. Peter has extensive experience in the biotechnology industry, having held senior R&D, business development and commercialization positions in four Australian biotechnology companies, as well as in Australian universities. Before joining Uniseed, Peter was Vice President of Business Development at Progen Industries. He was Research, Development and Commercialization Manager at Brisbane-based PanBio from 1996 to 2000, and also spent 7 months in Business Development at UniQuest, the commercialization arm of University of Queensland.

PharmaVentures

PharmaVentures is a corporate finance and transactions advisory firm that has served hundreds of clients worldwide in relation to their strategic deal making in the pharmaceutical, life science and healthcare sectors. Our key offerings include: Transactions / deal negotiations; Product / technology valuations; Deal term advice; Due diligence & expert reports; Strategy formulation; Alliance management; and Expert opinion for litigation/arbitration cases. PharmaVentures provides the global expertise to ensure our clients generate the highest possible return on investment from all their deal making activities. We have experience of all therapeutic areas and can offer advice on both product and technology commercialisation.

Uniseed Management

Uniseed Management was established as a joint venture pre-seed and seed fund between UQ Holdings/UniQuest and Melbourne Ventures (formerly Melbourne University Private), the commercial arms of the University of Queensland and the University of Melbourne, respectively. The company began operations in September 2000 as a US$20 M early-stage venture fund, and has since grown to over US$60 M.