Debt Financing and the Importance of IP
December 2007
Debt Financing and the Importance of IP
Interview with Marcus O’Neill
Debt Financing and the Importance of IP
In this exclusive interview, Fintan Walton talks to Marcus O’Neill, VP Life Science Finance at GE Healthcare Financial Services. The topic of this week’s discussion is debt financing, or ‘venture debt’, as it is also known. Marcus talks through the structure of this type of lending, particularly in the case of early-stage companies. He emphasises the need for companies to have backing from good quality venture capital funding, long-term future value and assigned IP, and draws on Astex Therapeutics and Arrow Therapeutics as examples of high-profile recipients of debt financing.
About Marcus O'Neill
After qualifying with an MBA from Kingston University, Marcus joined GE from Citigroup, where he worked within Business Development for Citigroup’s vendor leasing business. He holds an Honours degree in Business Studies from Manchester Metropolitan University, a postgraduate diploma in Marketing and a Finance House Diploma. At GE, Marcus specialises in providing venture debt finance to the biotechnology and medical technology sectors across Europe.
About GE Healthcare Financial Services
GE Healthcare Financial Services focuses exclusively on the special needs of the healthcare industry, bringing a comprehensive collection of business and financial resources to deliver valued solutions for companies engaged in the business of healthcare. It was launched in 2002 and has over 35,000 customers.
