Strategic Investment Group (SIG)
Purpose
To delineate the governance mechanisms by which equity investments pursued via the Strategic Investment Group (SIG) will be evaluated, endorsed, approved and managed.
Introduction
The SIG is Shire’s corporate venture fund, tasked with identifying and investing in external innovation that may bring new products to Shire’s pipeline and which support Shire’s overall mission to enable people with life-altering conditions to lead better lives. Further to that mission, Shire is focused on delivering novel, cost-effective therapies to patients with symptomatic diseases and significant unmet medical need.
Accordingly, the SIG seeks to invest across a broad range of therapeutic areas of interest including, but not limited to, the following:
– Central Nervous System (CNS) / Neuropsychiatry
– Gastrointestinal
– Orphan genetic diseases
– Allergy
– Hematology
The SIG also pursues investments in “white space” technology – areas outside the traditional bounds of its existing businesses.
Value Proposition
SIG investments are made based upon the premise that value in the form of knowledge will accrue to Shire by making incremental forays into new therapeutic and technological areas. Each SIG invest offers an opportunity for Shire personnel to establish relationships with external management teams, including both in the targeted investment company and concurrently with participating investors. By participating as an equity investor and securing an observational board seat, Shire can ascertain competitive intelligence and awareness of trends and developments in sectors beyond its core business. The investments may also allow Shire access to new product candidates which are aligned or tangential to the current businesses but are characterized as a bit too early stage for the businesses to consider a business development transaction. The SIG embraces the ambiguity and risk of early stage research as expected components of venture investing.
Funding
Shire has committed initial capital funding of $50 million to establish the SIG. Investments will be endorsed on a case-by-case basis, with the typical initial investment being $2-5 million per company per round.
Shire co-invests via the SIG as part of a syndicate, typically a mix of venture capital partners and other corporate strategic investors. The typical investment target is a private company pursuing Series A/B/C financing (Target). The SIG is not expected to lead a financing round, although the opportunity may arise to invest in a company on a gap basis between financings.
Structure
Currently the SIG has two full-time employees, Gwen Melincoff, Senior Vice President, and Brian Piper, Senior Director.
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Did you know...?
We were founded in the UK in 1986 and have built our business through a number of strategic
acquisitions and
licensing transactions.
