Biopharma, finance vets launch $600m life sciences loan firm

There's a new source of funding for life sciences companies in town, providing credit as an alternative to other financing avenues such as venture capital.

Symbiotic Capital - which starts life with more than $600 million at its disposal - is an affiliate of Bellco Capital, an investment form set up by Arie Belldegrun, a biotech entrepreneur formerly chief executive of Kite Pharma and currently executive chairman of Allogene.

Belldegrun is serving as co-chairman of the new Los Angeles-based company alongside Russell Goldsmith, the former chairman and CEO of City National Bank. Josh Bradley, Bellco's chief investment officer, is another co-founder.

The company describes itself as a first-of-its-kind provider of "credit partnerships" that will provide financing to "compelling life sciences companies to support scientific innovation across biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, tools, synthetic biology, and other healthcare subsectors." It will mainly target companies with projects in later-stage development or already on the market.

It boasts an illustrious roster of industry experts, including ex-Roche chairman and CEO Franz Humer, former Cleveland Clinic head Dr Toby Cosgrove, UCLA scholars Dr Jim Economou and Dr Owen Witte, life sciences venture investors Amy Schulman and Helen Kim, and Joshua Kazam, co-founder and director of Allogene and Kronos Bio.

That highly experienced team is what will differentiate Symbiotic Capital from other sources of credit, which often lack the in-depth understanding of the life sciences sector needed to give them a clear view of the prospects of potential clients.

"Traditional financing institutions have struggled to meet the increasing capital needs for growing healthcare companies due to the complexity of the underlying science and competitive environment," said Goldsmith. "We've assembled a uniquely qualified, multi-disciplinary and experienced team that brings together the best of traditional credit underwriting with deep sector fundamentals and expertise."

The launch comes as traditional investment financing for the life sciences sector has shown signs of improving after a lean post-pandemic couple of years, but Symbiotic Capital reckons credit can be an alternative to the equity demands imposed on companies looking for funding for R&D, capital expenditures, and commercialisation activities.

"As the cost to research, develop, and commercialise innovative therapeutics, devices, tools, and other products has increased substantially throughout the sector, credit has become an increasingly important financing tool for established healthcare enterprises," said Belldegrun of the new venture.

"With Symbiotic Capital, we have designed a science-first credit platform to fuel those endeavours."