Investment Opportunity
The life science sector is broad and includes such sub-sectors as medical devices, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, genomics, and health information systems. The Firm intends to concentrate its efforts within the sub-sector of medical devices, but may have investments that overlap other of the life science sub-sectors.

Appealing Risk-Reward
Medical devices do not generally carry the cache or star power of the next blockbuster drug to treat the West Nile Virus or the sequencing of the genome. At the same time, the medical device sector has shown itself to be less risky in many ways. Medical device product cycles tend to be shorter, FDA approval can be faster, and incremental improvements to existing technology can have meaningful market impact in contrast to reliance on revolutionary breakthroughs. Furthermore, the device sector has continued to be witness to the creation of new breakthrough markets, such as minimally-invasive surgical tools and implantable cardiac pacemakers.

Active Exit Strategies
One attribute of the medical device market that is favorable to investors has been the outsourcing of research and development by large companies to small, entrepreneurial ventures. Publicly traded firms (consolidators) such as Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, Covidien, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, and St. Jude Medical have all shown a preference to purchase emerging companies that fit into their product portfolio rather than develop similar technologies internally. The IPO market is also a viable exit possibility for the medical device companies.

Growing Markets
The acquisition marketplace for medical devices has stayed active, even during the recent recession and pullback in private equity funding. An aging population and evolving healthcare delivery system continues to offer promise that technologies which save time, money, and lives will be rewarded in the marketplace. The consolidators often have free cash flow from their current products, and have been using this cash to invest in new product acquisitions.