Clarkson sets up biotech advisory firm
A NEW corporate finance advisory boutique has been set up to capitalise on the region’s growing presence in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors.
Diagnostic Capital, based in Manchester, has been set up by former Zeus Capital director Alex Clarkson alongside a number of senior experts and investors in the sector.
These include the former chairman of AstraZeneca UK, Chris Brinsmead, Epistem chairman David Evans and serial biotech advisor and investor Kevin Wilson.
Mr Clarkson, who left Zeus Capital in September, said; “I believe there’s a real niche for specialist advice in this market.
“We have an ageing population and an increasing need for healthcare to be delivered in a more cost-effective manner, which is why there has been such a growth in targateted, personalised treatments. In the North West, there have been a lot of companies of this type like DxS and Tepnel Life Sciences which have proved to be hugely successful.”
He said that he believed the skills of Diagnostic’s four directors and advisors provided a useful mix for companies in the sector – Clarkson has raised funds for several biotech firms, Evans has sat on the boards of businesses like DxS, Immmunodiagnostics and Epistem, while Wilson has both invested in and advised several successful businesess in the same space.
“Chris Brinsmead is a former chairman of AstraZeneca, and brings a lot of pharmaceutical industry experience.”
Clarkson said that Diagnostic Capital – which has just obtained FSA registration- would work with existing institutional, private equity and high net worth funders to raise cash on behalf of clients, but would not look to operate funds in its own right.
“We’ll work with companies to match them with investors and give comfort to the investor base.
“This is a really interesting space when you get down to the details but you’ve got to know what you’re talking about.”
