#BIOSPAIN2023Interview | "It is good news that the CNMV has laid the foundations to measure and define sustainability and impact criteria for funds"

In September 2022, the venture capital manager Asabys announced the launch of a new fund: Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments II (SAHII 2), with the aim of continuing to invest in technological innovation in healthcare and consolidating its position as a leading private equity firm in this field in Southern Europe.

SAHII 2 plans to invest in projects based in Europe, with Spain as its main focus, whether they are in the early stages of creation, development, or already in the market, as long as they have disruptive technology and solid scientific evidence.

As part of the celebration of the upcoming BIOSPAIN 2023 edition, an international reference event in the biotechnological sector that will take place in Barcelona from September 26th to 28th, we talked to Clara Campàs, director and co-founder of Asabys, Gold Sponsor of BIOSPAIN 2023, to learn more details about this new fund.

AseBio: Asabys was founded in 2018 with the mission of investing in health innovation in broad terms, a sector that currently presents multiple opportunities due to technological convergence. You have just launched a new fund. What are its objectives?

Clara Campàs: Asabys' Fund II is born with the aim of being a successor fund to continue investing in new disruptive opportunities with strong and globally competitive science to improve the lives of patients and the way they are managed.

We continue to invest in medical technology and the 'biotech' and biopharmaceutical sectors, in their entirety, with a therapeutic focus and beyond that, we will keep investing in Europe, with a special focus on Spain, where we have very strong science and where we would like to continue building companies from scratch when necessary.

AseBio: What is the target size of the new fund?

Clara Campàs: The target size of this Asabys Fund II is 150 million euros, with a maximum of 200 million euros. However, just as we did with the first fund, we would like to reach that maximum, so we will strive to reach around 180-200 million euros to have even more resources for these investments.

AseBio: What are the main differences between these two funds?

Clara Campàs: The main differences of this fund compared to the first Asabys fund lie in expanding the scope of our investment, allowing possibilities to invest outside of Europe, although our focus will still remain on Europe. Additionally, we are diversifying the types of technologies we invest in. One example is that we will go beyond purely therapeutic areas, as demonstrated by DeepUll, the first investment of this Fund II, a company with disruptive technology for sepsis diagnosis.

AseBio: How is the team structured?

Clara Campàs: Asabys Fund II starts with some changes in the team. First of all, we have promoted partners who led successful investments in Fund I, and they will continue to do so in Fund II with their partner positions. Furthermore, we have hired three more people to strengthen the team in all aspects and also to provide support to our portfolio companies.

We like to work closely with entrepreneurs, scientific founders, and also co-investors with whom we invest in these companies.

AseBio: Article 8 of the Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) establishes methods to assess the suitability of a fund for clients with sustainability preferences. What is the reason behind this change?

Clara Campàs: It is good news that the CNMV has laid the groundwork for measuring and defining sustainability and impact criteria for funds. Asabys Fund II is born as an Article 8 fund for several reasons. Firstly, we invest in the healthcare sector, and our investments aim to improve people's health and lives, so there is already a significant component of social impact.

Moreover, we were founded as a diverse firm in terms of gender and other aspects, and since the beginning, we like to measure metrics that go beyond financial ones, such as job creation, public-private collaborations, long-term sustainability of these jobs, ensuring they are of high quality, and more.

Indeed, our investors increasingly demand that, beyond financial metrics, which are necessary to provide returns, we also measure the social impact that our investments generate.

AseBio: What developments have you observed in the industry in recent years?

Clara Campàs: When we were founded in 2018, the convergence between medical technology and the biopharmaceutical sector was just emerging, and we saw some indications that this would be the case. Now, after five years, it is no longer a hypothesis; it is a reality. We can clearly see how computational science is entering drug discovery, how artificial intelligence and other types of digital technology are entering medical technology hardware and other aspects of drug development and applications.

Both the pharmaceutical industry and payers are keen on continuing to drive this convergence to maximize resources and investments and make healthcare more sustainable.

AseBio: Why did you choose Pier07 to open your new offices?

Clara Campàs: We made an office change for three reasons. Firstly, the team needed more space, and with this move, we wanted to find a particularly emblematic office. Secondly, the entire Via Gaetana axis in the city of Barcelona and the area around the port are emerging as a strategic hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, and we want to be part of that incipient ecosystem that is forming now.

Thirdly, Pier07, the building where we are now located and managed by Tech Barcelona, like Pier01, aims to be an ecosystem within the ecosystem. Pier07 is dedicated to the healthcare sector, aligning with Asabys' concept of health in the broadest sense, where we want consultancies, entrepreneurs, corporates, and investors to converge. This is what is happening around our new office.