Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures focuses on promising seed- and early-stage investment opportunities across a broad spectrum of the healthcare industry.

We license technology from leading universities and research institutions and, in partnership with renowned researchers, industry experts and a hand-picked team of entrepreneurs and healthcare experts, develop and commercialize the technology, creating market-leading companies.

translating science into success

Opportunities abound in healthcare. Amazing scientific discoveries are helping to prolong and improve the quality of peoples’ lives. In the past century, more advances in medical science have occurred than in all of human history.

changing the world for the better

It was only 100 years ago that smallpox was decimating populations. Now it’s effectively eliminated. Some 50 years ago, the image of a child in an iron lung gripped every worried parent’s mind. Jonas Salk’s miracle polio vaccine has made that a distant memory. Discoveries of penicillin and insulin, Watson and Crick’s pioneering work with DNA, dramatic deceases in heart disease and stroke mortality rates, increased cancer survival rates, organ transplantation, new treatments for mental illness, are but a few other examples of modern medical miracles.

universities at the center of it all

Much of the credit goes to some 2,000 U.S. universities that will spend upwards of $50 billion this year alone to conduct groundbreaking research in every facet of medical science. Advancements in medical science have also had a critical impact on the overall economy. Healthcare is the nation’s largest employer, providing over 13 million jobs and generating over $1.5 trillion in revenue.

wealth of opportunities

In spite of all the remarkable progress being made in medicine, significant needs remain for improving the diagnosis and treatment of disease and the delivery of healthcare services. With an aging U.S. population and the development of improved healthcare systems worldwide the healthcare industry will continue to experience explosive growth.

a mandate to work with organizations like carrot capital

In 1980, to encourage continued discovery, the government passed the “Bayh-Dole” Act, which gave universities conducting federally funded research ownership to the intellectual property developed under this arrangement. It had a profound effect. The number of patents generated by universities has grown from 250 to over 2,000 annually. The Act also mandated that universities actively seek ways to commercialize this technology for the public good. Most importantly, this law directed these institutions to give licensing preferences to small businesses.

where we come in

Universities and research institutions by their very nature are chiefly focused on basic research and discovery. Most large venture capital funds have historically favored later-stage investments, closer to commercialization, where less nurturing is required and where they can deploy larger amounts of capital. Established healthcare companies also tend to shy away from licensing technology early, preferring to wait until it’s further refined, usually once clinical trials and the regulatory process are well underway.

bridging the financing gap

This leaves a “financing gap” during this translational period from science to enterprise, creating a significant opportunity for Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures.

where we add value

Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures’ management team works closely with dozens of universities and research institutions across the U.S. to identify, evaluate and negotiate license opportunities. Once the technology is licensed, we capitalize the business, create high-caliber management teams, accelerate any necessary product development and clinical work, expand the intellectual property portfolio and product pipeline, oversee the regulatory process, and build sales and distribution channels -- all with the objective of creating world class healthcare companies.