Key Points
This version of the article first appeared on CNBC’s Inside Wealth Newsletter. This is Robert Frank, our weekly guide to Net-Worth Investor and Consumer. Sign up to receive future editions directly in your inbox. For super wealthy investment companies, trading production is intensifying. In June, the family office made 60 direct investments in businesses, ending a decline in trading activity for the third consecutive month, according to data provided by FINTRX to CNBC alone. The June tally is improved over the 47 transactions recorded in May, but according to the Private Wealth Platform, it shows a 40% decline from the previous year. June saw some hot topic deals at Entertainment. The investment company of the founding family of Nintendo purchased a minority stake in Indie Film Studio K2 Pictures for a private amount. Yamauchi No. 10 Family Office is also investing in startup film production funds, a Hollywood-style fundraising strategy rare in Japan. Stateside Blackstone billionaire David Blitzer has participated in a $20 million funding for Ballers, a member club for sports such as Padel and Virtual Golf. Numerous professional athletes also participated in the round, including Andre Agassi, a tennis hall of fame. However, biotechnology and healthcare have proven to be more popular themes, accounting for nine deals by heavy family offices. Narcan ingredient maker Antheia has raised a $56 million Series C with investors, including capital from the family office Athos KG and S-cube. Athos KG principals, billionaire twins Andreas and Thomas Strungmann made their fortunes at generic drug maker Hexal and invested in Covid vaccine maker Biontech. The S-Cube capital is led by billionaire and former sequoia partner Mark Stevens. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s Hillspire has been an investor in Antheia since the $73 million Series B in 2021. Christina Smolke, a scientist-turned-China, co-founded Antheia in 2015. The process of producing hydrocodone from opium poppies can usually take two years between agriculture, harvesting and extraction, Smolke said in an interview with CNBC. Smorke, PhD professor Stanford Chemical Engineering, told Wealth that the office of families who tend to invest in a long investment perspective is suitable for biotechnology investments. “These are complex issues. There’s no easy patch that we’re trying to put on,” she said. “Family offices tend to be patient with investments, which aligns very well with the cycles and timelines needed for biotechnology and bringing new products, new technologies and new transformations to healthcare at the system level.” In late 2024, Antheia launched Thebaine, the first product, a key ingredient in the overdose inverted drug Narcan. Recent funding allows Anteia to expand production from Europe to the US and bring other products to the market. The Menlo Park, California-based company develops more than 70 pharmaceutical ingredients needed for medicines used to treat cancer, bacterial infections, seizures and other conditions. “The core aspect shared throughout all of this is restructuring these essential medical supply chains to ensure drug shortages are a thing of the past and access to globally is more equitable,” she said. For impact-driven family offices, biotech could serve as a familiar frontier, Smolke said. “It can speak very directly to investors,” she said. “I think everyone actually experienced first-hand the challenges of drug shortages, where they go to the supermarket and have cold medicines that are out of stock or can’t get certain antibiotics.”
1 Comment
nqioge