SV is an international healthcare-only fund with $1.8 billion under management in four healthcare funds. Half of that money is invested into therapeutics in biotech, a quarter in medical devices and the remainder in healthcare services. Regionally, SV does 85 percent of its work in the U.S. and 15 percent in Europe. "We like to finance proof of concept in the clinic," says Dr. Lutz Giebel, a Managing Partner with SV. Giebel currently serves the boards of Alba, Allocure, Avera, Logical Therapeutics, Lux Biosciences, Neurotech, and Panoptica. "We're looking for companies that are close to filing an IND, in Phase I or Phase II, and then we fund them through proof of concept, which typically means Phase II trials." Giebel says the Phase II stage of drug development present the best opportunity for value creation. Giebel views Big Pharma companies, all of which are hunting for promising pipeline candidates, as SV's end customers. Roughly 90 percent of the firm's portfolio company exits are through acquisitions and other deals. "We don't invest in products that are incremental improvements, only true unmet needs," he explains." If you come up with another molecule for an unmet need, you're going to get the profit." One notable SV alum is Rinat Neuroscience, which was snapped up by Pfizer in 2007. And SV doesn't just fund start-ups; it's also in the business of creating companies. "We have a large network of Venture partners, experience entrepreneurs and executives that spend time with our fund. They build companies in scratch," explains Giebel. These partners will scour the market for specific, attractive products, acquire what they need and build companies around the technology using SV's expertise.