EUVC E666 | Charles Dunn & Ruth McKernan, SV Health Investors: Exit of the Year Winners and Biotech Company Builders
Andreas Munk Holm opens the episode by introducing Charles Dunn, Principal at SV Health Investors, and Ruth McKernan, CBE and Operating Partner at SV Health, former CEO of Innovate UK. SV Health is a transatlantic healthcare specialist with a focus on company creation and full-spectrum biotech investing. Notable wins include the exit of SV-created EyeBio to Merck & Co for up to $3bn including $1.3bn upfront, and the recent launch of SV’s newest company creation Driag Therapeutics, a UK-based neuropsychiatry company, which recently announced its $140m Series A financing.
SV Health’s approach blends early-stage company creation with later-stage venture investment. Charles emphasizes that this structure allows:
Diversified risk for LPs: Early-stage opportunities carry higher risk but higher upside; later-stage investments provide more stability.
Learning across stages: Experience in late-stage investing informs early-stage decision-making, and vice versa.
Flexible company formation: SV Health creates companies across different development stages, sometimes even after Phase 1 data exists, as with Draig Therapeutics.