Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures is getting into the health care game.
The venture firm announced Tuesday that it has created a new investment team focused specifically on health care. The firm hired Scott Barclay, previously a partner at Data Collective Venture Capital, to lead the group.
Hedge fund firms like Deerfield Management and Renaissance Capital have been raking in returns after investing in health care companies, Institutional Investor has previously reported.
There are major profits to be made in the health care industry, particularly during the pandemic, but Point72 Ventures is positioning this launch as an altruistic one.
“The current health care system is broken, particularly in the United States,” said Matthew Granade, managing partner at Point72 Ventures, in a statement. “We believe that these problems will be solved by technical founders who are dedicated to reimagining how the health care system should function at scale.”
According to a spokesperson for the company, Point72 Ventures plans to invest across the health care space, without specifically focusing on biotech or pharmaceuticals.
Early on, the venture fund will focus on investing in better models of paying for care and improving health care access. Point72 Ventures will specifically look to invest in technology and data-driven products as solutions to these problems, the spokesperson said.
"We follow the patient and the caregiver journey and will invest in massive improvements to that journey and decision making,” the spokesperson said via email.
Barclay — who, according to his LinkedIn profile, started at the firm in August — will build out the investment team with people who have both technical investing expertise and experience in health care investing, according to the announcement.
Barclay’s most recent job as a partner at DCVC involved leading a computational care investment thesis that led to investments in health care companies like Carbon Health, Medical Informatics Corp., and Freenome.
He previously led operational and innovation teams at CVS Health and was chief strategy and product officer at Surescripts. He also worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, the announcement said. Before those roles, Barclay established a capital markets desk in London for Montgomery Securities, which was eventually acquired by Bank of America.
[II Deep Dive: This Red-Hot Sector Is Where the (Private) Money Is]
“We must bring a true entrepreneurial spirit, advanced computation and technology, scientific rigor, and a deep sense of empathy for the patient’s and practitioner’s journey to fix the broken health care system,” Barclay said in a statement.
Point72 Ventures was founded in 2016 with the backing of Point72 founder Steve Cohen. Since then, the firm has invested in 50 companies in the financial services, artificial intelligence, and enterprise technology sector, according to the announcement.
