Merlin's critical mass investments

Chris Evans, chairman and founder of Merlin Ventures (London, U.K.), believes the deals validate the seed financing vehicle's strategy and will provide the companies with enough money to see them through the next two years. "What we and the companies do not want to see is the executives being distracted from focusing on creating all the value possible from these businesses," he told BioCentury. "Many company founders can find themselves, in the first few years of existence, spending half their time raising money."

Evans wants to keep his biobabies tied to the Merlin apron strings for about the first three years of their existence...