At Laidlaw Venture Partners, We Build, Incubate and Accelerate Great Companies

Experience counts. Connections matter.

Laidlaw Venture Partners (LVP) is the venture capital financing arm of Laidlaw Ltd. The team has experience in investment banking, venture formation, establishing and developing companies/teams, strategic business development, capital formation/structuring, equity research, equity sales, debt sales, as well as public and private financing.

In addition to providing financing to private companies, LVP is affiliated with the banking arm of Laidlaw Ltd., a fully licensed broker dealer. This provides a significant advantage over traditional venture and private equity firms as we can leverage Laidlaw’s significant institutional and high net worth investor networks in both private AND public markets. This allows our partner companies to enjoy better alignment of shareholder objectives and retain more decision-making power.

Target Companies

LVP will primarily focus on funding healthcare companies at various stages of development. We will consider companies in any geography and therapeutic area. Our goal is to work with a select group of companies with novel products/platforms which address unmet medical needs, in attractive commercial markets. We work with several companies each year that, when partnered with our capital markets, strategic and advisory capabilities, will maximize corporate value.

Our skills and network allow us to focus on novel therapeutics as well as on relatively low risk technologies and platforms. This could include preclinical programs, earlier stage programs in drug reformulation, med tech, etc.

Management Team

James Ahern
James AhernFounder, Laidlaw Venture Partners

Jim joined the firm in October of 2010, and focuses on arranging financings for both private and public companies, mainly within the healthcare vertical. Over Jim’s Laidlaw tenure, he has led or played an integral role in capital raises totaling $3 billion of transaction value. Moreover, he has strategically grown Laidlaw’s Capital Markets’ team, and overseen the firm’s significant market share expansion.

Outside of the firm, Mr. Ahern is on the Board of Overseers for the Massachusetts Bay Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation. Jim is also Vice-Chair of the BBBS Annual Golf Outing, an event which raises nearly 1 million dollars annually for the foundation. An active supporter of his Alma Mater, The Northfield Mount Hermon School, Jim serves as President of the NMH Basketball Alumni Council for Excellence.

Patrick Gallagher
Patrick GallagherManaging Partner, Laidlaw Venture Partners

Patrick Gallagher has 20 years of healthcare experience on Wall Street including alternative investments, research and marketing in both the public and private markets. He co-founded Black Diamond Research, LLC (“BDR”), an independent sell-side research firm specializing in healthcare investing, financing and operations, serving the institutional investing community at large. Patrick was Chief Executive Officer of BDR until 2010 and oversaw institutional research and sales. Prior to 2001, he held various sales positions at Kidder Peabody, PaineWebber and New Vernon Associates.

Patrick served as VP of Business Development and Investor Relations as well as a strategic consultant for Kinex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology firm focused on next-generation therapies in oncology and immunology. He also has served as an advisor to CHD Biosciences, a novel antimicrobial company. Mr. Gallagher serves on the board of directors of BioSig Technologies, Inc, a medical device company that is developing a proprietary technology platform in the electrophysiology space.

Mr. Gallagher received his BS from the University of Vermont, his MBA from Pennsylvania State University and is a CFA charter holder.

Matt Duffy
Matt DuffyManaging Partner, Laidlaw Venture Partners

Matthew Duffy has more than thirty years’ experience in the healthcare arena, as both a Healthcare and Wall Street executive.

Matt is Managing Partner of Laidlaw Venture Partners and Managing Director of Laidlaw and Company.

Matt has extensive development-to-market experience, beginning at Pfizer, Inc. in Sales, Sales Management and Marketing (CNS, Cardiovasculars, Anti-Infectives, Metabolics). He subsequently led the efforts to bring several important new drugs to commercialization including Synagis (MedImmune, Inc., >$1BB) as head of Marketing and Cinryze (Lev Pharmaceuticals, Inc., >$600MM) as head of Commercial Operations (Sales, Sales Management, Marketing, Managed Care, Patient Services, Distribution, FDA Advisory Committee preparation). Matt was also a Founder and is currently the CEO of Algorithm Sciences, Inc., a late-stage drug/device company focused on pulmonary health.

Previously Matt was President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of AltMed Enterprises, LLC, where he was instrumental in raising over $35 million and subsequently facilitated a $7 million private stock sale; executed an overhaul of the company’s Arizona operation which led to a significant improvement in productivity; launched the company’s first retail, which more than doubled revenues; oversaw the commercial launch of AltMed Florida; restructured the corporate operation and implemented a comprehensive budgeting process.

Additionally, Matt has more than 15 years’ experience as an investment banker, buy-side and sell-side equity research analyst and Investor Relations professional. Matt was Managing Director at Roberts Mitani, LLC, a global, healthcare focused investment bank, and then at LifeSci Partners, LLC (global Investment Banking and Investor Relations) where he focused on strategic transactions, financings and investor relations. Previously, Matt co-founded Black Diamond Research, LLC, a sell-side equity research firm specializing in healthcare/biotechnology. Additionally, he served as a healthcare advisor to the Capital M Group, a multi-strategy investment firm.

Matt is Chairman of First Mountain Farms, LLC, a business accelerator. He also served on the Board of Directors of CorMedix, Inc., a publicly traded healthcare company focused on development and launch of products in the Cardio-Renal field as well as Alternative Medical Enterprises, LLC. He also served as a Member of the Board of Trustees and Treasurer of an Independent School in Connecticut.

Matt received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University. He holds Series 7, 63 and 65 securities licenses.

Additional Corporate Services

Our team has industry experience in multiple roles. As such, we can provide valuable services for partner companies. These include:

  • Numerous operating roles including senior management, commercial positions and business development
  • Board of Directors (audit committee, compensation committee, chair, etc.)
  • Advisory work
  • Strategic partnering
  • General business development

Further, we have access to a wide-ranging team of experts (KOL’s, regulatory, business development, CRO’s, legal, M&A, tax, CMC, commercial, artificial intelligence, etc.) across the life sciences spectrum.

Capital Formation Options

The team can provide funding through both private and public markets. This capital can be for either our internal portfolio companies or third party companies.

  • Venture Capital
  • Principal Investment
  • Private Placements
  • IPO’s
  • Secondary Offerings

Our team can facilitate capital formation in multiple ways depending on company needs:

  • Merchant banking partners
  • High net worth
  • Institutional/Crossover
  • Strategic partners