Celebrating Our Partnership with Solas BioVentures
Venture investing is a long game. Unlike real estate or farmland, where returns are tied to physical assets and income streams, venture capital is about identifying the right managers, staying patient through long development cycles, and building relationships that compound over time.
At Sower, we approach venture investments selectively. We are not trying to be in every deal. We are looking for a small number of managers we trust deeply and back them repeatedly. That patience is starting to show up in meaningful ways.
Solas BioVentures is the clearest example of what that looks like in practice. We made our first commitment to Solas five years ago, and since then, we have grown that relationship to nearly $80 million in total capital deployed across their funds. That level of commitment reflects something real: a shared investment philosophy, consistent communication, and a track record that has continued to earn our confidence.
What Solas does, in plain terms, is find and fund companies that are developing new medical devices and treatments, things like better tools for surgeons, new therapies for patients who do not have great options today, and technologies that make diagnosis and care more precise. They have been doing this since 2014, have deployed over $200 million, and bring real operating and clinical experience to every company they back. They are not passive investors. They sit on boards, help shape strategy, and stay involved through the full lifecycle of each investment.
The broader environment for this kind of investment is also worth noting. The largest pharmaceutical companies in the world are facing a significant challenge over the next several years: many of their top-selling drugs are coming off patent, opening the door to cheaper competition and putting pressure on their revenue. To offset that, Big Pharma is buying. Acquisitions in the biopharma space are running ahead of recent years in both volume and price, and the most in-demand targets are smaller, innovative companies with proven science and a clear path to market. That describes exactly what Solas invests in, and it means the companies in their portfolio are entering a favorable exit environment.
This April, Sower is proud to host Solas Days 2026 in Omaha on April 22 and 23. The first evening is a welcome reception bringing together investors and peers for connection and conversation. The following day is the formal Solas Annual Meeting, where the Solas team will walk through portfolio company updates and share their outlook for the fund and the broader market. It is a great opportunity to hear directly from the people running the fund, and we are excited to bring our investor community together for it.
