Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has announced that it will participate in the Triathlon Medical Ventures, LLC, capital initiative, which was unveiled today by Metro Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson.

Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the venture capital company’s investment activities will include bio-science companies in Kentucky. Participants in the venture capital fund have committed a pool of $5 million, which has been matched, nearly two-for-one, by the United States Small Business Administration for a total of $13.5 million. This investment will help to fund new medical breakthroughs and build Kentucky’s reputation as a center for medical science research and production. Louisville Seminary has committed $500,000 to be invested in the fund. Other investors include the University of Louisville Foundation, Norton Healthcare, and Jewish Hospital.

“The Seminary evaluated and ultimately decided to participate in this endeavor because it felt the capital venture provided a sound investment opportunity that fit well within the private equity allocation of Louisville Seminary’s endowment,” said Patrick Cecil, the Seminary’s chief financial officer.

“Additionally, Triathlon will provide an opportunity for the Seminary, through its investments activities, to participate in economic development efforts within the Louisville community in which we operate. The companies in which Triathlon may invest could potentially develop breakthroughs in medical research that could benefit humanity. When evaluating all of these things in aggregate, it was an opportunity about which we became very excited.”

New to the position of Seminary president, Dean K. Thompson agreed with this financial investment on the Seminary’s behalf. A thorough due diligence process was under taken which included a review of ethical considerations related to the type of investments Triathlon would support.

Triathlon is a $96 million venture capital fund based in the Midwest that is focused on investments in life sciences involving treatments and devices for better quality of life. As a result of the $5 million commitment by the Louisville-based partners, Triathlon will open an operations office in Louisville.

“This is critical,” said Mayor Abramson at a press conference. “Triathlon’s strategy is to seek investment opportunities in the communities where they are active and where they have offices. More investment will mean that more start-ups and early-stage venture capital efforts will take root here and – we hope – ultimately grow into commercial successes that will bring jobs, high salaries, benefits, and additional investment and activity in our community.

“Important steps like today’s announcement don’t happen without public and private leaders and partners who believe in their community and who understand that growing our hometown means a willingness to invest today in its future,” he continued.

In the next stage of this partnership, the group will seek out others who are willing to invest in a “seed fund” of at least $3 million to aid in development of startup business plans for research with a potential to become leading medical companies.

For more information about Triathlon, please refer to the Triathlon Fact Sheet available on the Louisville Seminary website: www.lpts.edu/News-Events/TriathlonFacts.pdf