Innovatus Capital Partners

Co-founders David Welsh and Andrew Dym lead the firm's investment committee and manage day-to-day portfolio construction. Both previously worked in KKR's credit and special situations group, where Welsh served as a senior executive in the firm's asset-based finance arm prior to departing in 2015. The investment team operates with sector-specific coverage, assigning dedicated portfolio managers to healthcare royalties, media lending, and energy transition credit.

The firm sources transactions through a network of restructuring advisors, intellectual property brokers, and direct relationships with company management teams. Because Innovatus structures investments that blend credit with royalty participation, it often receives proprietary looks at transactions where banks cannot underwrite the intangible collateral. The firm also participates in limited auction processes for pharmaceutical royalty streams and media content libraries, competing against specialized royalty buyers rather than conventional credit funds.

Innovatus exclusively makes direct investments and does not allocate to third-party funds. Its transactions include bilateral loans, structured credit facilities, and secondary purchases of existing royalty streams. The firm does not operate as a fund-of-funds or commit to external general partners.

The life sciences strategy acquires royalty interests in approved pharmaceutical products and late-stage clinical assets, generating returns from drug sales rather than corporate cash flows. Innovatus launched a dedicated life sciences fund in 2022 to separate these investments from its corporate credit portfolio, reflecting the distinct underwriting expertise required — the team includes specialists in drug commercialization and patent law alongside structured finance professionals.

Innovatus typically seeks to act as lead or sole lender in its credit transactions, though the firm has participated in club deals for larger transactions where the capital requirements exceed its single-deal limit. In its royalty business, the firm regularly co-invests with other specialist royalty buyers on large portfolio acquisitions, sharing due diligence costs and diversification benefits.