KKR & Co. is creating a firm that will invest in diagnostic technologies such as Covid-19 tests, adding to its bets on fast-growing health-care companies. The new entity, Sapphiros, will be led by industry veteran Namal Nawana, KKR said Wednesday in a statement seen by Bloomberg. Nawana previously was chief executive officer of medical-device maker Smith & Nephew Plc and Alere Inc., a test provider that Abbott Laboratories acquired in 2017.
KKR has wagered on growth-stage companies in the sector through a strategy run by partner Ali Satvat, who’s also co-head of the health-care industry team within the firm’s Americas private equity platform. Recent bets include starting mental-heath services provider Geode Health, medical-device platform Zeus Health, and Falcon Vision, which focuses on emerging ophthalmology assets.
