Forbion Capital Partners, a Naarden, The Netherlands, and Munich, Germany-based life sciences venture capital firm, held the final close of its third main fund, at €183m (approx. $208m).
Forbion Capital Fund III (FCF III) has an investment strategy similar to its predecessor fund, FCF II, aiming to invest the majority of the fund (around 70%) in Europe and the remainder in the US and Canada.
The investment focus is on private companies developing novel drugs, medical devices and diagnostics for high, or even unmet, medical needs.
The fund has already invested in seven portfolio companies, including:
– Engene, a Canadian molecular therapeutics company,
– Rigontec, a German leader in RIG-I targeting RNA therapeutics,
– Replimune, a UK oncolytic immunotherapy company,
– Autonomic Technologies Europe, a German medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of severe headache,
– Sanifit, a Spanish biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for calcification disorders,
– Staten Biotech and
– Akarna Therapeutics, a UK biopharmaceutical company.
Led by General Partners Holger Reithinger and G-J Mulder, Venture Partners Avi Molcho and Philip Astley-Sparke, Managing Partners Sander van Deventer, Sander Slootweg and Martien van Osch, and Partner Marco Boorsma, Forbion manages three main funds, co-investment venture growth funds and co-manages earlier stage funds with BioGeneration Ventures. With the close of FCF III, the firm now manages well over €700m.
Last year, Forbion was involved in two of the most successful exits of private, European life sciences companies, with the sale of Dezima Pharma to Amgen (total exit value of USD 1.55 billion) and the sale of Acerta Pharma to AstraZeneca (an investment of its affiliate BioGeneration Ventures with a total exit value of USD 7 billion).
In addition to the close, the firm also announced the expansion of its investment team with Matthias Falcenberg, who joined as an Analyst in Munich, from the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry.
FinSMEs
12/04/2016