Vesalius Biocapital Holds First Close of Fourth Fund Raising EUR 95M

Vesalius Biocapital, a Luxembourg-based specialist life sciences venture capital investor, announced the first close of its fourth fund, Vesalius Biocapital IV, securing over €95m of commitments.

The fund received support from blue chip investors including the European Investment Fund (EIF). Starting immediately Vesalius Biocapital IV is to invest in European life science companies in drug development and digital health. The goal is to build a portfolio of 10-15 companies, providing capital and the team’s experience and expertise to support their development.

Now in its sixteenth year, Vesalius Biocapital has a track record of backing companies and has raised over €270m from an investor base for its three previous funds. It has completed over 30 investments with lead or co-lead positions and achieved numerous exits through trade sales and IPOs. These include: Forendo, acquired by Organon; Sword Health sold to a group of private equity investors; Apitope acquired by Chinese company Worg Pharma; and Ogeda acquired by Astellas Pharma. 

Vesalius Biocapital IV is targeting €150M and will accept new investors on a “rolling closing” basis until the final closing in 2024.

Managing Partners include Guy Geldhof, Dr Jean-Christophe Renondin and Stéphane Verdood. Partners include Dr Fabienne Roussel and Olivier Houben. The investment team is complemented by Dr David Cristina and Qasim Zawawi who joined as principals and Dr Hayley French and Dr Stephane Heymans who joined as venture partners.

FinSMEs

29/06/2023