BERTRANGE, Luxembourg--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vesalius Biocapital, the specialist life sciences venture capital investor, announces the first close of its third fund, Vesalius Biocapital III, securing over €65 million of commitments as at 15 May 2017. Until the final closing in 2018, Vesalius Biocapital III will accept new investors on a “rolling closing” basis. Starting immediately, the fund plans to invest in later-stage European life sciences companies across drug development, medtech, diagnostics and digital health, providing capital to support their development.
Now in its tenth year, Vesalius Biocapital has raised over €150 million from a renowned investor base for its two previous funds. The firm has completed over 20 investments with lead or co-lead positions, and achieved numerous exits through trade sales and IPO. With a well balanced portfolio between drug development and non-drug development investments, the firm has developed a track-record of strong and consistent financial performance while generating significant returns for its investors.
Recent and notable exits include Ogeda (acquired by Astellas for €800 million), Activaero (sold to Vectura for €130 million), Genkyotex (reverse merger on Euronext) and Fovea (acquired by Sanofi for €370 million).
Commenting on the first close, Stéphane Verdood, Managing Partner at Vesalius Biocapital III said:
“We are very fortunate to have attracted high quality investors to Vesalius Biocapital III in validation of our successful track record. Furthermore, we are glad that a significant number of investors in our previous funds Vesalius Biocapital I and Vesalius Biocapital II are backing us in our new fund. This is an exciting time in healthcare; the industry is at a key inflection point between science, technology and medicine, and our investors support our strategy to invest in companies developing innovative products and technologies.”
Dr Christian Schneider, Managing Partner at Vesalius Biocapital III, added:
“While the primary focus is investing in Europe, we want to provide a bridge to enable European companies to access US capital markets, and for North American companies to have access to Europe for development, expansion or access to innovation. To this extent, we have set up a Boston-based US presence to provide support to the portfolio and evaluate new opportunities.”
Vesalius Biocapital III will target later-stage European companies in drug development, medtech, diagnostics and eHealth / mHealth, with the goal of investing in 10-15 companies over the lifetime of the fund.
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT VESALIUS BIOCAPITAL
Vesalius Biocapital (Vesalius), the specialist life sciences venture capital investor, has supported companies active in human health through venture capital funds since 2007. In the ten years since inception, Vesalius has raised over €150 million in its first two funds, Vesalius Biocapital I and II, and contributed in the development of over 20 companies.
The investment portfolio is well balanced between drug development and non-drug development investments and committed to providing capital to science-backed innovation and ambitious entrepreneurs, with a strong focus on exit within five years.
The specialist team consists of seasoned life science professionals with healthcare industry, corporate finance and strategy consulting experience, supporting companies through their growth cycle. The team is based in Europe and the USA to explore investment opportunities and valuation potential for the portfolio. For more information: www.vesaliusbiocapital.com
Vesalius Biocapital I: €76 million, launched in 2007, fully invested in 11 portfolio companies
Vesalius Biocapital II: €78 million, launched in 2011, fully invested in 11 portfolio companies
ABOUT VESALIUS BIOCAPITAL III
New fund Vesalius Biocapital III, launched in April 2017, targets later-stage European life science companies in drug development, medtech, diagnostics and eHealth / mHealth. The fund secured over €65 million of commitments in a first closing in May 2017, with a target size of €150 million.
Managing Partners include Guy Geldhof, Marc Lohrmann, Dr Christian Schneider and Stéphane Verdood. Venture Partners are Dr Cees Wortel and Dr David Braga Malta.
The Investors Committee comprises independent members Baron Jean Stéphenne M.Sc., M.B.A. (Chairman of the Investors Committee; previously President and General Manager of GSK Biologicals), Dr Hans-Juergen Leuchs (formerly member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim, Ingelheim, Germany), Dr Gaston Matthyssens (Managing Partner Vesalius Biocapital I and Vesalius Biocapital II), Dr Francois Sarkozy (previously co-founder and chairman of Publicis Healthcare Consulting).and Dr Ajit Shetty (until 2012, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical company and subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson). For more information on the fund, please visit http://fund3.vesaliusbiocapital.com/
