Biotech Venture Capital Fund Tracker
Krzysztof Potempa
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Updated: 21 August 2024
Introduction
McKinsey research shows that venture capital companies invested in 2,200 biotech start-ups worldwide in 2016; by 2021, that number had grown to 3,100.?McKinsey also found that biotech companies raised more than $34 billion globally in 2021, more than doubling the 2020 total of $16 billion. In the biotech sector, VC funding peaked in the first quarter of 2021 and has declined slightly since (see Next-generation platform technologies are driving the biotech VC surge | McKinsey ). For example, a 46% drop in venture financing deal value for US-based biotech companies was seen, from $7.8bn in Q1 2021 to $4.2bn in Q1 2022, according to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Centre Deals Database (see Bursting biotech bubble: venture capitals rethink private companies in Q1 2022 - Pharmaceutical Technology (pharmaceutical-technology.com) ).
In 2023, venture capital investment into biopharma startups is on pace to hit its?lowest level since 2016 (see Top biotech venture funds, 2018-2023 (baybridgebio.com) )
Pharma backed VC-arms
Since 2001, when Eli Lilly announced the creation of it's venture capital arm, several big pharma companies have followed including the creation of Amgen Ventures in 2004 and Pfizer Venture Investments in 2004. Below is summary of how pharma-backed ventures work.
A list of selected VC since 2001 raises is provided below:
August 2024: TPG reveals $580M life sciences fund, which has already backed multiple biotechs – Endpoints News ( endpts.com ) ; venBio raises $528M for fifth life sciences VC fund ( fiercebiotech.com ); Biotech mogul Arie Belldegrun extends empire with launch of $600M credit firm ( statnews.com )
July 2024: Biotech investor behind Moderna raises $3.6bn for new ventures ( ft.com ) ; Biovance Capital Partners announces first closing of its new biotech fund at € 51 million - P-BIO; Forbion announces first close of its new BioEconomy Fund I: backing biotech-enabled companies aiming to impact the future of our planet | Forbion
June 2024: Brandon Capital Announces Sixth Fund with A$270 million (US$180 million) Initial Close to Drive Life Science Innovation - Brandon Capital; J.P. Morgan Raises Over $500M for First Biotech Venture Capital Fund - BioSpace
February 2024: Venture firm Scion Life Sciences launches with $310M to back new biotechs | BioPharma Dive
December 2023: Hadean Ventures announces oversubscribed final close of Hadean Capital II – a fund dedicated to investments in life science start-ups across Europe - Hadean Ventures AS ( cision.com )
VC firm Pivotal closes second $389M therapeutics fund to create companies and back public biotechs – Endpoints News ( endpts.com )
November 2023: Life sciences investors close nearly $6 billion in new funds | STAT ( statnews.com ) ; How specialized biotech VC firms are dominating funding again ( labiotech.eu )
Germany announces close of €1bn fund of funds to invest in German and European VC | Sifted; Bioluminescence Ventures Emerges from Stealth with $477M AUM | Business Wire
30 October 2023: Spinout investor Northern Gritstone closes ￡312m fund ( uktech.news ) , Abingworth raises $356 million for new Clinical Co-Development Co-Investment Fund (CCD-CIF) - Abingworth LLP and Revelation Partners: $608 Million Fund Closed, Substantially Surpassing $500 Million Target ( pulse2.com )
4 May 2023: Longwood Fund to narrow its focus with new $180M fund - Boston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
26 April 2023: Polaris Partners Fund 10: VC firm discloses $355M fundraise for new fund - Boston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
21 April 2023: Lux Ventures VIII (Lux 8), an early-stage focused venture capital fund with $1.15 billion. Source: Lux 8 + Infinite Potential (luxcapital.com) and 121. Mission-driven biotech investing, Josh Wolfe, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Lux Capital by Biotech2050 Podcast (soundcloud.com)
19 April 2023: European life sciences venture capital firm Forbion has closed two of its funds — one early-stage and one late-stage — at €750 million (about $823 million USD) and €600 million ($658 million USD) respectively. Source: European biotech VC Forbion raises $1.5B across two funds – Endpoints News (endpts.com)
19 April 2023: Gilde Healthcare, a Dutch investment firm out to back healthcare companies that can bring new products to the market at affordable prices, has another €600 million (close to $657 million) to bet on a new slate of companies. Source: Gilde Healthcare raises $657M for venture and growth fund – Endpoints News (endpts.com)
13 April 2023: Wellington Management Co, an investment manager for pensions, insurers and other firms, is seeking to be a larger player in biotechnology venture capital securing $476 million for its second biotech venture fund, topping its first $394 million pool in 2019. Source: Wellington Management Raises $476 Million for Second Biotech Venture Fund (wsj.com)
6 April 2023: Venture capital firm Canaan is out with its 13th fund as the Menlo Park, CA-based group added $650 million to its coffers to bankroll more tech startups and create new drug developers. Source: Canaan lands $650M for latest VC fund aimed at tech and drug development – Endpoints News (endpts.com)
4 April 2023: Cure Ventures launches with $350 million early-stage biotech fund. Source: Cure Ventures launches with $350m early-stage biotech fund | pharmaphorum and New biotech investor Cure Ventures closes first fund, raising $350M | BioPharma Dive
31 March 2023: EQT Life Sciences has closed its inaugural LSP Dementia Fund, raising approximately €260 million ($283 million). Source: The LSP Dementia Fund raises €260M (labiotech.eu)
27 March 2023: US and UK-based venture capital firm SR One has closed $600 million (￡489.3m) for its second fund to invest in the biotech sector. Source: VC firm SR One closes ￡489m biotech fund (uktech.news)
2 February 2023: In a world of bear markets and sky-high inflation, Patient Square Capital has proven there’s still money to be made. The firm?announced ?a record-breaking inaugural fund totaling $3.9 billion. Source: Patient Square Touts Record-Breaking $3.9B Inaugural Fund | BioSpace
25 January 2023: Three venture capitalists debuted Dimension I, a new fund with $350 million to fuel modern biotech. Source: As Tech Giants Fall, Tech-Focused VC Fund Rakes in $350M | BioSpace
September 2022: New $100 million longevity fund puts the spotlight on software
September 2022: Alloy Therapeutics' venture studio 82VS is raising its first fund — under a new president - Boston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
15 June 2022: Third Rock Ventures Raises $1.1 Billion Fund VI | Business Wire and 'Third Rock forever': Firm's latest $1.1B funding round will create 10 new biotechs | Fierce Biotech
领英推荐
May 2022: Catalio’s Flagship Strategy Will Continue to Identify and Invest in?Breakthrough Biomedical Technology?Companies Founded by Serial Scientist-Entrepreneurs Catalio Capital Management Raises $381 Million for Oversubscribed Third Life Sciences Fund | Business Wire
December 2021: Aiming to make 70 the new 50, Korify rolls out $100M longevity and mental health venture fund | Fierce Biotech
December 2021: Apollo Health Ventures Closes $180 Million Fund to Drive Breakthrough Innovations Combating Age-related Diseases | Business Wire
December 2021: Much of the?$350 million?Fund II will be deployed in companies founded by current academic partners, including?Ben Cravatt. Newpath Partners Launches Fund II to Create Life Sciences Companies (prnewswire.com)
June 2021: Flagship re-opened Fund VII in April 2021 to current Limited Partners and a select group of new investors, raising an additional $2.23 billion for a total capital pool of $3.37 billion Flagship Pioneering Closes $3.4 Billion Capital… | Flagship Pioneering
January 2021: ARCH Venture Partners Announces New $1.85 Billion Fund to Create and Fund Early Stage Biotechnology Companies (prnewswire.com)
6 June 2018: Pfizer devotes $150 million to neuroscience in venture capital funding increase - MedCity News
October 2016: Third Rock raises $616m for fourth biotech venture fund - The Boston Globe and Third Rock Ventures, One of Biotech's Daring Investors, Raises $616M For More Startups (forbes.com)
2009: Lundbeckfonden Ventures started in 2009 and have over the years invested in 31 companies in the USA and Europe. The current portfolio is around 18 companies, About Lundbeckfonden Ventures | Lundbeckfonden
October 2001: MVM raises $56M in 2nd fund dedicated to life science start-ups - Phar (thepharmaletter.com)
September 2001: Eli Lilly sets up $75 million VC fund - Pharmaceutical industry news (thepharmaletter.com) and Eli Lilly enters venture capital arena | Nature Biotechnology