European VC fund hits $280M, with cancer and stroke firms set to benefit

Print 06 June 2016
Ben Adams / Fierce Biotech

European venture outfit LSP (Life Sciences Partners) has raised $280 million toward a new biotech fund--surpassing its $170 million target as VC funding continues its healthy run of form in 2016.

This is now its fifth fund, which has already started to invest--with the Amsterdam-based firm taking positions in 9 companies.

This includes the Irish medical device company Neuravi, active in acute ischemic stroke, Swiss-based immuno-oncology company Nouscom, and Kuros Biosciences, recently listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange and focused on tissue repair and regeneration.

The fund, primarily focused on European biotechs and med dev companies, will look to invest in around 20 companies across the areas of drug development, medical devices and diagnostics. The company says it has raised more than $1.2 billion over its total life.

This is the fifth funding round from the firm, known as LSP 5, and builds on its previous 2009 fourth venture, which raised €90m ($125.5 million), while LSP III closed in 2005 at €150 million ($170 million).

Dr René Kuijten, managing partner at LSP, said: “The basis of this fundraising success is reflective of our strong financial performance as well as meeting the challenges of life sciences investing. This has been recognized not only by large and loyal institutional investors, but also by strategic partners like pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY), which selected LSP as a partner for identifying and investing in European breakthrough technologies.

“Moreover, the interest from family offices and private investors looking for broad exposure to life sciences in Europe has increased significantly over the years.”

Over its 25 years in life sciences VC, LSP has pulled off successful exits across three decades, taking Qiagen ($QGEN) public in 1996, selling Kudos Pharmaceutical to AstraZeneca ($AZN) in 2006 and pulling off a roughly $100 million IPO for Prosensa ($RNA) in 2013, to pick a few examples.

And LSP has been particularly active over the past few years, with portfolio companies argenx, Affimed ($AFMD) and Celladon ($CLDN) all going public.

Unlike the IPO market, which has been tough for biotechs in 2016, the VC environment is in rude health.

Earlier this year, European venture capital firm Forbion Capital Partners closed is third flagship life sciences fund at €183 million ($208 million) while just this week, VC firm SV Life Sciences announced it was nearing its 2015 target of raising $400 million in its sixth fund round.

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