UK-based life sciences-focused investment firm Medicxi yesterday closed a €400m ($450m) fund with limited partners (LPs) including healthcare corporates Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline.
Verily, a life sciences research subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Alphabet, has also thrown its weight behind Medicxi III, as have a range of unnamed hospital foundations, medical institutions and other institutional investors.
Johnson & Johnson provided the money through its corporate venturing arm, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC.
The fund will invest in discovery-stage through to late-stage biopharmaceutical companies.
Medicxi was spun out of venture capital firm Index Ventures and launched its first fund, a $230m early-stage vehicle called Medicxi Ventures 1, in 2016. The firm has made 89 investments to date and celebrated 32 exits through IPOs and M&As.
Following the $450m close of the third fund, the firm now has more than $1bn under management. It previously raised a $300m late-stage fund called Medicxi Growth 1 in 2017, with LPs including Novartis, Verily, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson.
Medicxi III will benefit from expertise provided by the firm’s scientific advisory board, which includes leadership from Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Verily and Janssen, a biotech subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Francesco De Rubertis, co-founder and partner at Medicxi, said: “Medicxi III is one of the largest biotech funds in Europe and consolidates Medicxi’s position as a key operating platform for scientific entrepreneurs and drug hunters.
“We are grateful to our LPs who made it possible to get the fund closed within only a few weeks.”
