Netherlands-based venture capital firm BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) closed its third fund at €82m ($95.5m) today, having secured capital from limited partners including pharmaceutical firms Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
The fund’s LPs also include European Investment Fund (EIF), private equity firm Schroder Adveq, and Man Pension Trust, which manages the pension funds of mechanical engineering firm Man’s employees. J&J invested through its Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC unit.
BGV III seeks to identify early-stage opportunities in the biotechnology sector, particularly in the areas of therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics. It invests across Europe, with a focus on the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.
The fund has so far invested in Germany-based immuno-oncology company Catalym, Netherlands-based autoimmune diseases therapy developer Escalier Biosciences, genetic drug developer Scenic Biotech, haematology treatment producer VarmX and medical device maker Mellon Medical.
Edward van Wezel, managing partner of BGV, said: “Over the last years, BGV has proven that investing in early stage companies is critical in developing innovative science to meet patients’ needs; it can be financially very attractive as well.
“We believe that support and close collaboration from Bristol-Myers Squibb and JJDC illustrate the increasing interest in early stage innovation. This also demonstrates the unique position that BGV has reached in this arena.”
EIF committed cash as part of a $75m close for the fund in June 2017, participating through InnovFin Equity Facility, a vehicle aimed at pre-seed and seed-stage startups in industries including life sciences and clean energy, and its Dutch Venture Initiative II (DVI-II) fund-of-funds.
– The original version of this article appreared on our sister site, Global Government Ventures.