Ireland-headquartered, life sciences-focused venture capital fund Fountain Healthcare Partners closed its Fund III at €125m ($146m) yesterday with a contribution from pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin.
The firm had raised approximately $132m for the fund’s first close in May 2019 and implied yesterday that Kyowa Kirin was the sole limited partner to add on to that total. The vehicle had an initial target of €100m.
Founded in 2008 when it was spun off by pharmaceutical company Elan Corporation, Fountain Healthcare Partners backs drug developers and although the majority of its deals are in Europe, it also invests in the US-based companies out of an office in New York.
The third fund has so far invested in Mainstay Medical a publicly-listed medical device developer already in its portfolio, as well as immunotherapy developer Inotrem and haematological malignancy drug developer Priothera, as part of its $35.4m series A round last month.
Takeyoshi Yamashita, Kyowa Kirin’s director of corporate strategy and planning, said: “Fountain Healthcare Partners’ Fund III and its focus on innovative technologies and products that address high unmet medical needs, give us a fantastic opportunity to support startups and emerging companies in the life science sector.
“This investment underlines our shared ambition to contribute to the health and well-being of people around the world by creating new value through the pursuit of advances in life sciences and technologies.”
The firm said the close of the third fund meant it has a total of more than $350m under management. It launched its Fund II in 2015 with $98.5m of capital.
