Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners has announced the closing of its BioDiscovery 4 venture capital fund for European life science companies after raising €192 million (US$ 250 million), increasing by almost 25% its investment capacity compared to the size of its previous life science fund. With this closing the total funds raised by EdRIP for life sciences investments to about €450 million.
"This is a great achievement for Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and its life science team. At over €190 million, BioDiscovery 4 is our largest European FCPR focused fund so far," said Pierre-Michel Passy, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners. " The strong support of our existing investors and several new relationships have allowed us to raise the fund in a little more than a year. We see this as clear recognition for our investment strategy and a recognition of our life science team as expert venture investors."
Through BioDiscovery 4, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners will lead investments in 15 to 20 life sciences companies across all stages of development. The investments will be made in therapeutic drug development companies and a combination of medical technology and molecular diagnostic companies. The fund will invest up to €20 million per company, mainly in Europe.
Investors in the new fund include the majority of Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners` life science existing investor base, including the Edmond de Rothschild Group and La Banque Publique d`Investissement (BPI France). Other investors include insurance companies, retirement funds, public pension funds, social institutions and other institutional investors.
In the past thirteen years, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners has invested in 46 life science companies, through BioDiscovery 1, 2 and 3 funds, progressively becoming a leading European investor with a strong exit track record which includes 10 trade sales among which Endosense, Vessix Vascular, Novagali, Pangenetics, Novexel, Spine Next and U3 Pharma, and 10 IPOs, among which Regado Biosciences, EOS Imaging, MDX Health, Cellectis.
BioDiscovery investments made during 2013 so far include: Oncoethix (Switzerland); Complix (Belgium); Allecra (France); JenaValve (Germany).
About Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners
Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is dedicated to minority investments into privately-owned companies. It currently has more than €1 billion under management which is being invested primarily as life sciences venture capital and growth capital.
Its Life Sciences Team of eight professionals brings together over 60 years of experience in the Life Science industry and more than 100 years of private equity and venture capital experience. The team has raised €450 million through its Biodiscovery franchise.
BioDiscovery Funds, including BioDiscovery 4, are venture capital funds dedicated to professional investors. These funds are not authorized by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers and may adopt special investment rules. BioDiscovery 4, a Venture Capital Fund dedicated to professional investors, invests mainly in private companies, which involves specific risks such as a risk of capital loss, a discretionary management risk and a liquidity risk.
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is the private equity affiliate of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, which is specialized in asset management and private banking (EUR 130bn under management, 2,900 employees and 30 offices throughout the world). Founded in 1953, the Group has been chaired since 1997 by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild.