Netherlands-based venture capital company BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) has confirmed the final closing of its third fund, BGV III, at €82m.
BGV III is currently one of the largest funds focused on seed investments in biotechnology companies across Europe.
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Owing to the strong market interest, the fund has surpassed its original target of €50m.
BGV III includes new investments from biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, private equity investor Schroder Adveq and the MAN Pension Trust.
The investments of the Dutch firm’s first two funds include Dezima Pharma that was divested to Amgen for $1.5bn and Acerta Pharma to AstraZeneca for $7bn.
BGV managing partner Edward van Wezel 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.”
BGV III will be used to focus on therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics within Europe, particularly in the Benelux and Germany.
Already, five investments have been made from the new fund into German immuno-oncology company Catalym, and Netherlands-based firms Escalier Biosciences, Scenic Biotech, Varmx, and Mellon Medical, which work on autoimmune diseases, target discovery, haematology and vascular suturing respectively.
