Forbion Capital Partners has raised $50 million for a second co-investment fund whose purpose is to invest in several portfolio companies that are close to an exit. The firm’s first co-investment fund closed in 2010 with commitments of €54 million.
Privately-owned Molecular Partners AG of Switzerland has expanded its relationship with Johnson & Johnson Inc with an agreement to research potential products for a number of immunological diseases using its protein technology.
The UK speciality pharmaceutical group, Sinclair IS Pharma Plc, is to pay £21 million to acquire Advanced Bio-Technologies Inc, giving it full rights outside the US to the topical silicone gel product, Kelo-cote, for scar reduction.
Early-stage life science projects received another boost on Wednesday with the launch of a new technology fund by the venture capital arm of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). The new fund, EMBL Technology Fund II, has raised €40 million in a first closing.
A new UK start-up company, TopiVert, is set to receive £8 million in venture capital from the Imperial Innovations Group Plc and SV Life Sciences. TopiVert will develop topical drugs for inflammatory diseases of the eye and gut.
CircuLite Inc, which is preparing to launch in Europe what is said to be the world’s smallest blood pump, has raised $30 million in a Series D financing from a syndicate of venture capitalists led by Forbion Capital Partners and new investor Ronald O. Perelman.
ArGEN-X BV of the Netherlands, which is developing monoclonal antibodies against human disease, has raised €27.5 million in a Series B round to support the development of its preclinical portfolio of products which are based on natural antibodies from the llama.
AstraZeneca Plc has announced the allocation of an additional $100 million to its venture capital arm, MedImmune Ventures, increasing the total capital under management to $400 million. The fund invests in private life science companies.
Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation GmbH of Munich, Germany and Eindhoven, the Netherlands has raised €10 million in additional funding to support development of its brain stimulation technology for Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.
Ipsen SA, the French specialist pharmaceutical company, has purchased a newly issued, $25 million convertible bond issue of Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc of California to fulfill a milestone payment under a partnership agreement with the privately held US company.