EdRip closes fourth life sciences fund on €192m

The final close amount makes BioDiscovery 4 EdRip's largest European, sector-focused venture capital fund raised to date.

The fund held its first close on €125m in June 2012. The vehicle's target was €200m, which the firm had hoped to raise by the end of last year.

The fund's predecessor, BioDiscovery 3, was raised in a far shorter timescale, having launched in February 2008 and closed in May the same year on €150m.

The closing of BioDiscovery 4 on €192m brings the total amount raised by EdRip for its life sciences funds to approximately €450m.

Investors
At the time of the fund's first close, existing investors in previous EdRip funds had contributed more than half of the capital. The majority of EdRip's previous funds' investors have committed to BioDiscovery 4, including Edmond de Rothschild Group and BPI France.

Insurance companies, retirement funds, public pension funds and social institutions have also invested in the vehicle, alongside other institutional investors.

Investments
BioDiscovery 4 will focus its investments on the life sciences industry, predominantly in France and across all stages of a company's development. The fund aims to invest in 15-20 companies operating in the therapeutic drug development sector, as well as medical technology and molecular diagnostics.

The fund will invest up to €20m per company. According to EdRip's website, the firm's life sciences funds typically act as lead investor in funding rounds and tend to acquire a shareholding of 15-25% in the companies they back.

So far, the fund has backed OncoEthix, Complix and Allecra Therapeutics. OncoEthix raised €14.65m in April from EdRip, SV Life Sciences, Index Ventures and Endeavour Vision. Allecra received €15m, also in April, from EdRip, EMBL Venture Capital Partners and Forbion Capital Partners.

EdRip co-led the €12m series-B funding round for Belgium-based Complix alongside Gimv, with contributions from Ablynx, Biotech Fonds Vlaanderen and several trade players.

People
EdRip partners Gilles Nobécourt, Raphael Wisniewski and Olivier Litzka lead the investment team that manages the fund. EdRip has a life sciences investment team of eight.

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