Nextech closes EUR41m oncology-focused fund

01 November 2008

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Fund

Swiss firm Nextech Venture has held a fourth and final closing of its third fund on EUR41m. The fund completed a first closing on EUR25m in October 2006. The firm did not disclose the name of the fund, which has a lifespan of eight years plus two years extension and is based in Jersey. The minimum subscription was EUR1m, and the terms of conditions were described as "conservative with a high hurdle" owing to the difficult fundraising environment. RKS advised on the legal side, and no placing agents were used.

Investors

Peter Diehl acts as a cornerstone investor; other investors include a private bank, wealth management firms and high-net-worth individuals mainly from Europe, largely from Germany and Switzerland.

Investments

The fund aims to operate in the cancer marketplace, which has seen an increasing demand for new cancer therapies. It invests in later stage companies in the pre-clinical stage of their product development, with a view to exit within two to four years by way of a trade sale. Nextech Venture's oncology-focused fund has made four investments to date, one of which is based in Switzerland, namely Telormedix SA. The fund has reported its second exit after US-based Agensys, with Germany-based Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, which was acquired by ATS. Both exits have led to the fund being significantly positive in terms of net IRR from its first year.

The fund will invest globally, with around 70% of the total capital expected to be deployed to the US, with the remainder going to Europe and Asia. The fund seeks to make two to three investments per year and will typically invest between $2m-10m per company, assuming lead and co-lead, as well as co-investor roles. The fund is currently in advanced talks regarding three more investments and has several more investments in the pipeline.

People

The firm is led by its founder and CEO Alfred Scheidegger. Myoung-Ok Kwon is a partner and Rudolf Gygax, formerly managing director of Novartis Venture Fund, recently joined the firm as venture partner.

Name: Nextech Venture Oncology Fund

Closed on: EUR41m, October 2008

Focus: Venture, life sciences, global

Contact: Dr Alfred Scheidegger

Address: Nextech Venture Ltd, Scheuchzerstrasse 35, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland

Tel: +41 44 366 66 12

Fax: + 41 443 366 66 10

Advisers: RKS (Legal).