Bristol-Myers, J&J Help Complete BGV Fund III with $95M
BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) closes its third fund, BGV III, at EUR 82 million exceeding its target to accommodate strong interest from private, institutional and strategic investors
A venture capital firm in the Netherlands, BGV, plans to sink cash into seed-stage companies developing therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics. Managing partner Edward van Wezel said the fund has no particular area of focus, but will likely keep an eye out for immuno-oncology and heart disease drugs.
BGV originally set out to raise €50 million. That goal was already bigger than the two earlier funds combined, but it proved to underestimate the level of interest. BGV turned to its existing investors for the fund’s first close before casting its net wider and finding its previous successes had caught the attention of other financiers.
The fund’s LPs included two strategies, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, plus the European Investment Fund, Schroder Adveq, and MAN Pension Trust.
The VC has already invested in five companies from the new fund: German immuno-oncology play Catalym GmbH (Munich, Germany); autoimmune company Escalier Biosciences B.V. (Nijmegen, the Netherlands); therapeutic discovery play Scenic Biotech B.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands); anticoagulant developer VarmX B.V. (Leiden, the
Netherlands); and medtech company Mellon Medical B.V. (Nijmegen, the Netherlands).Edward van Wezel, BGV’s Managing Partner 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.”
Paul Biondi, Senior Vice President, Head of Business Development Bristol-Myers Squibb commented: “Bristol-Myers Squibb recognizes the potential of early-stage innovations emerging from leading scientific groups in the European biotech scene. We are committed to working with VC investors such as BGV who can identify the investment opportunities with the most potential to deliver transformational medicines.”