Andera Partners has raised its biggest life sciences fund yet. After smashing its previous record in 2017, the European VC shop has gone one better again this time around, reeling in 456 million pounds ($443 million) to make a fresh round of biotech bets.
Paris-based Andera set the stage for the record round with a series of successful exits. Since the start of 2020, buyers including Novo Nordisk and Pfizer snapped up Corvidia Therapeutics, Arvelle Therapeutics, Sanifit Therapeutics and ReViral—all of which received money from Andera—in deals that could be worth billions of dollars. Novo alone paid $725 million for Corvidia, with milestones to come.
Buoyed by the exits, Andera persuaded its investors to overlook the biotech bear market and back its next batch of portfolio plays. The fund, BioDiscovery 6, raised 105 million pounds more than its predecessor, a notable increase even though it is dwarfed by the step change between the fourth and fifth funds of 153 million pounds.
In a statement, the partners at Andera said the fund strengthens the group’s position as “one of the main players in our sector,” adding that “the acceleration of our funds’ development demonstrates investors’ growing interest in financing medical innovation.”
Andera raised the cash from existing institutional investors and a set of new backers that includes funds of funds, insurance companies, pension funds, family offices, private investors and pharma companies. So far, Andera has used the money to invest in six companies: Evommune, Amolyt Pharma, TargED Biopharmaceuticals, Tubulis, Mineralys Therapeutics and ImCheck Therapeutics.
Most of the BioDiscovery 6 companies are based out of Europe, but in keeping with its transatlantic reach, Andera ventured as far as California to add Evommune to its portfolio. The biotechs are working on treatments for orphan indications, cancers, inflammatory skin diseases and more.