Medicxi has loaded up its fourth fund with $400 million, which the European life sciences firm will use to continue its mission of supporting “asset-focused” biotechs.
The Medicxi IV fund “consolidates Medicxi’s position as a key operating platform for scientific entrepreneurs and drug hunters and is deliberately sized for our investment model,” the firm’s co-founder and partner Francesco De Rubertis said in a July 27 release.
“Our mission is to support the innovative genius of entrepreneurs by providing the critical capital, expertise and experience that form the all-important ‘bridge’ to pharma,” De Rubertis added.
A number of Medicxi-backed companies have proved tempting prizes for Big Pharma M&A over the past year, with autoimmune-focused MiroBio picked up by Gilead last summer for $405 million upfront and Incyte acquiring vitiligo-focused Villaris for $70 million upfront in the fall, while only last month Eli Lilly poached Boston-based weight loss drug developer Versanis in a $1.92 billion biobucks deal.
“Medicxi’s longstanding success has been built on its uniquely strong ties to pharmaceutical companies and its extensive team of world-class subject matter experts, drug hunters and developers, who act as partners for the innovators in which they are investing,” the firm said in today’s release.
London-headquartered Medicxi isn’t the only European-minded VC firm that’s continued to drum up significant amounts of cash in 2023. Earlier this month, Netherlands-based BioGeneration Ventures closed its largest fund to date with a little help from some returning Big Pharma investors, while European life-sciences-focused growth fund Forbion cited “high demand” from investors after raising $1.5 billion across two funds in April.