Australian life sciences venture capital firm Brandon Capital has closed its largest fund yet, raising A$439 million (about $290 million) for the sixth Brandon BioCatalyst Fund. The heaps of cash will go toward fast-growing companies with strong commercial potential, the VC announced in a July 24 release.
The fund features existing investors Hesta, Host Plus, CSL and QIC along with the government of Western Australia and the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), Australia’s government-operated investor in manufacturing.
Brandon’s sixth fund has already made several notable biotech investments, like contributing to the $112 million series C of radiopharma AdvanCell, the $114 million series A of ADC-focused Myricx Bio and the $150 million series D of German oncology outfit CatalYm.
“With fund six we are delighted to have expanded our portfolio of international companies in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland and the U.S.A, whilst continuing to support life science companies in Australia,” Brandon Capital’s U.K. partner Jonathan Tobin said in an emailed statement to Fierce Biotech.
AdvanCell is one such Australian company, according to the release, as are other fund beneficiaries PolyActiva, a biotech focused on ocular implants, and Vaxxas, which is developing a needle-free vaccine patch.
“Medical science has long development timelines, and it is important for the NRFC to make early and considered investments in the sector to attract the talent and capital that we will need to build our local commercialization capabilities,” NRFC CEO David Gall said in the release. “If we want medical science jobs and industries to exist in Australia in ten years, we need to invest in them today.”
The sixth time’s the charm for Brandon, which has dwarfed its fund five haul of A$270 million ($180 million) from last year. The Aussie firm has now raised a total of more than A$1 billion across all its funds, according to the release.