Schroder Ventures Life Sciences fund raises over US $400 million for Third International Life Sciences Fund 

London and Boston (4 June 2003): Schroder Ventures Life Sciences (SVLS), a leading global investment group dedicated to the life sciences sector, today announced the final closing of the International Life Sciences Fund III (ILSF III) with total commitments of $402 million. ILSF III, SVLS’s third international life sciences fund brings its total funds under management to just under $900 million.

 

ILSF III has attracted 18 new investors. Of the cash raised, approximately half came from North America and half came from the UK and European investors.

 

The broadly diversified investment strategy of ILSF III remains consistent with that of earlier funds. ILSF III will be focused on providing start-up, early stage and expansion capital to, primarily unquoted, life sciences companies in the US and Europe. ILSF III will invest across a range of life sciences sectors, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, medical devices and instruments, healthcare IT and healthcare services. Anticipated investment size will typically between $5 and $20 million.

 

James Garvey, CEO and Managing Partner of Schroder Ventures Life Sciences in Boston, commented:

"This is a strong result in a difficult fund raising environment. We set out deliberately to broaden our investor base and are delighted to welcome a significant number of new investors to ILSF III. We remain very pleased by the continued support from our existing investors. We believe that our diversified investment strategy, across sectors, stages and geographies, is well suited to both the current and future investment environment, which we believe will enable us, to generate superior returns for investors.”

 

Kate Bingham, General Partner of Schroder Ventures Life Sciences in London, added:

“We believe there are many exciting investment opportunities in this highly dynamic industry, both in the US market and the growing European life sciences sector. Our aim is to invest and create value in companies with strong management, scientific capabilities and good future growth prospects and there is no shortage of US and European life sciences companies that meet these criteria.”

 

Funds advised by Schroder Ventures have invested in the life sciences industry since the early 1980s and have backed over 100 life sciences companies globally. The existing funds, Schroder Ventures International Life Sciences Fund (ILSF) and International Life Sciences Fund II (ILSFII) were closed in 1994 and 1999 respectively, with total committed capital of $410 million. SVLS also advises International Biotechnology Trust plc, an International life sciences investment trust listed on the London stock exchange (Ticker: IBT).

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Media enquiries please contact:

Sue Charles, Northbank Communications

+44 (0) 20 7886 8152

s.charles@northbankcommunications.com

 

At Schroder Ventures Life Sciences please contact:

In the US at SVLS, Boston

Jim Garvey or Don Nelson

Tel: +1 (617) 367 8100

 

In Europe at SVLS, London

Kate Bingham or Nick Coleman

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7421 7070

 

Notes to Editors:

Schroder Ventures Life Sciences* (SVLS) was established in 1993, in London and Boston, to take advantage of the global nature of the life sciences opportunity and to enable active deal leadership in the key markets. To date, the SVLS team is composed of 23 professionals with extensive life sciences investment, strategic, operational, scientific and clinical experience. In 2003 SVLS opened its third office, in San Francisco.

 

In addition to ILSF III, SVLS advises two other private equity funds, ILSF and ILSF II. These funds provide start-up, early stage and expansion capital to life sciences companies in Europe and the US. Approximately half of the investments have been in the biotech sector with the remaining half split equally between the medical device and healthcare service sectors. This broad sector, stage and regional diversification and capability, which will be continued in ILSFIII, is relatively unusual amongst Life Sciences venture capital funds. Further information is available at www.svlifesciences.com.

 

On the small cap public side, SVLS advises the International Biotechnology Trust plc, a publicly quoted investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: IBT), with a total net asset value of approximately $70 million as at 31 May 2003. IBT invests in high growth, development stage global life sciences companies with an emphasis on small cap US biotechnology companies. Further information is available at www.internationalbiotrust.com.

 

Examples of successful exits (greater than 5 times capital returned) include Chiroscience Plc, GelTex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Kinetix Pharmaceuticals Inc., LaserVision Inc., LeukoSite Inc., Shire Pharmaceuticals Plc, (Ticker: SHP) SVLS was the founding investor in 1987) and Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

Other current investments include EyeTech Pharmaceuticals Inc. and KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, (biotech). Insulet Corporation and MedNova Ltd, (medical device) Phase Forward Inc. (healthcare IT) and Interplan Corporation (healthcare services).

 

*In the UK, Schroder Ventures Life Sciences is a trading name of Schroder Ventures Life Sciences Advisers (UK) Limited and is regulated by the FSA.