Empresas y finanzas

SV Life Sciences Raises Over US $570 Million for Fourth Fund, SV Life Sciences Fund IV



    SV Life Sciences (SVLS), formerly Schroder Ventures Life Sciences,
    today announced the final closing of SV Life Sciences Fund IV (SVLS
    IV) with total commitments of $572 million. The Fund was significantly
    oversubscribed and SVLS decided to limit the final size. SVLS IV,
    SVLS's fourth international life sciences fund, brings the firm's
    total funds advised or managed to $1.6 billion, making it one of the
    largest venture capital investment groups dedicated to the life
    sciences sector.

    The diversified investment strategy of SVLS IV remains consistent
    with that of earlier funds. SVLS IV will be focused on providing
    start-up, early stage and expansion capital to private life sciences
    companies in the United States and Europe. SVLS IV will invest across
    a range of life sciences sectors, including biotechnology and
    pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare services and healthcare
    information technology (IT). Anticipated investment size will
    typically be between $5 and $25 million.

    James Garvey, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of SV
    Life Sciences in Boston, commented: "We experienced considerable
    success in the fundraising and were buoyed by the strength and proven
    track record of our team. In 2006 we had an exceptional year with
    sales of portfolio investments reaching over $2 billion as M&A
    activity in biotech and medical devices continued. This gave investors
    strong returns on their investment. We believe that our diversified
    investment strategy, across sectors, stages and geographies, will
    continue to provide broad investment opportunities for SVLS IV."

    Kate Bingham, Managing Partner of SVLS in London, said: "Part of
    the strategy for the SVLS IV fundraising was to broaden and diversify
    the investor base to ensure a good balance of commitments in the fund.
    As such, we are delighted to have attracted 32 high quality new
    investors to add to a strong group of dedicated investors from
    previous funds. This increased investor base spans globally with a
    concentration in the United States and Europe and includes more
    foundations, endowments, and family offices."

    Of the total commitments, approximately 60 percent came from the
    United States and 40 percent from Europe and Rest of World.

    Managing partners of the SVLS investment team include James
    Garvey, Kate Bingham, Lutz Giebel, Eugene Hill, David Milne, and
    Michael Ross. They are a well established group of investment
    professionals whose complementary backgrounds and expertise spans the
    full range of the life sciences industry and balances investing
    expertise with deep operating experience at both private and publicly
    traded life sciences companies. Don Nelson, Chief Business Officer,
    led the fundraising for the Group.

    Venture capital funds advised by SVLS have invested in the life
    sciences industry since the early 1980s and have backed over 100 life
    sciences companies globally. The existing funds, SV Life Sciences
    Funds I, II and III, were closed in 1994, 1999 and 2003 respectively,
    with total committed capital of over $800 million. SVLS also manages
    International Biotechnology Trust plc (Ticker: IBT), a London Stock
    Exchange listed investment trust with a market cap of $210 million.

    SV Life Sciences has US offices in Boston and the San Francisco
    Bay Area, and a European office in London. For additional information
    on SVLS, please visit www.svlsa.com.

    Notes to Editors:

    SV Life Sciences(1) (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.
    The SVLS team is composed of 28 professionals with extensive life
    sciences investment, strategic, operational, scientific and clinical
    experience.

    In addition to SV Life Sciences Fund IV, SVLS advises and/or
    manages three other private equity funds, SVLS Funds I, II and III.
    These funds provide start-up, early stage and expansion capital to
    life sciences companies in North America and Europe. 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 SVLS Fund IV, is relatively
    unique when compared to other peer life sciences focused venture
    capital funds. Further information is available at www.svlsa.com.

    The Group also has a capability in the public markets with a
    dedicated team that manages 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 $210
    million. IBT primarily invests in high growth, development stage
    public 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, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, GelTex
    Pharmaceuticals, GlycoFi, Kinetix Pharmaceuticals, LaserVision,
    LeukoSite, PowerMed, Rinat Neuroscience, Shire Pharmaceuticals,
    (Ticker: SHP, SVLS was the founding investor in 1987) and Triangle
    Pharmaceuticals. For a complete list of current investments please see
    the SVLSA website at www.svlsa.com.

    (1) In the UK, SV Life Sciences is a trading name of SV Life
    Sciences Advisers LLP which is authorised and regulated in the UK by
    the Financial Services Authority as an investment adviser.