Healthquest Partners already looks to be raising its second fund, with aims to raise $175 million, according to a regulatory filing. The Bay Area venture firm focuses its investments on medical devices, diagnostics and healthcare IT.
Healthquest Partners spun out last year from Sofinnova Ventures, kicking off with a $110 million fund. The rationale for its launch was to tap the medtech market more comprehensively – as Sofinnova focuses more specifically on biotechnology, evidenced last year by a $500 million fund dedicated to that industry.
With that first fund, HealthQuest planned to fund about a dozen companies – focusing primarily on regions that don’t attract much venture capital activity. For instance, it invested in Castle Bioscience, a molecular cancer diagnostics company based in Friendswood, Texas.

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From the first fund, Healthquest Partners has made seven investments in medtech startups, including arthroscopy diagnostics maker Trice Medical, specialty drug health IT startup VirMedica, and First Aid Shot Therapy – a consumer-facing startup that purveys over-the-counter “liquid shots” that treat pain, hangovers, heartburn and colds.