Startups, BioPharma

5AM Ventures has raised $285M for fifth fund (Updated)

5 AM Ventures previously raised $250 million in 2013 for 5AM Ventures IV

biotech investing JP Morgan 2016

This post has been updated from an earlier version with comments from 5AM Ventures Founder and Managing Partner Andrew Schwab.

Life science venture firm 5AM Ventures has raised $285 million for fund number 5, according to data from a Form D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm makes investments in life science startups at the seed and early stage of their development.

Update On Monday, it confirmed the amount in a press release on its website.

In a phone interview with 5AM Founder and Managing Partner Andrew Schwab he confirmed that 5AM Ventures V would be similar to 5 AM Ventures IV. Its investment targets would have a similar breakdown, too: 50 percent to 60 percent therapeutics; 20 percent to 25 percent drug delivery, with the rest falling across diagnostics and reagents.

“The last few years of biotech have been very robust, driven by great advances in science to [support] precision medicine.” He said it expects to make its first investment from the new fund in the third quarter. Like 5AM Ventures IV, it will invest in 15-18 companies at a range of $15 million to $20 million per company.
Schwab noted that the investments would be a little larger than 5AM Ventures IV but there’s be no other differences in that regard.

5 AM Ventures previously raised $250 million in 2013 for 5 AM Ventures IV. It led financing rounds in 11 companies since then, according to data from CrunchBase, such as scPharmaceuticals, Chrono Therapeutics, Cidara Therapeutics, Precision NanoSystem, Biodesy and Pear Therapeutics.

This month, 5AM has made three investments. It led Purigen Biosystems‘ $18.2 million Series A, a biotech business that developed a benchtop system to support genomic testing. It co-led Homology Medicines$43.5 million Series A round with ARCH Venture Partners. Homology uses gene editing tech to develop treatment for rare diseases. It also took part in IDEAYA Biosciences $46 million Series A to develop breakthrough oncology drugs through immunotherapy target DNA damage and repair and immuno-oncology therapies to treat tumors.

Since the Menlo Park, California, venture firm got its start in 2002, 5AM has made 80 investments in 44 companies — six of 5AM’s portfolio companies did an initial public offering and eight were acquired.

Photo: Flickr user Pictures of Money

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