A life sciences-focused venture capital firm has closed its latest fund, valued at more than one-third of $1 billion.
Boston-based Omega Funds said Wednesday that it had closed Omega Fund VI, with $438 million in capital commitments. Fund VI is described as stage-agnostic and is expected to be deployed across companies in the U.S. and Europe, the firm said. It will be used for founding companies, early venture rounds, late-stage public investing and direct secondary transactions.
“We believe this is the most exciting time to be investing in life sciences in a generation, but it requires diverse skills to capture the opportunity set,” Omega Managing Director Otello Stampacchia said in a statement. “At Omega, we have thoughtfully assembled a team that has the experience, insights and connections needed to successfully identify and harvest innovation from both sides of the Atlantic.”
The firm has raised more than $1 billion to invest in companies developing products in oncology, immunology, rare diseases, precision medicine and other areas since its founding in 2004. All in all, those companies have developed 37 drugs that have entered the market, making 24 initial public offerings and 35 M&A exits, according to the firm. An example is German drugmaker Micromet, which Amgen acquired in 2012 and which developed the drug Blincyto (blinatumomab), a bispecific antibody used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
In a phone interview, Stampacchia noted that Omega has already invested money from Fund VI in a few companies. Among these are Boston-based IFM Therapeutics, which is developing drugs in inflammation and autoimmune disorders, as well as immuno-oncology, with its pipeline page listing three in Phase I development. IFM said Dec. 2 it had raised a $55.5 million financing to launch and fund new subsidiaries, which Omega Funds led. Another is Waltham, Massachusetts-based Arrakis Therapeutics, which is developing RNA-targeted small molecules. Arrakis announced in April that it had closed a $75 million Series B funding round, co-led by venBio Partners and Nextech Invest, in which Omega Funds participated.
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