Fountain closes third life sciences fund after raising €125m

Irish life sciences investor Fountain Healthcare Partners has closed its third fund, having raised €125 million. It brings to just over €300 million the amount raised by Fountain in three funds over the past 12 years.

Fountain, which is led by a team that formerly managed VC investments at former Irish pharma group Elan, had initially set a target of €100 million for the fund.

The fund had raised €118 million back in May last year but has remained open to new investors since.

Japan-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Kyowa Kirin has now come on board and, with the additional €7 million available for investment, the fund has been closed.

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Fountain says it will invest the bulk of the latest fund in Europe, though it will also invest in the US. The money is likely to be spread over up to 10 companies, most of them privately held businesses in the therapeutics and medical device sectors.

It has already used some of the money, doubling down on its commitment to back pain device group Mainstay Medical, which initially secured funds from Fountain's first fund.

Immunotherapy

It has also invested in two immunotherapy ventures: €5 million in second-round funding for French group Inotrem, which is targeting sepsis; and in Dublin-based Priothera, which is working to help make stem cell transplant in acute myeloid leukaemia patients more effective, where it co-led a €30 million series A funding.

"Fountain's investment strategy focuses on building a balanced portfolio of companies with complementary risk and return profiles within the life science sector," said co-founder Dr Manus Rogan, who is a managing partner.

Fellow co-founder and managing partner Aidan King said Fountain had shown its ability "to identify companies in this sector that are developing transformative therapeutics and devices to address unmet medical needs and in doing so to generate attractive investment returns".

Fountain had recently exited two investments – Inflazome and Kandy Therapeutics – which were sold to Roche and Bayer at significant profit for investors.