Fountain Healthcare Partners (Fountain) has held the initial closing of its third fund, Fountain Healthcare Partners Fund III (Fund III) with EUR118 million of committed capital, exceeding its initial target raise of EUR100 million.
Fund III is a dedicated life science venture capital (VC) fund and brings Fountain’s total capital under management to EUR294 million. Within the life science sector, Fund III will primarily focus on specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices.
Fountain will invest a majority of the capital in Fund III within Europe but expects to also make investments in the US market. Fund III is expected to make 10 to 12 investments in predominantly private life science companies.
The EUR118 million capital raised was sourced from major domestic and international institutional investors, including fund of funds, sovereign funds, corporate investors and family offices. Investors in Fund III include the European Investment Fund (EIF); Coolidge Limited, an investment vehicle of Mr Dermot Desmond; the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and Allied Irish Bank (AIB).
Dr Manus Rogan, co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fountain, says: “Fountain’s investment strategy focuses on building a balanced portfolio of companies with complementary risk and return profiles within the life science sector. This strategy has resulted in a strong portfolio of investments for both Fund I and Fund II. The performance of our first and second funds is reflected in both the level and quality of new and existing investor participation in Fund III. With EUR118 million raised we are also pleased to have exceeded our initial close target of EUR100 million.
“With almost EUR300 million of capital under management, we are Ireland’s largest dedicated life science venture capital fund. We will continue to seek opportunities to identify life science investment opportunities with exciting potential both in Ireland and internationally. Our ability to deploy significant capital together with our proven track record of helping early stage companies commercialise their potential, positions us a partner of choice for ambitious life science growth companies.”
Aidan King, co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fountain, adds: “Life sciences continues to be one of the best performing sectors for investor returns, driven by a consistent stream of IPOs and trade sales. Strong demand for life science investments is a reflection of investor’s belief in the underlying growth dynamics of the sector and the investment return opportunities presented by innovative life science companies.
“In addition to financial returns, we are proud of the fact that to date, funding by Fountain has resulted in US FDA approval of three products in the areas of Parkinson’s disease, stroke and cardiovascular disease. These products are transforming the standard of care in these therapeutic areas and will greatly benefit patients worldwide.”
