5AM Ventures raises $285m for fifth VC fund

Life science venture capital firm 5AM Ventures has announced the close of its latest fund, 5AM Ventures V, on $285 million, hitting its target.

The capital for 5AM Ventures V, a growth equity vehicle, was raised from a broad range of existing and new institutional investors.

5AM Ventures IV held a close on $250 million in 2013, above its $240 million target. Fund IV was also a venture capital and growth equity fund focused on the biotech and life sciences, according to PEI Research and Analytics.

In May, the firm made Series A investments of $46 million in IDEAYA Biosciences , a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of personalised synthetic lethality medicines. It also invested $43.5 million in Homoglogy Medicines , a newly formed genetics medicine company translating proprietary, gene editing and gene therapy technologies into novel treatments for patients with rare diseases.

The venture capital firm targets early stage life science companies with investments focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics, drug delivery technologies, and research instruments and reagents. Within each sector, the firm will invest across various therapeutic areas and will consider opportunities based on innovative platform technologies, corporate spin-offs and products with shorter development cycles.

5AM Ventures, founded in 2002, has approximately $1 billion in assets under management and has invested in 54 companies, 34 of which have been exited.

The firm is led by managing partners Kush Parmar, Scott Rocklage and Andy Schwab. John Diekman, the co-founder of 5AM, is a founding partner.