Versant Ventures related stories
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J&J subsidiary acquires HIG-backed NeuWave MedicalMedical device maker NeuWave Medical Inc has been acquired by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon, according to an announcment by HIG BioHealth Partners, an investor in NeuWave. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. NeuWave, based in Madison, Wisconsin, had previously raised $44.5 million over four rounds, CrunchBase reported. Most recently, NeuWave pulled in a $25 million Series C round in May 2015 led by Versant Ventures with participation from HIG, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, and Venture Investors.
- Versant Ventures makes Davis an MD
Versant Ventures said it promoted Jerel Davis to Managing Director and Carlo Rizzuto to Partner. The firm also hired Luca Santarelli as Venture Partner.
Versant Ventures strengthens Canadian investment teamU.S. life sciences venture capital firm Versant Ventures had announced promotions in its investment team. They include the promotion of Vancouver-based Jerel Davis to managing director. Davis, who joined Versant in 2011, will be responsible for continuing to build the firm's portfolio and market presence in Canada and North America. Versant also announced that Blueline Bioscience, its Toronto-based biotechnology incubator, has appointed Mary Haak-Frendscho as CEO.
Sectoral Asset Management invests in Sweden's Aprea ABSwedish pharmaceutical development company Aprea AB has raised US$51 million (SEK 437 million) is a Series B financing. The round was co-led by U.S. venture capital firms Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures, and was joined by Canadian healthcare investor Sectoral Asset Management, among others. Aprea will use the funds for clinical development of its anti-cancer compound, which targets tumor suppressor proteins. Aprea is a portfolio company of Swedish life sciences investment firm Karolinska Development AB. Last August, Sectoral and Knight Therapeutics Inc invested in /canada/2015/08/26/knight-therapeutics-makes-strategic-investment-in-advaxis/ U.S.-based biotechnology company Advaxis Inc.
- Aprea AB raises $51 mln
Aprea AB said Wednesday it raised 46 million euros ($51 million) in a series B round of financing led by Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures. Sectoral Asset Management also participated in the round while HealthCap was local lead investor. Aprea's main shareholder is KDev Investments AB, an investment vehicle owned by Karolinska Development AB and Rosetta Capital Ltd. Stockholm-based Aprea B is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing anticancer compounds that aim to reactivate the tumor suppressor protein p53.
Northleaf commits $30 mln to latest iNovia, IVP fund closingsNorthleaf Venture Catalyst Fund (NVCF) has made $30 million in commitments to two Canadian venture capital funds: iNovia Investment Fund 2015, which held a $175 million final close /canada/2016/01/21/inovia-capitals-fund-iv-beats-target-in-175-mln-final-close/ this month, and Information Venture Partners II, which held a $72.5 million initial close /canada/2016/01/12/information-venture-partners-ii-raises-initial-72-5-mln-as-investors-warm-to-fintech/ NVCF was the lead investor in both funds. A venture fund of funds managed by Northleaf Capital Partners, NVCF closed at its hard cap target /canada/2015/07/23/northleaf-venture-catalyst-fund-closes-at-300-mln-hard-cap/ of $300 million in mid-2015. To date it has deployed more than 75 percent of its capital. NVCF is managed by Northleaf Director Ian Carew.
Inception IBD raises $14.1 mln in Versant-led Series A roundInception IBD has closed a $14.1 million Series A financing led by Versant Ventures, a U.S. life sciences venture capital firm. Versant was joined in the round by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and by existing investor Inserm Transfert Initiative. Seeded last year, Inception IBD is the first company to be launched from drug discovery incubator Inception Sciences Montreal, which is backed by Versant /canada/2014/06/24/versant-ventures-brings-inception-sciences-to-montreal/ It aims to advance novel targets identified from genomic analysis of inflammatory bowel disease tissue (IBD) and from proprietary drug discovery tools licensed from Inserm. Inception IBD plans to use the proceeds of its Series A round to develop a portfolio of therapeutics.
- Crinetics scores $40 mln Series A
San Diego, California-based Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on treating specialty endocrine disorders, has closed $40 million in Series A financing. Versant Ventures, 5AM Ventures and Vivo Capital led the round. In addition to the funding, Dr. Wendell Wierenga has been named chairman of Crinetics’ board of directors. Also, Crinetics has appointed Dr. Mason Freeman of 5AM Ventures, Dr. Steve Kaldor of Versant Ventures and Dr. Mahendra Shah of Vivo Capital to its board of directors.