4BIO Ventures launches US$50m fund

The London-headquartered Venture Captial specialist is targeting US$150m for the final close by the second half of 2020. The 4Bio Ventures II fund seeks to provide Seed capital or Series A financing for up to a dozen companies, preferably academic spin-outs, developing cell or gene therapies, which i.e. target the microbiome, and cover medical areas of unmet need.The company said it will also invest into RNA-based gene therapies and innovative targeted therapies.

4BIO Ventures particularly is looking for modern approaches and platforms that go beyond the current mainstream, i.e. NK cell or allogeneic T cell therapies, orphan gene therapies independently from where the spin-outs are located.

4BIO Ventures had three exits from its 4Bio Ventures Fund I, which has 15 companies in its portfolio, including IPOs for gene therapy developer Orchard Therapeutics plc or microbiome specialist Seres Therapeutics, and the acquisition of RetroSense Therapeutics Inc. by Allergan plc.