RiverVest Funds I, II & III RiverVest Fund IV Archer Seed Fund

DEC 2018

RiverVest Venture Partners Closes on Oversubscribed $184.4 Million Life Science Fund

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ST. LOUIS (December 18, 2018)

ST. LOUIS, MO (Dec. 18, 2018) – Life sciences venture capital firm RiverVest Venture Partners today announced the final closing of RiverVest Venture Fund IV, L.P., reaching $184.4 million in capital commitments in an oversubscribed fundraise. RiverVest Fund IV marks the firm’s fourth dedicated life sciences fund, bringing its total assets under management as of Sept. 30 to $753 million.

“We are pleased that Fund IV exceeded our target,” said RiverVest co-founder and managing director Jay Schmelter. “It enables us to continue executing our strategy for generating top-quartile investor returns.”

Schmelter credits RiverVest’s success to the firm’s focus on developing biopharma and medical device products that treat high, unmet medical needs, while attracting a buyer or being ready for an IPO within three to five years of the initial investment.

“Since its initial closing late last year, RiverVest Venture Fund IV has invested in eight high potential companies, including founding or co-founding three,” said RiverVest Managing Director John McKearn, Ph.D.

Earlier RiverVest Funds II and III have each provided net internal rates of return to their Limited Partners of over 20% per annum as of Sept. 30. That puts those funds’ performance in the top 5% of all venture funds started in the same respective vintage years according to Cambridge Associates’ U.S. Venture Capital Index, which benchmarks over 1,500 institutional-quality venture capital funds.

In addition to producing top investor returns, RiverVest portfolio companies have been the source of more than 25 approved medical products, including medical devices and drugs currently treating patients.

Since its founding, RiverVest has funded 47 and exited or taken public 22 innovative life science companies. A sample of RiverVest Fund II and Fund III exits and IPOs includes:

  • San Carlos-based Allakos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLK) (biopharma) completed initial public offering;
  • Cleveland-based Securus Medical Group, Inc. (medical device) sold to Boston Scientific Corporation;
  • Fort Worth-based ZS Pharma, Inc. (biopharma) completed initial public offering, then sold to a subsidiary of London-based AstraZeneca PLC;
  • San Diego-based Lumena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (biopharma) sold to Dublin-based Shire plc;
  • Houston-based IDEV Technologies, Inc. (medical device) sold to Abbott Laboratories; and
  • Minneapolis-based Lutonix, Inc. (medical device) sold to C.R. Bard, Inc.
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