MAR 2021
ST. LOUIS (March 23, 2021)
Oversubscribed fund to continue investing in high-impact biopharma and medical device innovation
ST. LOUIS (March 23, 2021) – RiverVest Venture Partners, a leading venture capital firm, announced today the closing of its RiverVest Venture Fund V, L.P. (“Fund V”), with $275 million of capital commitments in an oversubscribed fundraise. Fund V brings the firm’s total assets under management to more than $1.6 billion.
RiverVest invests in early-stage biopharma and medical device companies addressing significant unmet medical needs and has delivered consistently strong results to investors. Fund V is RiverVest’s largest fund to date, reflecting commitments from a wide range of institutional investors, as well as family offices and individual investors. Fund V’s limited partners include most major investors from earlier RiverVest funds and several new institutional investors, enabled by the larger fund size.
“With RiverVest Venture Fund V, we will continue our investment strategy grounded in close collaboration with entrepreneurs and academic investigators to develop products for the most pressing challenges patients face today,” said Jay Schmelter, RiverVest’s co-founder and managing director. “Fund V’s larger size will enable RiverVest to participate more fully in later equity rounds of portfolio companies which have the greatest potential.”
RiverVest has a 20-year track record of success. Of the 55 companies in which RiverVest has invested, 18 have been successfully sold and eight have gone public, including Allakos (NASDAQ: ALLK), Mirum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MIRM) and most recently Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ: SPRB) in October 2020. Having founded 15 companies to date, RiverVest is adept at founding companies with technology that originates from academic labs or that has been spun out from larger companies. RiverVest joins syndicates with peer venture firms globally to propel companies that are early in development.
Today, there are at least 27 commercial products treating patients and many in development from companies in which RiverVest has invested. They include drugs such as Lokelma, a treatment for hyperkalemia, a life-threatening condition caused by elevated potassium levels, developed by ZS Pharma and commercialized by AstraZeneca in 2018, and medical devices such as the Supera™ stent, used to treat peripheral artery disease, developed by IDEV Technologies and acquired by Abbott in 2013.
“RiverVest approaches each investment in our concentrated portfolio with high conviction,” said Schmelter. “Working as a team, we aggressively identify and create investment opportunities, we are thorough in our due diligence, and we aim to provide our portfolio companies collaborative scientific, operational, financial and business development expertise.”
With its disciplined investment approach, RiverVest will continue to create value for patients, entrepreneurs and investors. Headquartered in St. Louis and with offices in San Diego and Cleveland, RiverVest is at the intersection of outstanding medical research universities and flourishing innovation ecosystems, reviewing a diverse opportunity set and investing nationally.
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About RiverVest
RiverVest is a leading venture capital firm building life science companies to address significant unmet needs of patients and deliver consistently strong returns to investors. With headquarters in St. Louis and offices in San Diego and Cleveland, RiverVest accesses forward-thinking research and clinical expertise at leading institutions across the country to found and fund biopharma and medical device companies.
Select Commercial Products Developed by RiverVest’s Portfolio Companies:
• Lokelma – Treatment for adults with elevated potassium levels (ZS Pharma/AstraZeneca)
• Vfend – Treatment for fungal infections (CyDex Pharmaceuticals/Pfizer)
• Quinsair – Treatment for cystic fibrosis (Mpex Pharmaceuticals/Horizon)
• Margenza – Treatment for breast cancer (MacroGenics)
• Lutonix – Drug-coated angioplasty balloon (Lutonix/Bard)
• Supera – Peripheral Stent System (IDEV Technologies/Abbott)
• Emblem – Leadless Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (Cameron Health/Boston Scientific)
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