FORTY51 Ventures has announced the closing of FORTY51 Ventures I, raising $43 million in its first close.
FORTY51’s core strategy focuses on company formation and early-stage investments in biotech with geographic emphasis on Switzerland, France and Germany. FORTY51 Ventures will lead or co-lead early rounds (seed and series A) of its growing portfolio, which will include academic and pharma spin-outs.
In addition, FORTY51 Ventures revealed its first investment: Mosanna Therapeutics, a newly-created company that pursues the development of a small molecule developed by Sanofi S.A. (Paris, France) to address patients’ needs suffering from metabolic obstructive sleep apnea.
The fund is advised by a complementary founding team of three industry veterans, Sara Núñez-García, Sascha Oliver Bucher and Tamás Schweighoffer, who the company said bring a deep network and decades of drug development, transactions and venture expertise.
FORTY51 Ventures is anchored by an institutional investor syndicate with Stable Asset Management, as well as the Fischli Family. Biotech entrepreneurs and private individuals also participated in the first close of the fund.
Advisers and partners
In addition, Peter van Vlasselaer, Bill Symonds, Jonathan Knowles, Hans Schikan and Darren Ji will support FORTY51 Ventures as industry advisors to the growing family of entrepreneurs. Alan S. Roemer will advise the fund as strategic partner in the U.S.
“We are incredibly excited to bring FORTY51 Ventures to life with the goal of supporting company creation and early-stage biotech in the European market, where we see unprecedented innovation yet a lack of venture builders,” the company said.
Erik Serrano-Berntsen, founder and CEO of Stable Asset Management, said: “FORTY51 Ventures brings true company building to Europe’s exciting biotech scene and leverages a unique arbitrage opportunity with their reach into the U.S. I have not come across a truly differentiating investment strategy in biotech coupled with such a highly complementary skillset among the founding partners – Sara’s scientific and investment expertise, Tamas’s experience in bringing early programs into the clinic, and Sascha’s ability in building and transacting businesses – we are extremely proud to help bring FORTY51 Ventures to its first close.”
Walter Fischli, biotech entrepreneur and investor, said: “From personal experience, I know the great yet largely untapped, investment opportunity that exists in biotech in Switzerland and its neighboring countries. It requires a very experienced team with the ability to focus on early-stage companies being able to provide a clear development path for the assets – given the great prospects of FORTY51, I am very excited to become one of the anchor investors in their first fund.”
FORTY51 Ventures Fund I SCSp, FIAR is domiciled in Luxembourg.