Claris Ventures announces the first closing of Claris Biotech II, a venture capital fund dedicated to early-stage investments in biotech start-ups originating from the Italian research network, with a target fund size of EUR 100 million. The fund continues the path started with the first fund launched in 2020, which had raised a total of EUR 85 million and financed 10 biotech companies, active in therapeutic areas such as oncology, neurology, cardio-metabolic and rare diseases.
Four therapeutic programmes supported by the first fund have already entered the clinical phase and the investee companies have raised a total of more than EUR 170 million in capital, attracting the interest of international investors and pharmaceutical groups, including Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb and ONO Pharmaceutical.
“Biotech represents an extraordinary opportunity for Italy, where there is scientific research of excellence, but still too often disconnected from industrial development paths. With Claris, we have introduced a way of working that starts from science and aggregates around it entrepreneurial skills, international investors and a path towards the clinic. We believe that this approach can make a concrete contribution to the maturation of the national ecosystem, bringing research and real impact closer together,’ Pietro Puglisi and Ciro Spedaliere, managing partners of Claris Ventures (pictured here with the team), tell Startupbusiness.
‘This second fund marks an important step in our vision of growth and maturation of the biotech industry in Italy, starting from science and accompanying it towards clinical validation,’ Puglisi and Spedaliere added in a note. ‘We will continue to invest in new entrepreneurial realities born from high-impact discoveries: we are not afraid to take the first step and it is the only way to make a real contribution to the Italian biotech ecosystem, as well as an important opportunity for return.
Claris Biotech II retains the focused approach of the first fund: selective investments in therapeutic programmes with a strong scientific rationale, associated with a deep clinical need and a consequent high potential. The objective is to accompany start-ups through to initial clinical validation, creating the conditions for partnering and mergers and acquisitions by large pharmaceutical groups.
Among the institutional investors that have already joined the new fund are CDP Venture Capital and the European Investment Fund (EIF, part of the EIB Group), which confirm their commitment to supporting innovation in the lifesciences field in continuity with the support given to the first Claris Ventures fund.
“As the leading venture capitalist in Europe, investing in innovative life science companies is one of our strategic priorities for the EIF,” comments Marco Marrone, chief investment officer of the EIF. “With our investment in Claris Biotech II, we aim to support new biotech companies born from excellent scientific discoveries, generating positive value for society and patients in Italy and Europe.
Simona Corno, senior partner and co-head of CDP Venture Capital’s FoF VenturItaly II, adds: “We renew our support for Claris Ventures, an established Italian fund manager, which with Claris Biotech I has demonstrated its scouting capabilities and rapid construction of a portfolio of Italian biotech start-ups that are already characterised by growth and clear value creation. For CDP Venture Capital, the life sciences sector is a priority, and the subscription of Claris Biotech II, a follow-on fund that will support the growth of early-stage biotech also through collaborations at the international level, goes in this direction”.
On the occasion of the first closing, Claris Ventures also announces that Giulia Vestri has joined the team as a partner. With a consolidated experience in biotech business development and pharmaceutical development, Vestri further enriches the team’s expertise, helping to strengthen the ability to support investees in the most critical phases of their growth path, from strategic ideation to the creation of industrial and clinical value.
Claris Ventures will continue to work closely with the early-stage ecosystem, integrating scientific, industrial and financial expertise to accelerate the research transition to new drug development.
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