5AM Ventures closes $119M for third life science fund
5AM Ventures , a Menlo Park, Calif. venture firm specializing in seed or early-stage life science and biopharmaceutical investments, announced that it’s raised $119.25 million toward a third fund of at least $150 million. The money came from a grab bag of undisclosed private investors, endowments, foundations and pensions.
5AM raised its first fund, totaling $65 million, in 2002, and its $150 million second fund in 2006. The latter handed out chunks of $12 to $15 million to 12 companies.
The firm has seen a decent amount of success, with four exits: Panomics’ sale to Affymetrix for $73 million, Ilypsa’s sale to Amgen for $420 million, Milkana Therapeutics’ sale to EntreMed for $21.2 million in stock, and Alexza ’s initial public offering in 2006 (all from the first fund).
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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