$500M Fund Launches to Bolster LA Life Science Industry

Westlake Village BioPartners launched two new funds totaling $500 million that will be used to build and invest in promising life sciences companies, with a particular focus on bolstering companies in the Los Angeles area.

The first of the two funds Westlake launched is a $70 million fund that will be used to invest in Series B or later-round fundraising efforts from companies that have been supported with the company’s original fund, Westlake BioPartners 1(WBP1). Westlake did not identify any of the companies supported by the $70 million fund, but noted that one company is an early-stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases.  

The second fund is the $430 million Westlake Village BioPartners 2 Fund (WBP2), which will be used to invest in approximately 12 Series A startups or co-lead Series A rounds with other investors, and will also allow for additional Series B or later-round investments in the most promising of these companies. 

With the WBP2 funds, Westlake has already invested in three new companies. One is a gene therapy company based in San Diego and Westlake also invested in two Los Angeles area-based companies – a  seed-stage company focused on oncology, and ACELYRIN, INC, a Series A company with an initial focus on immunology. ACELYRIN is currently conducting a licensing and acquisition search process that is directed within immunology and opportunistic in other areas. Since its founding in 2018, Westlake Village BioPartners has raised more than $820 million.

Beth Seidenberg, co-founding managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners, said both funds will allow the venture capital firm to “power into our winners and double down during the Series B or later rounds.” She said Westlake looks for companies whose founders have a “vision and passion” to transform healthcare.

WBP2 allows us to continue to build upon our success with WBP1, incubating promising startups with entrepreneurs that show potential to develop breakthrough medicines across a broad range of diseases using multiple modalities. With these two new funds, we will be managing more early-stage venture capital solely from the greater Los Angeles area than any other firm,” Seidenberg said in a statement.

Part of Westlake’s goal is to catalyze the biotech ecosystem in the greater Los Angeles area. Seidenberg said the area is “fresh and exciting” and there are numerous startups in the region. The preference is to build up companies in the area in order to strengthen the local ecosystem. That does not mean Westlake’s funds are exclusive to Los Angeles. Seidenberg said Westlake will invest outside of the LA area for the right opportunities.

Westlake has been working with Alexandria Real Estate Equities to build out laboratory and office space in the greater Los Angeles area. Five of the firm’s WBP1 Fund companies are in Alexandria’s new life sciences space for early-stage companies in Thousand Oaks, and one is soon graduating to a larger facility. Two of the three initial WBP2 Fund companies will be in the Alexandria space. ​Alexandria has built out 30,000 square feet of office and laboratory space in Thousand Oaks as part of a 130,000 square foot, three-building campus. We have purposefully designed the space with a range of operational and service amenities for high-quality early and growth-stage life sciences companies.