HOUSTON, TX and LONDON and NEW YORK, NY, and PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - March 30, 2009) - Essex Woodlands Health Ventures (www.ewhv.com), a leading venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to healthcare investing, announced today that it has raised $900 million for its latest fund, Fund VIII. To capitalize on market dynamics and the continuing flow of innovation in the healthcare field, EWHV will primarily make growth equity investments in companies with a rapidly expanding revenue base and venture investments in companies with breakthrough technologies. As in each of the last two funds, EWHV will invest across the spectrum of drug, device and service companies in North America, Europe and Asia.
“Healthcare remains a highly attractive market for investing,” offered Marty Sutter, a Founder and Managing Director at EWHV, “and the opportunities created by the market changes underway together with the rapidly growing need for capital make the timing of this fund particularly important.” He added that, “This latest fund and the extraordinary team of professionals behind it allow us to be a strong partner to high growth companies whose capital requirements will allow them to assume leadership positions in their field and to venture companies which need to validate and monetize their new technologies.”
Immanuel Thangaraj, one of EWHV’s Managing Directors, commented that, “We are particularly pleased that in a difficult economic environment, we have raised one of the largest healthcare-only venture funds. We attribute this to our past performance, disciplined strategy, and the experience of the team that we have assembled. We are proud that we have attracted most of our existing investors while a third of the investors are new.”
About Essex Woodlands Health Ventures
With $2.5 billion under management, Essex Woodlands is one of the largest and oldest venture capital firms pursuing investments in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, health care services and health information technology. Since its founding in 1985, Essex Woodlands has maintained its singular commitment to the healthcare industry and has been involved in the founding, investing, and/or management of over 100 healthcare companies ranging across all sectors, stages and geography. The team is comprised of 25 senior investment professionals with offices in Palo Alto, Houston, New York, and London. For more information please see www.ewhv.com or contact Immanuel Thangaraj at 650-543-1555 or ithangaraj@ewhv.com.
