SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--venBio today announced the closing of venBio Global Strategic Fund IV, LP (“venBio Fund IV”), its fourth life sciences venture capital fund, exceeding its target and closing on approximately $550 million in capital commitments in an oversubscribed fundraise. The capital was raised from existing and new investors, including a broad range of institutional investors comprising corporate pensions, financial institutions, university endowments and foundations, family offices and funds-of-funds.

Led by Managing Partners Corey Goodman, Ph.D., Robert Adelman, M.D., Aaron Royston, M.D., and Richard Gaster, M.D., Ph.D., venBio Fund IV will continue to invest primarily in therapeutics companies that are developing biopharmaceuticals for unmet medical needs. The venBio team takes an active role with each of their portfolio companies, providing strategic guidance on a range of business activities including intellectual property, chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC), as well as assisting with clinical trials: from trial design to endpoints to regulatory deliberations.

“We remain committed to our unique approach and strategy and hope the results speak for themselves – our portfolio companies have delivered four drugs to market for six clinical indications, and another seven drug candidates are demonstrating promising late-stage efficacy,” said Dr. Adelman.

“Our portfolio is directly impacting patient lives and we could not have accomplished that without the ongoing commitment from our limited partners, and we are grateful for their continued support for Fund IV,” said Dr. Goodman. “With Fund IV we intend to continue our proven approach of helping to build 12-15 companies per fund while doubling down on winners by providing stronger support for our portfolio companies in crossover rounds and at IPO.”

“We are delighted to announce with the closing of Fund IV, the promotion of Dr. Rich Gaster to Managing Partner,” said Dr. Royston. “Our core investment team and investment strategy remain the same as we launch our new fund.”

“Our strategy at venBio has always been to turn exceptional science into impactful medicine,” said Dr. Gaster. “Every member of our team is involved in every investment that we make, and we believe this collaborative approach is what helps drive our success.”

Sidley Austin LLP served as legal adviser to venBio.

About venBio

Established in 2011, venBio is a life science venture capital firm that focuses on novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs. Since inception in 2011, venBio has raised nearly $1.5 billion in capital commitments and led investment rounds in 34 companies, including: venBio-founded Labrys Biologics (acquired by Teva) and ALX Oncology (NASDAQ: ALXO); Aragon Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Johnson & Johnson); Seragon Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Roche); Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AUPH); Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS); Turning Point Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TPTX); Precision Biosciences (NASDAQ: DTIL); Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AKRO); Harmony Biosciences (NASDAQ: HRMY); and Pharvaris (NASDAQ: PHVS). For more information, please visit www.venbio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005158/en/