Google backs Swiss based life sciences fund

With this new late stage fund, Medicxi will help fill a clear gap in Europe, where talented life sciences entrepreneurs do not have access to as much local financial support as their US-based counterparts to expand exciting opportunities into more mature companies. Medicxi, a spin-off of Index Ventures is a Life Sciences venture capital firm, with offices in Geneva, London and St. Helier (Jersey).

Cornerstone strategic investors backing this vision in the Medicxi Growth 1 (MG1) fund, are Novartis, Verily and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The fund also includes most of the institutional LPs that previously backed Medicxi’s first fund, as well as several new investors. With Novartis’ investment in MG1, Medicxi now has strategic partnerships with three of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

MG1 will be supported by a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which will benefit from the sector expertise of the senior executives of Novartis and Verily.

MG1 is a continuation of Medicxi’s pioneering ‘asset-centric’ investment strategy and will be looking to invest in private or public companies with at least one asset in Phase II or beyond that Medicxi believes can become a licenced pharmaceutical product, meeting unmet medical needs. The backers share Medicxi’s belief that, whilst the European life sciences sector is recognised for its innovation, it has been held back by the lack of growth capital.

Giuseppe Zocco, co-founder of Index Ventures and co-leader of the firm’s first growth fund in 2007, will be the Medicxi Partner responsible for a dedicated growth team. This team will be fully integrated with the established Medicxi team.

Francesco De Rubertis, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, said: "The backing by Novartis and Verily is extremely exciting for us. We look forward to inspiring and insightful sessions of the Scientific Advisory Board. We believe these meetings will greatly benefit our portfolio companies."

Andrew Conrad, CEO of Verily, said: “We are excited to partner with Medicxi, Novartis and EIF to help European life sciences innovators accelerate patient and physician access to new and promising therapeutics.” Launched in 2015, Verily is a subsidiary of Alphabet – the parent company of Google - focused on life sciences and healthcare.

Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, said: “The combination of Novartis, Verily and Medicxi will have a positive impact on the future of the life sciences sector in Europe. Since it was spun out of Index Ventures, Medicxi has continued to be a leader in the life sciences investment community, and this new fund offers us the opportunity to support companies with growth potential that for too long have had to look elsewhere.”

Giuseppe Zocco, co-founder and Partner at Medicxi, said: “This late-stage growth fund will support ambitious European entrepreneurs who are willing and able to build innovative companies through advanced clinical development and market entry, rather than pursuing a premature and generally suboptimal early exit through partnering or M&A."