Carlyle-backed life sciences investor launches $1.5 billion clinical trials fund
Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, FT Editor, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Carlyle-backed investor Abingworth is tapping a fund worth up to $1.5 billion to fund clinical trials as it pioneers partnerships with big pharmaceutical companies to share royalties from new drugs.
The UK-based life sciences investor is planning to fund eight late-stage trials with the new fund, according to people familiar with the fundraising. CarlyleThe private equity group, which bought Abingworth in 2022, will also invest in the fund as a limited partner, the people said.
The fundraising effort comes after Abingworth signed two licensing deals with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies earlier this year, and the fund plans to return about $500 million to investors in a year in which the biotech venture capital sector struggled.
In February, the company announced a partnership with California’s Gilead Sciences to develop cancer drug Trodelvy in a deal worth up to $210 million. Trodelvy has been approved to treat several cancers including breast cancer, and Abingworth is now helping fund trials to see if it can tackle lung cancer.
In April, Abingworth agreed to fund clinical research on an asthma inhaler with Israeli drugmaker Teva in a deal worth up to $150 million.
The latest fund will likely close in the first half of next year, the people said.
Founded in 1973, Abingworth previously focused on venture capital investments in early-stage biotechnology companies.
They hope the new fund will attract larger pharmaceutical companies that want to reduce capital spending, while still pursuing a larger portfolio of potential drugs that “have a better chance of hitting their target,” a term in industry to maximize the chances of a successful drug.
Pharmaceutical corporations are eager to replenish their drug supplies as many blockbuster drugs are set to go off patent in the coming years. While smaller biotech companies have previously made deals with professional royal company To secure funding for costly trials, larger drug manufacturers often adopt this approach.
Last year, Abingworth raised a $356 million fund to invest in trials alongside companies that it said at the time were “significantly oversubscribed,” surpassing its $300 million target .
Abingworth told potential investors of the fund that it has previously had a better-than-average success rate in discovering suitable drugs and developing them in phase three trials, with about 80% of the drugs tested have helped finance receive approval. . People said this number compares to the industry average of about 55-60%.
Abingworth previously invested in so-called “co-development agreements” through portfolio company SFJ Pharmaceuticals. But in August, it hired SFJ Pharmaceuticals chief executive Robert deBenedetto to work with pharmaceutical companies and larger biotech companies.
The majority of these transactions will now be done internally or with Abingworth’s wholly owned Launch Therapeutics platform.
Abingworth and Carlyle declined to comment.
