Lilly Launches Third Venture Capital Fund

13-Jan-2004

Eli Lilly and Company announced the formation of the Lilly MedTech Venture Fund, which is the third venture capital fund under the management of Lilly Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Lilly. With an initial commitment of $50 million, the Lilly MedTech Venture Fund will invest in companies developing emerging and innovative technologies in the medical technology field.

"The Lilly MedTech Venture Fund reflects Lilly's appreciation for the technological advances taking place in the diagnostics and medical devices field and the increasing synergy among pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics in the delivery of patient care," said David E. Thompson, vice president of corporate strategy and business development, Eli Lilly and Company. "This new fund gives us an opportunity to leverage our industry expertise in the development of these emerging, high-growth segments of the healthcare industry."

Specifically, the Lilly MedTech Venture Fund will make initial investments of up to $5 million per company and initially will focus in the areas of diagnostics, therapeutic devices, and combination products incorporating pharmaceuticals, medical devices and/or diagnostics.

"Our goal is to provide capital and industry expertise to accelerate the path to success and generate long-term capital gains for our portfolio companies and their investors," said Nick Colangelo, a managing director for Lilly Ventures. "Lilly's deep scientific and medical expertise, together with its significant experience in the drug delivery field, positions Lilly Ventures to capitalize on the potential presented by the convergence of treatment modalities."

Lilly Ventures is an important component of Lilly's strategy to be recognized as the pharmaceutical industry's premier business partner. In 2001, the company launched the e-Lilly Venture Fund, which invests in start-up companies with innovative network technologies that promise to have a transformational impact on the current pharmaceutical business model, and the Lilly BioVenture Fund, which invests in early-stage biotechnology companies with pioneering drug discovery and development technologies and novel therapies. With the addition of Lilly MedTech Venture Fund, Lilly Ventures now has $175 million under management.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/33454/lilly-launches-third-venture-capital-fund.html