As the coronavirus crisis worsens throughout the U.S., a Chicago venture firm just raised nearly $1.5 billion in two new funds to back companies fighting against COVID-19 and other health care challenges.
ARCH Venture Partners announced Thursday that it raised a combined $1.46 billion through its ARCH Venture Fund X and ARCH Venture Fund X Overage funds to back early-stage biotechnology companies. The firm says it will often co-invest in a company through both funds, but its Fund X Overage fund will be used to make fewer deals that require larger investments.
Several of ARCH's portfolio companies are currently working to develop COVID-19 therapeutics, including Vir Biotechnology, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, VBI Vaccines, Brii Biosciences and Sana Biotechnology. Others, like Twist Biosciences, are advancing genomic and gene engineering tools used in COVID-19 therapeutic and vaccine development, and Quanterix is advancing technology that can help with clinical testing needs.
"ARCH has always been driven to invest in great science to impact human health," Robert Nelsen, ARCH's co-founder and managing director, said in a statement. "There isn't a better illustration of our principles than our all-in battle against COVID-19. The healthcare revolution will be accelerated by the changes that are happening now and we are excited to continue to invest aggressively in risk takers doing truly transformational science."
ARCH has a wide range of investment sizes, investing between $50,000 and $150 million in a single deal, the company said. Some of its other investments include Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by Celgene for $9 billion in 2018, and Ikaria, which was acquired in 2015 by Mallinckrodt for $2.3 billion.
The new funds follow ARCH's last fundraise in 2016, when it closed ARCH Venture Fund IX and ARCH Venture Fund IX Overage at a combined $1.1 billion. Prior to that, its two funds raised a combined $560 million.
