An investment firm in Raleigh is looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for its next fund focused on biopharmaceutical companies.
NovaQuest Capital Management so far has raised $90 million for the fund through two investors, according to a June 22 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The investment firm has set a total offering amount of $800 million for the fund, called NovaQuest Pharma Opportunities Fund VI, L.P.
The company declined to comment on the ongoing fund, which follows NovaQuest Pharma Opportunities Fund V. The firm began raising fund No. 5 in 2017 and set a total offering amount at $1.5 billion.
Since officially launching as an independent firm in 2010, NovaQuest and has raised more than $2.5 billion across multiple asset classes, according to its website. NovaQuest was initially formed in 2000 as a strategic investment arm within Quintiles — now Iqvia (NYSE: IQV).
NovaQuest has made more than 35 investments in the biopharmaceutical space, with a focus on companies with promising late-stage assets and capital needs, according to its website. The firm provides investments between $30 million to $100 million of non-dilutive capital to support the development and commercialization of late-stage pharma products.
These investments include smaller companies, like Durham-based Mycovia Pharmaceuticals – which last year secured its first approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – and larger organizations, like Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).
Most recently, NovaQuest announced a $50 million royalty monetization financing deal with the California company FibroGen (Nasdaq: FGEN). The deal provided FibroGen with capital to expand and advance its late-stage pipeline toward commercialization.
In recent years, NovaQuest has expanded its investments beyond biopharma and into animal health. This began with a $30 million product financing agreement with Argenta, a global contract research organization and contract development and manufacturing organization focused on animal health. NovaQuest last year co-led a $35 million Series C round for Targan, a Triangle-based animal health company.
