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Abingworth (company)

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Abingworth LLP (formerly Abingworth Management Ltd) is a London-based independent venture capital firm and registered investment advisory firm founded in 1973 by a pair of London stockbrokers, Peter Dicks and Anthony Montagu.[1][2][3]: 51  Abingworth had initially sought to extend its investments into the biotechnology industry in the late 1980s,[3]: 51  and has subsequently been investing in life science and healthcare services companies since at least 2001,[4] and had expanded to include information technology firm investments by 2016.[1]

Offices

In addition to its base in London, the company had a second office in Palo Alto as of 2001.[citation needed] By 2016, the Palo Alto office had been replaced by an office in Menlo Park, and an additional offices had been established in Boston and Cambridge.[1]

Investments

The company's investment strategy involves the establishment of funds with particular investment targets in mind. For instance, the "Bioventures VI" fund was "closed" in March 2014, having accrued $375 million, reportedly exceeding the "target" for the fund.[5] A key element in the firm's investment strategy is the exit, which signifies the acquisition of or initial public offering by a company in which the firm has invested.[5]

Prior to 1987, Abingworth had made investments, considered by 2016 to have been successful, in Apple and Silicon Graphics.[3]: 51 

The firm created its biotech investment arm in 1987.[3]: 57  Among the first investments was in Immunology Ltd, which was later renamed to Cantab Pharmaceuticals.[3]: 57  In 2000, the company joined several others in providing funding for Oxagen.[3]: 80  In the early 2000s, the firm invested in and saw forward to initial public offering a number of firms, including Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and Clovis Oncology.[5][6] The firm has also provided funding to support the acquisition of Algeta by Bayer and Avila Therapeutics by Celgene.[6][7][8][9] In the Algeta case, this was the very first of the firm's venture investments in public equities, dating to February 2009.[5]

In 2013, the firm realised an exit from investment in Syntaxin Ltd when it was acquired by Ipsen SA.[5]

In 2013, the firm invested in Effector Therapeutics.[5][6] It also, in January 2013, set up Avillion Group Partners, a clinical phase III co-development accelerator, with Massachusetts-based Clarus Ventures.[5] Following from this, Avillion partnered with Pfizer on a label expansion effort for Bosulif.[5]

In 2014, the firm invested in two ophthalmic companies, Avedro and Gensight Biologics.[5]

Corporate details

As of 2001, Abingworth had less than 10 employees.[citation needed] By 2016, the firm had at least 20 employees.[4]

As of 2016, there were two managing partners, Timothy J. Haines and Kurt von Emster.[1]

James Abell has held the post of chief financial officer since at least 2001.[1]

"Special partner" David Leathers joined the firm in 1987, having left Rothchild.[3]: 51 

The company also has a board of directors, which consisted of two members in 2016, Stephen Bunting and Theodore Clark.[1] Bunting had been a managing partner from 2002 to at least 2014,[6] having joined Abingworth in 1987 after leaving Rothchild with Leathers.[3]: 51  By 2014, Bunting had been involved in the establishment each of the ten (at that time) of the company's life science investment funds.[5]

As of 2001, the company managed $300 million across several funds and had provided capital to sixty life science companies.[citation needed] More than a decade later, the managed value of one of the firm's ten funds was $375 million.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Abingworth LLP". Private Company Information. Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Abingworth LLP Top Holdings". Whale Wisdom. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Owen, Geoffrey; Hopkins, Michael M. (2016). Science, the State and the City: Britain's Struggle to Succeed in Biotechnology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191043888 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b "Abingworth". New England Venture Capital Association. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Abingworth Closes on Its 10th Life Sci Fund – an Upsized $375M". Bioworld Today. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via Highbeam Research.
  6. ^ a b c d e Garde, Damian (28 February 2014). "With $375M in the bank, VC Abingworth hunts for a few promising biotechs". FierceBiotech. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  7. ^ Bray, Chad. "Bayer to Acquire Drug Maker Algeta in $2.9 Billion Deal". DealBook. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  8. ^ Hansen, Stephen (10 February 2014). "How HealthCap, Abingworth apply lessons from successful Algeta investment". BioCentury. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Algeta raises $35M in a placing". Science|Business. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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