Financial History
Cytheris SA, a private company, is funded and supported by a distinguished and experienced group of leading healthcare investors. To date, the company has raised a total of €43 million in three rounds of venture financing.
Following its founding in 1999 with the financial support of the founder and several angel investors, in July 2002 Cytheris raised €7 million (US$10.4 million) in a Series B round of venture financing led by Bioam Gestion of Paris and including two Canadian funds, GestionT2C2/Bio and CDP Capital Technology Ventures (a subsidiary of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec), and two French funds, AXA Private Equity and Crédit Agricole Private Equity. In October 2006, Cytheris raised new venture financing of more than €24 million (US$30 million) in a Series C round led by CDC Innovation (France) and including ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences (now: Forbion Capital Partners, Netherlands) as a new investor, together with all five previous investors. In June of 2010, Cytheris raised additional venture financing in a Series D round of €12 million (US$15 million). In this most recent round, new investor, CDC Entreprises (France), acting for the Strategic Investment Fund (FSI), participated in the round along with existing investors Bioam Gestion, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, CDC Innovation, Crédit Agricole Private Equity, and Forbion Capital Partners.
Current Investors
AXA Private Equity, Paris, France — With more than $22 billion under management and a worldwide presence with offices in Paris, Frankfurt, London, Milan, New York and Singapore, AXA Private Equity is one of the world’s leading private equity firms, offering investors a broad selection of high performance funds for every market segment: Buyout, Expansion Capital, Venture Capital, Co-investments, Infrastructure, Mezzanine, Primary, Early Secondary and Secondary Funds of Funds. www.axaprivateequity.com
Bioam Gestion, Paris, France -- Bioam Gestion is a venture capital firm based in Paris, France, focusing on early-stage investments in biotech and healthcare companies. The firm invests in innovative companies with high growth potential emerging from French and European public and private life science research. Healthcare-sector investment focus includes biopharmaceuticals, medical instrumentation and diagnostics. The company currently manages €51 million through two funds, Bioam and Bioam 1b. www.bioam.fr
CDC Entreprises and the FSI, Paris, France -- CDC Entreprises, an AMF-accredited fund management company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts, invests directly and indirectly in companies, from technological seed capital to small-scale mergers and acquisitions, at both the national and regional levels. It manages investments for the FSI (Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement), for the Caisse des Dépôts (now its second largest investor) and for other public and private institutions in the small and medium size business sector. Its objective is to promote the emergence of firms with long-term, stable growth by strengthening their equity capital and supporting their development. CDC Entreprises now holds a portfolio of over 2500 companies via the 180 French funds that are affiliated with it. A limited company 51% owned by the Caisse des Dépôts and 49% owned by the French government, the FSI is a proven investor that supplies equity via minority positions in French companies that have industrial projects that will create value and ensure competitiveness in the economy. www.cdcentreprises.fr - www.fonds-fsi.fr
CDC Innovation, Paris, France -- With over €415 million currently under management, CDC Innovation is an international venture capital firm with its head office in Paris and a local presence in the Silicon Valley and in Switzerland. The firm’s primary focus is on venture investments at both the early and late stage, in two sectors: information technologies and life sciences. The investment aim is to create value by providing talented entrepreneurs with the resources, experience, and network necessary to turn world-class technologies into great businesses. www.cdcinnovation.com
CDP Capital Technology Ventures, Montréal, Canada – As a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDP), CDP Capital Technology Ventures invests in innovative companies with promising leading-edge technologies. The market value of total assets under management is Canadian $1.6 billion (US $1 billion), with more than 50% being invested in the biotechnology and life sciences sector. Since its inception, it has invested in more than 190 privately owned technology companies in the following investment sectors: Biotechnology/Life Sciences, Information Technologies and Energy Technologies. www.lacaisse.com
Crédit Agricole Private Equity, Paris, France – With €1.7 billion under management, Crédit Agricole Private Equity is the Crédit Agricole group's private equity arm. Its team of forty professionals supports companies at all stages of their growth and expansion, from start-up through to sale, in a long-term relationship of mutual trust and proximity. As an active shareholder in over 250 companies, the firm’s aim is to become a leading multi-specialist player in the private equity market. Crédit Agricole Private Equity's Venture Capital team consists of eight professionals with a complementary range of experience and skills in business as well as in investment. With €268 million under management, The Venture Capital team manages 73 portfolio companies, 19 of which are in the life sciences.
www.ca-privateequity.com
Forbion Capital Partners, Naarden, The Netherlands – With assets under management currently exceeding €200 M, Forbion Capital Partners invests in EU and US Life Sciences companies, developing world-class products and technologies. The Forbion team has invested in 38 drug development and med tech companies since 2000, initially as ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences, the venture arm of ABN AMRO Bank NV. In December of 2006 the group became independent by broadening its investor base and changing its name to Forbion Capital Partners. In recent years, the Forbion team has successfully divested from 13 portfolio companies, leaving an active portfolio of 25 companies. www.forbion.com
GestionT2C2/Bio, Montréal, Canada -- T2C2 (Technology, Transfer, Commercialization, Capital), focuses on the identification and development of potential business opportunities in universities, research centers and industry. Outstanding science, high-quality entrepreneurs, intellectual property and commercial potential are the key elements and criteria that are used to select projects. T2C2 provides seed capital to support the continuation of research and the initial development of the business. Following the seed phase, T2C2 participates with other investors in the financing of the following rounds. www.t2c2capital.com