Israel-based Arkin Holdings launched a new $140 million fund dubbed Arkin Bio-Ventures II that aims to invest in 10 to 12 private companies developing different types of therapies for indications with high unmet needs.
Arkin Holdings announced the launch of Arkin Bio-Ventures II on Monday. The fund was supported by investments from Arkin Holdings, as well as Migdal and Phoenix Group, two of Israel’s largest institutional investors. The $140 million fund will be aimed at supporting different kinds of therapies, including gene therapy, RNA/DNA-based therapy, and targeted therapies for different indications that have yet to be determined. The companies that the new fund will support are primarily based in Israel and the United States, according to Calcalist, an Israeli business publication.
Mori Arkin, founder and chairman of Arkin Holdings, said the new fund was born out of the success of its “earlier, well-established and lucrative fund.” The first pharma fund established in 2016 and valued at about $60 million, has provided financial support for companies like UroGen Pharma, Censa Pharmaceuticals, Biosight, Oncorus and more. Last year, Biosight received Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its investigational acute myeloid leukemia treatment, BST-236.
According to the company website, the initial fund was aimed at “innovative early and mid-stage companies with game-changing breakthroughs in areas such as immunotherapy, cancer, metabolism, microbiome, CNS, autoimmune diseases, orphan diseases and drug delivery platforms.” The initial fund was aimed at companies with projects in various stages of development, but the new Arkin Bio-Ventures II will have a more specific focus, the company said.
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Along with their investment partners, Arkin said they are excited about providing financial support for novel and world-class technologies and organizations.
Arkin Bio-Ventures II will be helmed by Pini Orbach, head of pharma at Arkin Holdings. Orbach has been with Arkin Holdings since 2010 and previously worked in the U.S. pharma industry with companies such as Arisaph Pharmaceuticals and Epix Pharmaceuticals. He also worked for Israel-based cCAM BioTherapeutics, which was acquired by Merck in 2015. Alon Lazarus will be the investment manager of the fund, Arkin said in its announcement.
Inspired by recent scientific breakthroughs, Arkin Bio-Ventures II is well-positioned to meaningfully expand its pharma investment capabilities and global reach, to capture innovative technologies and companies that could have a strong impact on medicine and provide new therapies for patients,” Orbach said in a statement.
Source: Biospace
