Abingworth (company)

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. By 2016, the Palo Alto office had been replaced by an office in Menlo Park, and an additional offices had been established in Boston and Cambridge.[1]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. 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. More than a decade later, the managed value of one of the firm's ten funds was $375 million.[6]

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References
  1. "Abingworth LLP". Private Company Information. Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. "Abingworth LLP Top Holdings". Whale Wisdom. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  3. 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. "Abingworth". New England Venture Capital Association. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. "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. 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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