Category: Orbimed News

NEW YORK, March 1, 2021 – OrbiMed, a leading life sciences investment firm, announced $3.5 billion in commitments for its latest private investment funds, including $1.5 billion for OrbiMed Private Investments VIII, $800 million for OrbiMed Asia Partners IV, and $1.2 billion for OrbiMed Royalty & Credit Opportunities III. Investors in these new funds include a broad range of medical institutions, university endowments, foundations, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

• OrbiMed Private Investments VIII invests primarily in venture capital stage opportunities in North America and Europe, with a focus on biotechnology, medical device, and diagnostics companies. This fund targets investments from $10 million to $100 million across approximately 40 portfolio companies.
• OrbiMed Asia Partners IV invests primarily in China and India, from venture capital through growth stage across biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare services. This fund targets investments from $10 million to $100 million in approximately 20 portfolio companies.
• OrbiMed Royalty & Credit Opportunities III invests globally through providing structured credit and royalty monetization financing solutions for healthcare companies and institutions. This fund generally invests from $10 million to $150 million per opportunity.

Where appropriate, OrbiMed invests across multiple funds, bringing potential investment amounts to upwards of $250 million per portfolio company. These new funds bring OrbiMed’s assets under management to approximately $18 billion across public equity, private equity and credit/royalty strategies. These extensive financial resources allow OrbiMed to partner with healthcare companies across their life cycle, solving financing needs from start-up seed capital through to growth equity and non-dilutive debt capital.

OrbiMed is led by its nineteen partners, with a growing team of more than 100 professionals contributing diverse, complementary skills across finance, strategy, and new company formation. OrbiMed combines its substantial financial resources with extensive global team capabilities to partner with exceptional management teams in building the next generation of world-class healthcare companies.

About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with $18 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets.

Contact
Carter Neild, CFA
Phone: (212) 739.6400
Email: NeildC@OrbiMed.com

NEW YORK, February 3, 2020 – OrbiMed is pleased to announce the promotion of David Bonita, M.D., to General Partner. David joins the firm’s six existing General Partners, Sven H. Borho, Carl Gordon, Jonathan Silverstein, Carter Neild, Geoffrey Hsu and Scot Stevens.

Since joining OrbiMed in 2004, David has led numerous transformative investments in innovative biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, including Loxo Oncology, Tricida, Cryterion Medical, and Therachon SAS, among others.

“David’s investments have contributed significantly to the financial returns enjoyed by OrbiMed’s clients, but more importantly his companies have discovered and developed numerous therapies that treat life threatening unmet medical needs.” stated Jonathan Silverstein, a Managing Partner of OrbiMed.

“David’s promotion to General Partner is a recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the firm in recent decades,” stated Managing Partner Carl Gordon. “We look forward to his growing organizational leadership in the years to come.”

David can be reached at (212) 739-6400 or BonitaD@OrbiMed.com

About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with $18 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets.

Contact
Carter Neild, CFA
Phone: (212) 739.6400
Email: NeildC@OrbiMed.com

NEW YORK, January 16, 2020 – OrbiMed Advisors LLC (“OrbiMed”), on behalf of its clients, has evaluated the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus for the proposed merger of Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (“Foamix”) and Menlo Therapeutics Inc. (“Menlo”).

After careful consideration and review of the Form S-4/A Registration Statement filed by Menlo on January 6, 2020, OrbiMed believes that the proposed merger of Foamix and Menlo is a compelling transaction with the potential to significantly enhance value for Foamix shareholders. Accordingly, OrbiMed intends to vote in favor of the approval and adoption of the Merger Agreement in its entirety.

OrbiMed clients have substantial holdings of Foamix securities, including 2,577,982 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 550,000 of ordinary shares, or approximately 5% of the Company’s shares outstanding as of January 16, 2020. OrbiMed clients and Foamix have also entered into a Credit Agreement for term loans totaling $25 million.

About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with $18 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets.

Contact
Carter Neild, CFA
Phone: (212) 739.6400
Email: NeildC@OrbiMed.com

BY SANDI WONG, STAFF WRITER

Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. brings a dual U.S.-China strategy and a diverse pipeline to OrbiMed’s non-alcoholic steatohepatitis investment portfolio.

OrbiMed co-led the biotech’s $80 million series B on Oct. 30 with fellow new investor Vivo Capital. Decheng Capital, also a new investor, and existing investor Lilly Asia Ventures also participated.

“We were attracted by the cross-border organization of Terns,” said OrbiMed’s Carl Gordon.

Terns President and CEO Weidong Zhong said the company has a discovery unit in the San Francisco Bay Area and a clinical development team in Shanghai.

Gordon noted that Terns was. one of a few companies with management teams that brought expertise in drug discovery and development in both China and the U.S.

Zhong was previously executive director and global head of antiviral research at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR); SVP of Chemistry and Early Development Randy Halcomb was formerly director of medicinal chemistry at Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD); VP of Biology Martijn Fenaux was a group leader at NIBR; and Head of Terns China Biotechnology Eddy Wu was executive medical director of the China unit at Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN).

Since launching in 2017, Terns has acquired three NASH candidates from Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) and has discovered several more.

The assets from Lilly are TERN-101 (LY2562175), a farnesoid X receptor (FXR; NR1H4) agonist; TERN-201, a semicarbazidesensitive amine oxidase (SSAO; VAP-1) inhibitor; and a preclinical compound with an undisclosed target. In 1H19, Terns plans to start a Chinese Phase I trial of TERN-101 and parallel U.S. and Chinese Phase I trials of TERN-201.

Zhong declined to disclose the targets of Terns’ internal NASH assets but said their targets are clinically validated and focus on different stages of the disease.

Gordon said, “We like the portfolio of assets that Terns has, which address different mechanisms.”

Terns’ internally discovered compounds are slated to enter the clinic by 2020, and the company plans to develop them in combination with TERN-101 and TERN-201.

Terns’ NASH targets could also complement those of other NASH programs backed by OrbiMed.

OrbiMed was an early investor in NASH company Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT), leading its $30 million series C in 2012. This year, the firm has invested in Enyo Pharma S.A., Galecto Biotech AB and 89Bio Ltd., which are all developing NASH therapies.

Legal and Compliance Disclosures
Information referenced herein has not been audited or verified by any independent party and should not be considered representative of any particular investment or the returns that may be received by a particular investor in any investment fund or account managed and/or sponsored by OrbiMed Advisors LLC or its affiliates (together, “OrbiMed Funds”). Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Particular investments referenced herein may not be representative of current or future portfolio investments of OrbiMed Funds.

Commentary contained herein represents the thoughts and opinions of the specified commentator as of the date of this article and is subject to change based on market and other conditions. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of OrbiMed or its affiliates. These opinions are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, or investment advice, and OrbiMed does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information presented herein. The information provided is not to be construed as a recommendation or an offer to buy, or sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, any security or interests in any investment fund. This document is provided for informational purposes only.

OrbiMed is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) that specializes in the investment of clients’ assets in healthcare companies across a number of products and strategies. This document contains information which may not be applicable to other OrbiMed Funds. The information contained in this article is not intended to supplement or replace disclosures made in Part 2 of OrbiMed’s Form ADV or in the prospectus or other offering document of any OrbiMed Fund. SEC registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

Article reprinted with permission.