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Ysios Capital invests 30 million in 2020 and plans to enter four companies in 2021

In a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the venture capital manager Ysios Capital carried out six follow-on operations and made five new investments, two in Spain and the other three in the rest of Europe.In September, the firm participated in a financing round for biotech Splice Bio, the amount of which was not disclosed.

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The venture capital manager, Ysios Capital, exceeded $36.3 million (€30 million) of investment in 2020. The Spanish healthcare and life sciences investment manager invested $41.5 million (€34.3 million) in 2020, up from $32.8 million (€27.1 million) a year earlier, an increase of 26.6%. In absolute numbers, the company committed $8.7 million (€7.2 million) more and carried out eleven operations, two more than in 2019.

In 2020 and with the launch of Ysios Capital’s third biotech fund, Ysios BioFund III, the firm carried out fewer follow-on deals, but added five new companies to its portfolio. The partnership took equity stakes in Ona Therapeutics, VarmX, Splice Bio, Lava Therapeutics and SparingVision.  

Read more about the latest investments made by Ysios Capital and find other important business news with our companion app, Born2Invest.

Ysios Capital invested $8.7 million (€7.2 million) more in 2020 than in 2019 

Ysios Capital presented its third fund last June with a committed amount of $187.6 million (€155 million) and a target of $242 million (€200 million). Julia Salaverria, the partner of the company, explained that it is still in the process of fundraising, but expects to reach the target in the coming months. 

Among the venture capital manager’s new operations, Ysios Capital co-led, together with Infek Capital, a $38.7 million (€32 million) financing round in the Dutch company VarmX in July. The deal also saw the entry of two new investors, Lundbeckfonden Ventures and LSP, as well as existing investors BioGeneration Ventures and Innovation Quarter. The firm also entered the capital of Lava Therapeutics, which closed a $85.9 million (€71 million) financing round. 

The Dutch company will use the funds to advance the development of its gamma-delta T-cell activating bispecific antibody platform.  Ysios Capital also participated in the financing round of France’s SparingVision, which raised $53.8 million (€44.5 million) in a deal led by 4BIO Capital and the Medical Center Enterprise at the University of Pittsburgh. 

Existing partners Bpifrance and Foundation Fighting Blindness also invested. In Spain, the venture capital manager entered the capital of Ona Therapeutics in June, which closed a financing round of $36.3 million (€30 million) thanks to contributions from Sabadell Asabys, Alta Life Sciences, the Belgian fund FundPlus and the French fund BPI France. 

In September, the firm participated in a financing round for biotech Splice Bio, the amount of which was not disclosed. The company, formerly ProteoDesign, specializes in the development of new therapies for the treatment of genetic diseases.  

In addition, Ysios Capital carried out six follow-on deals with Fund I and II, including the venture capital manager’s participation in the $77.5 million (€64 million) financing round of Galecto, which later made the jump to the Nasdaq, and in the $42.4 million (€35 million) financing round of Corwave. Salavarria assured that “2020 was a very good year for us, especially from an activity standpoint.” 

The Ysios Capital partner says that the management company plans to add four new companies to its portfolio and continue to support the companies already in its portfolio, as well as to carry out new company exits via direct sale or IPO, more than one of which is expected to be on the Nasdaq. 

Founded in 2008, Ysios Capital has $419 million (€346 million) in assets under management through three funds: Ysios BioFund I, with $78.7 million (€65 million), Ysios BioFund II Innvierte, with $152.6 million (€126 million), and Ysios BioFund III. The Ysios Capital team is made up of 16 people, including five venture partners.

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(Featured image by Tumisu via Pixabay)

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Suzanne Mitchell juggles the busy life of a full-time mom and entrepreneur while also being a writer-at-large for several business publications. Her work mostly covers the financial sector, including traditional and alternative investing. She shares reports and analyses on the real estate, fintech and cryptocurrency markets. She also likes to write about the health and biotech industry, in particular its intersection with clean water and cannabis. It is one of her goals to always share things of interest to women who want to make their mark in the world.