Earlier, we took a look at funding trends in the healthcare sector from corporate venture capital groups and found that Novartis Venture Funds was the most active investor since the start of 2011. An analysis of exit trends among corporate VCs shows that Novartis has also notched the highest number of exits among healthcare CVCs. The data below.
[Tweet “Q1’14 saw healthcare corporate VCs participate in 16 exits. Novartis Venture Funds leads the pack”]
From Q1’11 – Q1’14 healthcare-focused corporate VCs saw over 80 exits within healthcare. Q1’14 was the best quarter for healthcare corporate VCs who saw a total of 16 total exits (4 M&A, 12 IPOs), up 60% over the previous quarter, and over 3x as many exits as Q1’13. The quarter was buoyed by a multi-year high in IPO’s from companies such as Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Venture Funds-backed Akebia Therapeutics.
With 3 IPOs in Q1’14, Novartis Leads All CVCs in Healthcare Exits
The most active CVC in Healthcare, Novartis Venture Funds, also saw the most exits from Q1’11-Q1’14, with over 8 exits totaling over $2.4B. Notably, 3 of their exits came in Q1’14, with IPOs from Akebia Therapeutics’, Celladon, and GlycoMimetics.
Roche Venture Fund, the VC arm of pharmaceuticals and diagnostic company Roche, ranked second in exits over the same time period. Roche Venture Fund also notched multiple exits in Q1’14, with an IPO from biotech firm Horizon Discovery and the acquisition of DVS Sciences by Fluidigm in February.
With the increasing # of exits being seen by healthcare-focused corporate VCs, will activity by corporate venture arms begin to acclerate?