PRINT THIS PAGE RiverVest closes second venture capital fund on $75m14/04/2008. Source: AltAssets. 
St Louis, Missouri-headquartered life sciences venture capital firm RiverVest Venture Partners has closed its second fund, RiverVest Venture Fund II, on $75m. The fund held previous closings in late 2006, on around $40m, and December 2007, on around $60m, the firm said. All capital commitments came from private investors.
RiverVest Venture Fund II focuses on early stage medical device and biopharmaceutical opportunities. The Fund II portfolio currently includes six companies, three of which were co-founded by RiverVest.
Thomas C Melzer, RiverVest co-founder and managing director, said, 'We are pleased by the significant increase in the amount of private capital committed to Fund II compared to Fund I, as well as the broadening of our institutional investor base that this increase reflects.'
RiverVest's first fund, which was licensed as a Small Business Investment Company, had total private capital of $45m, plus one tier of leverage from the Small Business Administration. Out of the 16 investments made from the first fund, half were sourced in the Midwest, including three in St. Louis. The Fund I portfolio currently includes ten active companies: five in medical devices, three in biopharmaceuticals, one in specialty pharmaceuticals and one in healthcare services.
In addition to its new fund, the firm has also announced that it has appointed Dr John P McKearn as a venture partner. Previously, Dr McKearn led biotechnology company Kalypsys.
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