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Venture capital firm LSP to sell German biotechnology company U3 Pharma
22/05/2008. Source: AltAssets. 
 European venture capital firm LSP (Life Sciences Partners) has agreed to sell U3 Pharma, a Martinsried, Germany-based biotechnology company focusing on research into antibodies for the treatment of cancer, to Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo in a transaction valued at €150m.
U3 Pharma, founded in 2001 by Professor Axel Ullrich of Max Planck Institute, currently employs 27 people.
The €150m LSP III led the most recent financing round ((€27m in total) in May 2006. Besides LSP, investors including Alta Partners, Atlas Venture, E. de Rothschild Investment Partners and Karsten Henco put money into the company.
Dr Joachim Rothe, general partner of LSP and a director of U3 Pharma, said, 'This transaction is great for all stakeholders in U3, and for Daiichi Sankyo as the new owner. It provides further proof of the attractiveness of assets derived from German academia and developed by experienced management and VCs, and it is a new validation of LSP´s long-term strategy of embracing those exciting opportunities.'
With €400m under management and offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Boston, LSP provides capital to early to mid stage life science companies.
LSP III is almost fully committed now. The firm is expected to launch its fifth fund, LSP IV, later this year.
LSP was a founding investor in Crucell, DNage, Qiagen, Rhein Biotech and Pharming.
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