Clarus Closes $500M Fund for Life Sciences InvestmentClarus Closes $500M Fund for Life Sciences Investment

Clarus Ventures (Cambridge, MA), a new venture capital firm focused on life sciences, has closed its inaugural fund of $500 million. The fund will provide capital and resources for portfolio companies primarily in the biopharmaceutical and specialty pharma sectors, but will have a secondary focus on medical device manufacturers and companies developing biotechnology platforms.

According to Clarus, the fund will invest up to $50 million per company, with a preferred investment size of between $20 million and $30 million. The company plans to begin pursuing investment opportunities in early 2006.

Clarus was founded by a group of investment professionals with varied backgrounds in the healthcare arena, as well as experience in research and development, commercialization, business development, and management. Among its managing directors is Kurt C. Wheeler, founder and former CEO of InControl (Redmond, WA), a publicly traded cardiac device company that was acquired by Guidant (Indianapolis) in 1998.

“Each member of the Clarus team has a track record of consistently building companies that are emerging leaders in their sectors,” says Nicholas Galakatos, PhD, a Clarus managing director. “The Clarus partnership has the breadth and depth required to create significant value by investing at any stage of a life sciences company's growth.”

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