The LSP 7 fund is expected to finance 15-20 companies developing new drug therapies and medical devices.

MDDI Staff

February 16, 2022

2 Min Read
medical device
Image courtesy Francisco Martinez / Alamy Stock Photo

Could new funding possibilities be in your future? LSP, a European investment firm providing financing for life sciences and healthcare companies, has raised more than EUR 1 billion for its flagship fund LSP 7. The fund invests in private companies developing new drug therapies and medical device technologies.

Past LSP investments in medical device companies include Simplify Medical, Dr. René Kuijten, managing partner of LSP, told MD+DI. Simplify was a portfolio company of the LSP 5 Fund and the LSP Health Economics Fund 2, and it was acquired by Nuvasive, MD+DI reported in February 2021. U.S. FDA approval of the NuVasive Simplify Cervical Artificial Disc (Simplify Disc) for two-level cervical total disc replacement (cTDR) was announced in April 2021.

Kuijten also mentioned that LSP had invested in Neuravi, a stroke therapy innovator. It was purchased by Codman Neuro, which in turn was acquired from Johnson & Johnson by Integra Lifesciences.

LSP itself is to be acquired EQT, a top-ten global private equity firm. ''Just one day after the announcement of our partnership with EQT, a large investor decided to pursue a EUR 150 million investment in LSP 7, bringing the fund straight to the maximum size (hard cap) of EUR 1 billion. This investment immediately validates a key rationale for joining EQT: with EQT, we expect that we will be able to raise large funds much faster, serving the life sciences in Europe even better than before,'' explained Kuijten, who will be the incoming head of EQT Life Sciences, in a news release. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022, at which point LSP will be renamed EQT Life Sciences.

EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees, according to the release. 

In a November news release, Kuijten stated that "Europe has many attractive life sciences companies. Together with EQT, one of the largest European private equity firms with more than EUR 70 billion under management, LSP can select, develop, and finance these opportunities even better than before. Given the strong cultural fit and the complementarity between our organisations, we are convinced that joining forces is a win-win for our investors, our portfolio companies, our LSP colleagues, and the broader European life sciences ecosystem."

The LSP 7 fund is expected to finance 15-20 companies developing new drug therapies and medical technologies.

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