PALO ALTO, CA and BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2014) - Lightstone Ventures (LSV) today announced it has partnered with Enterprise Ireland, the innovation and job creation arm of the Irish Government, and the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) to collaborate as part of the Innovation Fund Ireland. LSV's participation in the Dublin-based initiative will provide a source of new investment for promising therapeutic-oriented life sciences companies.
Through the Innovation Fund Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the NPRF collectively invested EUR 30M in Lightstone's most recent Fund. LSV, in return, will actively seek and, at times, incubate innovative Irish-based investment opportunities. Lightstone Partner Jason Lettmann will lead the initiative from Lightstone's new office in Dublin, which will also serve as the firm's European base for LSV portfolio companies as they conduct clinical trials and move into commercialization.
"Ireland is an emerging European hub for medical technology and pharmaceutical research, and a number of multinational healthcare corporations have established significant operations in the country," said founding LSV General Partner Mike Carusi. "Ireland has a strong R&D culture, an attractive start-up environment, and a budding entrepreneurial community, which we expect to grow as its healthcare ecosystem grows. With this unique initiative, Lightstone has a unique opportunity to help lead this wave of innovation."
"Today's announcement that Lightstone Ventures is partnering with Enterprise Ireland and the NPRF to establish a fund that will invest in innovative companies is a major boost for the Irish venture capital industry and for the Irish Life Sciences sector," said Richard Bruton T.D., Ireland's Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. "This sector has been identified in the Action Plan for Jobs as a fast growing sector with significant potential for job creation."
Lightstone announced earlier this month the closing of its first fund at $172 million, representing the largest, first-time, U.S. life sciences venture fund raised in over two years. The firm also announced it has made three initial investments: Catabasis, Dublin-based FIRE1, and EarLens.
About Lightstone Ventures
Lightstone Ventures (LSV) was founded in 2012 by the Life Science Partners of Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) and Morgenthaler Ventures to focus on novel breakthrough medical devices and biopharmaceuticals. The Lightstone team actively manages the Morgenthaler and ATV portfolios of more than 40 life science companies and has been involved in several of the largest, venture-backed healthcare exits over the last decade including: Ardian, Avidia, FoldRx, Hypnion, MicroVention, Morphotek, Orexigen, Perclose, Plexxikon, Proteolix, Threshold and Zeltiq. Lightstone is an international firm with offices in Palo Alto, Calif., Boulder, Colo., Boston, Mass and Dublin, Ireland (opening in 2014). For more information, visit www.lightstonevc.com.
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