USA – ARCH Venture Partners has closed on nearly US$3 billion for its 12th flagship fund, which will focus on early-stage biotechnology companies.

The fund is the largest to date for the 35-year-old, Chicago-headquartered firm, which is known for its persistent approach to investment across market cycles.

The firm’s 12th venture fund comes on the heels of a nearly US$2 billion fund announced in January 2021 and launches amidst a biotech bear market.

Currently, even as public biotech valuations are far below last year’s highs, ARCH co-founder and managing director Robert Nelsen indicated there would be no slowdown in funding activity.

Science doesn’t care what markets are doing, and science moves forward,” Nelsen said in a statement accompanying the funding announcement.

Nelsen said the firm is looking to fund startups “with potential to solve some of the biggest health challenges.

So far this year, ARCH has made 11 disclosed investments, per Crunchbase data. Earlier this month, the firm co-led an US$85 million Series C round for Vizgen, a startup focused on single-cell spatial genomics.

Startups of interest are working on breakthroughs in a range of focus areas, including infectious disease, mental health, immunology, oncology, neurology, age-related disease, genomic and biological tools, and ways to reimagine diagnostics and therapies.

Like Flagship Pioneering, the biotech incubator that founded Moderna, Arch has shown an interest in companies with technologies that have the potential to create multiple products.

Alnylam, for example, has brought four RNA-based medicines to market through a drugmaking platform that uses lipid nanoparticles and conjugates.

Arch’s 2022 investments

So far this year, ARCH has made 11 disclosed investments, per Crunchbase data. Earlier this month, the firm co-led an US$85 million Series C round for Vizgen, a startup focused on single-cell spatial genomics.

Other big lead rounds this year include a US$167 million Series C for mRNA-focused Nutcracker Therapeutics, and a US$76 million Series A for immunotherapy developer Pheast Therapeutics.

ARCH invests primarily in companies it co-founds with scientists and entrepreneurs. The firm is commonly a lead investor, but also co-invests with other VCs, particularly in larger rounds.

Its early- and later-stage rounds tend to be on the large side by venture standards, typically in the tens of millions and often exceeding US$100 million.

Several ARCH-backed companies have also debuted on public markets in recent quarters, including drug developer EQRx, cancer therapy developer Lyell Immunopharma, and genetic medicines company Verve Therapeutics.

ARCH was also a key investor in Seattle’s Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by Celgene in 2018 in a deal worth more than US$9 billion.

Founded in 1986, Arch has grown to be one of the most prolific venture firms in technology and the life sciences.

It has backed more than 150 companies — some of which, like Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Bluebird bio and Sage Therapeutics, now have drugs either on the market or nearing regulatory approval.

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