Amgen Inc. and Baxalta Inc., limited partners (LPs) in venBio's first fund, returned as investors in the firm's second fund known as Global Strategic Fund II with Merck & Co. Inc. as another industry insider LP. But while San Francisco-based VenBio may benefit from its investors' insights during due diligence, it doesn't base its investment decisions on its partners' research and development pipeline needs. The firm's focus is companies with preclinical and clinical therapeutic candidates that fulfill unmet medical needs.
The new fund already has invested in four companies: the cancer immunotherapy developer Checkmate Pharmaceuticals LLC, which closed a...
