KKR ranks as the most active PE biotech investor in the last five years, as larger firms seek out biotech opportunities often teed up by VCs.
The New York-based firm’s backing of Replay is indicative of this trend. It joined OMX Ventures in a $55 million seed round for the genome specialist company in 2022. KKR also targets well-established names in the sector, such as Japan’s Bushu Pharma, announcing plans in December to acquire it from BPEA EQT for 100 billion yen (about $687 million).
One of the few firms to make the list outside of the US was France’s Archimed. On Aug. 30, it agreed to take UK-listed healthcare technology company Instem private for £203 million (about $253.9 million), adding to its existing portfolio of 32 healthcare companies.
The appeal of biotech is illustrated by Archimed’s April exit from gene and cell therapy company PolyPlus, which earned the firm a 300x return on its investment.
Here are the top 10 most active firms in the sector since 2018.
Featured image by Westend61/Getty Images
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