The British Business Bank has agreed a £75 million cornerstone commitment to SV Health Investors’ new flagship fund – SV8 Biotech Fund LP – which is dedicated to multi-stage therapeutics.
It is the bank’s largest fund commitment to date and brings its total fund commitments to life sciences above half a billion, with £560m committed across 15 life science funds.
These fund commitments have collectively leveraged £3.04 billion from private sector investors, bringing in six pounds for every one pound invested, it says.
SV is a leading transatlantic life sciences specialist fund manager with a 30-year track record of consistently deploying capital into the UK’s growing life science companies, including high profile BioTech companies such as EyeBio and Draig Therapeutics, Alchemab and Pulmocide.
To date SV investments have resulted in the launch of 30 novel drugs and six new drug classes able to treat indications with unmet medical needs and deliver positive impact to patients. SV funds attract investment from pension funds, asset managers, family offices, charities, sovereign wealth funds and several of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.
The British Business Bank has a long-standing relationship with SV going back 10 years. SV’s biotech investment team manages a portfolio of specialist life sciences funds, including four that have received meaningful commitments from the Bank.
This includes commitments to SV’s two Biotech funds; the SV7 Impact Medicine Fund (SV7 IMF) in 2019 and SV Biotech Crossover Opportunities Fund (BCOF) in 2021, as well as SV’s two Dementia-focused funds; the inaugural Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF1) in 2015 and Dementia Discovery Fund 2 (DDF 2) in 2025.
“This deal is good news for UK life sciences and, as the British Business Bank’s largest fund commitment to date, it demonstrates our commitment to the sector,” said Leandros Kalisperas, chief investment officer at the British Business Bank.
“The UK’s highest performing companies are in need of greater funding, especially at the growth stage, and we are ramping up our investment activity to meet this demand.
“All of our investments are designed to mobilise institutional capital, both domestic and international, into UK venture capital. Our cornerstone commitments and the collaboration we provide in fund formation act as a pathfinder for other investors to go into the fund.
“Meeting the Bank’s investment criteria and passing due diligence acts as a positive signal that the fund, its team, and strategy are of high quality, with the intention this draws in other investors.”