BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Wanted: Platform plays

Aravis to focus on European platforms with EUR 100M third biotech fund

February 18, 2013 8:00 AM UTC

At €100 million, Aravis' planned third fund will be the firm's largest, but it also will have the tightest focus as the Swiss VC wants to concentrate solely on European biotechs. The first two funds included U.S., European and Asian companies.

One reason for the new fund's exclusive European focus: financial regulations are more favorable on the continent than elsewhere, according to the firm's Simon Nebel. For example, he said, dividends paid out by U.S. companies can become a "nightmare" for non-U.S. funds because of tax uncertainties brought on by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)...