Versant's voyage

Many life science VCs have narrow geographic footprints, but Versant Ventures has instead expanded operations to Canada and Europe, where it believes there are both good research, and untapped opportunities. The firm also is forgoing a lean virtual model to create a team of about 100 scientists to build out companies around academic work with a potential exit.

Versant closed its fifth life sciences fund last week with $305 million. The fund came from new and existing LPs, including new LPs in Canada and Europe...