Abingworth raises quoted stocks fund

Abingworth, has raised US$53m (€44m) for Abingworth BioEquities Fund (ABE), the first of its seven life science funds which will invest only in the public market.

The fund will focus on companies in Europe and the US. Specifically, it will invest in under-appreciated quoted stocks with the aim of producing high returns over a two- to four-year period. This includes small and mid-cap stocks on the open market as well as PIPEs and negotiated transactions.

Dr Joe Anderson, the Abingworth partner charged with heading the fund, said: “Many development stage companies in life sciences have outstanding growth potential but their shares are often mis-priced due to increasing stock market volatility, diminishing coverage of earlier stage companies by equity analysts and the pressure on public mutual funds to satisfy short-term oriented performance benchmarks.”

What marks ABE out, he says, is that it will look at these stocks with a “venture mind-set”, thereby giving the fund a longer-term investment view.

Abingworth plans to hold a second offering of ABE shares later in the year.