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      <h3>Gilde Healthcare Partners Closes EUR 150 Million European Healthcare Venture Fund</h3>
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      <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By: Gilde Healthcare Partners<br>
      Posted: 2007-10-03 11:10:01</i>
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      Gilde Healthcare Partners, a rapidly growing European venture capital firm, today announced the closing of its EUR 150 million (USD 213 million) venture fund, Gilde Healthcare II (GHC II). The new fund, which is Gilde's second healthcare fund, is one of the largest venture funds raised to invest in European healthcare opportunities. GHC II was backed by current investors in Gilde Healthcare Funds, who have been joined by a small select group of new investors. The original target for GHCII was EUR 125 million. Investors were attracted by Gilde Healthcare Partners' excellent investment track record which has seen it achieve six exits in the past two years. <br><br>Gilde Healthcare Partners is an ambitious builder of healthcare businesses across Europe. By selectively investing in companies with well thought-out business models, Gilde creates significant value for both its investors and the entrepreneurs it backs. GHCII will continue to invest in innovative companies developing therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices and enabling technologies. The fund will invest at all stages of a company's development from seed stage to pre-IPO rounds. Investment size will range from EUR 1 million up to EUR 15 million per investment after all private rounds of financing. It is planned to make more than 15 venture investments from GHCII. <br><br>"We believe this successful fund raising reflects our high quality portfolio, which contains many of the most successful emerging healthcare companies in Europe. Our investment approach, which is not biased towards any particular country, means that we can invest in the best healthcare opportunities being created across the whole of Europe." said Pieter van der Meer, General Partner. "The quality of our investment portfolio, which we have built and moved to liquidity within five years, has enabled us to generate attractive returns to our investors." <br><br>Notes for Editors: <br><br>Background <br><br>Gilde Healthcare Partners currently has over EUR 275 million (USD 390 million) under management and is actively looking to lead new investments in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices and enabling technologies. Gilde Healthcare Partners is a successful builder of healthcare businesses across Europe. By investing in companies with clear achievable business models, Gilde Healthcare Partners has used its financial resources and network to create significant value for both its investors and the entrepreneurs it backs. <br><br>Founded in 2000, Gilde Healthcare Partners is headquartered in Utrecht, The Netherlands with representatives in London and Madrid. Companies that Gilde Healthcare Partners has pro-actively supported span all aspects of healthcare and include Ablynx (Belgium), Agendia (Netherlands), AMT (Netherlands), Chroma Therapeutics (UK), Glycart (Switzerland), Innate Pharma (France) and Symphogen (Denmark). For a full list of Gilde's portfolio companies please visit the website. <br><br>http://www.gildehealthcare.nl <br><br>Gilde Healthcare II is supported by the European Communities Growth and Employment Initiative, MAP - ETF Start up Facility
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