Minister Martin Launches "Fountain Healthcare Partners I"
€75m Life Science Venture Capital Fund. First Life Sciences Fund established under the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012

Dublin, Ireland and New York April 29th 2008

Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin T.D. has announced the establishment of Fountain Healthcare Partners I ("Fountain"): a life science venture capital fund headquartered in Dublin. Fountain is the first dedicated life science Fund to be established under the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012. Enterprise Ireland has contributed €21.75m to the first closing of €75m. The Fund will invest from €0.5m to €7m per company and will have an emphasis on the specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics sectors.

Making the announcement the Minister said:
"A dynamic and healthy venture capital market is a prerequisite for the growth and development of high potential start-up companies in Ireland. I am delighted to announce the establishment of Fountain Healthcare Partners I, the fourth fund to be established under the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012."

"The life science, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors are key sectors in the Irish economy employing over 40,000 people in Ireland. The Fountain Fund is therefore very significant given its size and its focus on the life sciences sector" he added.
 
Over 90% of the capital invested in the fund was sourced from institutional investors of which 75% are Irish based. Institutional investors include the European Investment Fund and the National Pension Reserve Fund. A select number of high net worth individual investors also participated.

Commenting on the announcement Dr Manus Rogan, a founding partner at Fountain said:
"We have been very pleased with the level and quality of investor participation in the first close. There was clear support for our investment strategy, and we significantly exceeded our original first close target. Fountain is now targeting €100 million in commitments at its final close".

Commenting at the launch Frank Ryan CEO, Enterprise Ireland said:
"The €75m Fountain Healthcare Partners Fund I announced today is led by a highly skilled team with significant industry experience. The Fund will be a vital contributor to the development of a dynamic and commercially viable venture capital sector in Ireland.  Furthermore, it complements Enterprise Ireland's role in supporting the sustained growth and development of the indigenous life sciences sector: building on the already strong platform and linkages provided by the multinational base in Ireland".

"The life science sector in Ireland has clearly lacked a dedicated fund of scale and expertise to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative products emerging from our indigenous companies. Our aim is to help fill that gap." commented Aidan King, Fountain's New York based partner.   
 
Fountain Healthcare Partners Fund I, one of the largest emerging manager VC funds in the life science sector globally in the past 2 years, will invest this capital over multiple funding rounds alongside international and domestic life science focused VC firms.

Fountain's investment premise holds that the global life science sector dynamics are currently very favorable for smaller venture backed private companies. Fountain also maintains that the Irish life science industry is at a turning point and has been underserved from a VC perspective. 
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For further information contact

Sarah O'callaghan Tel: + 353 1 808 2755