Roivant Sciences Continues its Partnership With BaseLaunch for Phase II

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Jun 24, 2020, 04:14 ET

BASEL, Switzerland, June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BaseLaunch, the Basel Area-based biotech venture accelerator and incubator, today announces that Roivant Sciences has joined as the third partner of BaseLaunch Phase II, the next phase in BaseLaunch's company building activities. Roivant Sciences has already been a partner in the first Phase of BaseLaunch.

Roivant Sciences joins Roche and venture fund BB Pureos Bioventures in supporting BaseLaunch's investment in innovation, with additional partners being announced over the coming weeks and months. Roivant Sciences aims to deliver innovative medicines and technologies to patients by building Vants – nimble, entrepreneurial biotech and healthcare technology companies with a unique approach to sourcing talent, aligning incentives and deploying technology. Roivant has a diverse pipeline of investigational drugs in 14 therapeutic areas across its family of companies. In addition to its biopharmaceutical subsidiaries, Roivant Sciences also builds technology-focused Vants aimed at improving the process of developing and commercializing medicines.

"We are proud to continue our partnership with BaseLaunch and support its mission of building companies that deliver innovative medicines to patients," said Sascha Bucher, Head of Global Transactions at Roivant Sciences.

Neil Goldsmith, Director Strategy at BaseLaunch, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome Roivant Sciences as a partner in BaseLaunch Phase II. We know that young, fast-growing companies require support to see them progress to the next stage in their development. As partners in the first Phase of BaseLaunch, the experience and support of the Roivant team has been invaluable to our portfolio companies. Roivant's entrepreneurial spirit is core to its model and the perfect inspiration and example to new ventures. We welcome their continued commitment as we look to provide capital and resources to back the next generation of scientific innovation."

BaseLaunch serves as an accelerator and incubator for early stage ventures developing cutting-edge therapeutics. BaseLaunch helps build companies from inception through to Series A funding, providing financing and supporting all aspects of business development. During 2018 and 2019, BaseLaunch supported nine early therapeutic ventures which have raised a total of more than USD 100 million in equity capital from US and European venture funds, thereby contributing to the life sciences ecosystem of the Basel Area. Recently, BaseLaunch has added another four ventures to its portfolio, and has been instrumental in contributing to the development of six more ventures in the Basel Area.

Building on the success of its first phase, BaseLaunch Phase II will:

Increase funding per venture to a maximum of USD 0.5 million (versus USD 0.25 million previously)
Have a new and increased pool of partners
Establish BaseLaunch as an "evergreen" permanent initiative
Accept applications year-round, rather than once per year

BaseLaunch is operated by Basel Area Business & Innovation, the investment and innovation promotion agency of the Basel Area. During its first phase (2017-2019), BaseLaunch was supported by Roche, Novartis Venture Fund, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Roivant Sciences. Having entered its second phase, BaseLaunch is gearing up with new commitments, which will be announced soon, harnessing the Basel Area's unique position as a global life sciences hub, as well as its rising popularity among investors, to attract the next generation of breakthrough companies. BaseLaunch Phase II is now open for applications. Interested groups can find information at www.baselaunch.ch/apply/.

About BaseLaunch

BaseLaunch is the Basel Area-based incubator and accelerator that helps scientists and entrepreneurs launch exceptional biotech companies. BaseLaunch serves as a growth platform for early stage ventures developing cutting-edge therapeutics. BaseLaunch helps build companies from inception through to Series A funding, providing financing and supporting all aspects of business development. Operationally run and financed by Basel Area Business & Innovation, the investment and innovation promotion agency of the Basel Area, BaseLaunch partners with leading global pharma companies and venture funds - the first announced being Roche, BB Pureos Bioventures and Roivant Sciences - which also aliment the pool out of which BaseLaunch funds ventures. Regional and domain partners include the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt and Jura as well as KPMG, SpiroChem, Vossius & Partner and Infors HT. Since 2018, BaseLaunch supported ventures have raised in total over USD 100 million. Harnessing Basel Area's unique position as a global life sciences hub, as well as its rising popularity among investors, BaseLaunch is looking to attract the next generation of breakthrough companies and is now open for applications. Interested groups can find more information at www.baselaunch.ch

About Basel Area Business & Innovation

Basel Area Business & Innovation is the investment and innovation promotion agency dedicated to helping companies, institutions and startups find business success in the Basel Area. The organization targets and attracts companies to settle, supports founders of innovative ventures, and drives high growth initiatives in order to establish the region as the Swiss business and innovation hub of the future. The non-profit agency focuses on growing the area's cutting-edge industries life sciences, healthcare and production technologies and manages the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area which houses the organization's accelerator programs. The agency serves the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt and Jura. www.baselarea.swiss

About Roivant Sciences

Roivant Sciences aims to improve health by rapidly delivering innovative medicines and technologies to patients. Roivant does this by building Vants – nimble, entrepreneurial biotech and healthcare technology companies with a unique approach to sourcing talent, aligning incentives, and deploying technology to drive greater efficiency in R&D and commercialization. For more information, please visit www.roivant.com

SOURCE BaseLaunch