Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch announces expanded presence in Life Sciences investing

15-Jul-2004

Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch announced that it has taken steps to expand its presence in the Life Sciences and to redeploy its resources and investment capabilities in this promising field. As a recognized pioneer in this area, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has, over a period of 15 years, developed several unique investment products targeting the life sciences industry, including the LODH immunology Fund, which was launched in 1995. To reinforce its leadership in life science investing, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch will seek to hire new investment managers. In addition, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has entered into a collaborative agreement with Pequot Ventures, the private equity arm of Pequot Capital Management, Inc., a recognized leader in venture capital, private equity and hedge fund investing, located in the United States, to manage the investment activities of the LODH Immunology Fund in unlisted health care companies.

Publicly-traded companies in the life sciences industry have fared well in the past year, after challenging years during 2000-2002, which saw unprecedented market speculation followed by a "popping of the bubble." The performance of publicly-traded biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies has been particularly strong recently due to the increasing number of new products launched onto the market, the development of new technologies, and a rise in the number of profitable biotechnology companies in the sector. In this favourable environment, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has decided to expand its leadership in the life sciences in a significant way. This decision will encompass multiple key initiatives :

· A strengthening of internal investment management competencies by hiring new specialists;

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· A redeployment of its range of funds, which will benefit from increased marketing efforts;

· A collaborative agreement and partnership with Pequot Ventures, which will include the management of the private equity and venture capital portion of the LODH Immunology Fund, a diversified portfolio of 29 private biotechnology companies (This agreement with Pequot Ventures is subject to the approval of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission);

· The expansion of the scope of health care venture capital investment activities to include investments in medical devices, health care services and emerging technologies within the life sciences.

"Since the beginning of the 1990s, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has been recognized as one of the principal players in the life science sector for both publicly listed companies and private investments" commented Mr. Patrick Odier, Managing Partner of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch. "We are convinced that building upon our historically strong presence in the life sciences will translate into a number of benefits for our clients and will assure for our different funds, including the LODH Immunology Fund, a revival and performance in line with the considerable future growth in this important sector".

Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch will continue to benefit from the scientific expertise of the world class scientific advisors who have contributed to the development and success of the LODH Immunology Fund since its creation in 1995. The total investments of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch in the life sciences currently amount to CHF 700 million.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/38495/lombard-odier-darier-hentsch-announces-expanded-presence-in-life-sciences-investing.html