Jeito closes 'record' $1.2bn Europe-focused biopharma fund
Jeito's founder and president, Dr Rafaèle Tordjman.
France-based investment group Jeito Capital has closed its second fund, raking in €1 billion ($1.2 billion), which it claims is the largest ever raise for an independent European fund dedicated to biopharma.
The Jeito II fund comes nearly five years after Jeito's first round closed, raising €535 million, and the group says that – in the interim – the assets under its management have tripled to €1.6 billion.
Notable success stories among its investments include ophthalmic drug developer EyeBio, sold to MSD in a $3 billion deal in 2024, and immunology specialist HI-Bio, which was bought by Biogen in the same year for up to $1.8 billion.
In a statement, Jeito said the closing validates its "patient-driven investment strategy, its multidisciplinary, collaborative expertise spanning from science to commercialisation of medicines, and value creation."
As with the first fund, Jeito II will focus on providing financial backing for 15 to 20 clinical-stage biopharma companies, primarily in Europe, although, the value of those investments can now be much higher, at up to €150 million apiece from an earlier ceiling of around €80 million.
The first investments under Jeito have already started, and include projects in cardiometabolic disorders, including obesity, as well as reproductive medicine, oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and neurology.
According to the investment group, the record total is a strong positive signal for the European biopharma market, which is underpinned by a deep pool of scientific and entrepreneurial talent and innovative R&D, but is being held back by a shortage of the long-term growth capital needed to scale promising projects.
Jeito's founder and president, Dr Rafaèle Tordjman, said the fund demonstrates the "growing conviction that European companies can drive major therapeutic innovation and significant economic benefits with the appropriate access to financial and strategic resources."
The development comes as Europe's position in the global biopharma ecosystem is undergoing seismic changes, squeezed between the investment dominance of the US and the emergence of China as a major source of innovative new projects.
Data from Evaluate’s Biomedtracker projects global biopharma financing to reach $75 billion this year, a sharp decline from the $152 billion peak recorded in 2020, with Europe's share dropping to just 15% of the total at €11 billion. That said, Europe's core strengths in innovation and investment quality mean the trend can be reversed.
"In this environment, value creation requires both selectivity and continuity, backing the best companies, at the right time, with the right level of capital and expertise," commented Sabine Dandiguian, managing partner at Jeito.
"Jeito is uniquely positioned to do so, thanks to a proven, differentiated methodology and to a team with the experience to provide both financing and significant industry expertise."
