LONDON – Novo Holdings has inspired the formation of the second new fund in 18 months aiming to feed more capital into the commercialization of Scandinavian science, acting as cornerstone investor in Sound Bioventures Fund I. The new fund greeted the New Year with a first close of €110 million (US$124 million), to be invested in private biopharmas with late preclinical or clinical programs, primarily in rare diseases.

The need to develop advanced medical technologies is ever increasing, and one incubator is on a mission to identify the world’s most promising opportunities. In cooperation with partners including Israel Innovation Authority, Israeli incubator Medx Xelerator LP is expanding a portfolio of startups that are attacking some of health care’s biggest challenges.