Longitude Capital Maps Path to Bigger Fund

Longitude Capital, the venture capital investor with offices in California and Connecticut, will soon announce the completion of a fund expected to be between $375 million and $380 million, two sources told peHUB.

According to the firm’s website, it describes itself as stage-agnostic, but one source told peHUB it is likely Longitude will pursue more later-stage investments and that some of this will come through PIPE deals. That might not be great news for early-stage startups, which, according to a recent Reuters report, have fought to try and get funding at a time when there is less capital available to the medtech space. Much of the deals in Longitude’s portfolio are geared toward pharmaceuticals and devices.

Last month, our VCJ colleague Joanna Glasner reported that Longitude was mostly there, according to a federal filing, with about $330 million in hand en route to completing the fund. The firm’s website says it raised $325 million in its inaugural fund in 2008. So far this year, Longitude’s deals include a PIPE for Corcept Therapeutics, a Series B investment in Collegium Pharmaceuticals, and backing for CardioDX.

Other PIPE plays for the investor include a deal in 2009 to provide backing to Irish drugmaker Amarin, as well as a deal to support Solta Medical.

Longitude also provided backing to Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which, according to a report in The Deal, returned a whopping 261% for the firm on the $15.1 million invested, after a follow-on offering earlier this year.

Longitude could not be reached for comment for this story.

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