Longitude Maps First Fund

Longitude Capital Partners, the life sciences spin-out of Pequot Ventures, has closed its first fund, peHUB has learned. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm raised $325 million, after originally targeting $250 million. UBS served as placement agent.

Longitude spun out of Pequot in 2006, where it had been formed nine years earlier to invest in biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Most of its deals are best-described as early-stage, but it also will play further downstream. For example, it recently participated in private placements this year for a pair of public companies: Corcept Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CORT), a drug developer focused on severe psychiatric and metabolic diseases, and Amarin Corp. (Nasdaq: AMRN), which develops medications for CNS disorders.

The firm also continues to manage its legacy Pequot portfolio, which includes Codexis – a biocatalyst company that Pequot originally invested in back in 2002 at a pre-money valuation of just over $20 million. It’s now in registration for a $100 million IPO, and last November raised Series E funding at a post-money valuation of over $407 million.

Longitude did not return a voicemail and email requesting comment. It’s primary office is in Menlo Park, but it also has staff in Greenwich, Connecticut.