• MEDIMMUNE strengthens IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY CAPABILITIES with acquisition of  TVM Capital portfolio company DEFINIENS
• First TVM Capital Life Science Conference in Seoul a success
• TVM Capital at BioEurope

We are very pleased to report that our portfolio company Definiens AG, Munich, a healthcare IT investment from 2000, was acquired by MedImmune yesterday. Definiens’ proprietary Cognition Network Technology® was developed by Professor Gerd Binnig, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and unlocks information from cancer tissue samples by measuring the identity, locations and, most importantly, the relationships between the many and varied components of the complex tumour microenvironment. Under the terms of the agreement, MedImmune will acquire 100 percent of Definiens’ shares for an initial consideration of $150 million and make additional predetermined milestone payments. Definiens will continue to operate its business with third-party customers – please see the full press release here.

After two IPOs (Proteon Therapeutics and Probriodrug AG) and an option agreement to buy 100% of the shares of our portfolio company f-star last month, we are continuing to gain momentum for our investors, not only with regards to exits but also by looking into new, exciting markets.

Our inaugural TVM Capital Life Science Conference in Seoul on October 30th proved to be a great success – special thanks go to our cooperating partner Bukwang Pharmaceuticals who did a great job organizing this event which attracted more than 120 participants including a broad segment of the Korean pharma industry, financial investors and government officials including the KHIDI (Ministry of Health and Welfare). Through this event, TVM Capital Life Science gained allies at the industry, financial and political levels that will bring tangible benefits to us all.

Last but not least, the TVM Capital Life Science team sponsored and attended BioEurope, the most important European industry conference, in Frankfurt on November 3, with Dr. Hubert Birner moderating a panel session on advancements in orphan drugs. We also organized our traditional BioEurope Chill-Out in collaboration with our portfolio company Evotec concluding the first day of the conference with 250 industry peers on a boat in Frankfurt harbor.

The geographical triangle of Life Science investing, Europe, North America and Asia, is starting to vibrate.