Spruce, Xeraya hold first close of biotech Fund II – update

*Updates fundraising details

Bio-technology investment manager Spruce Capital Partners and venture capital firm Xeraya Capital have held the first close of their second co-managed life sciences fund on $150 million. The fund, which launched in 2012, is targeting $250 million.

MLS Capital Fund II will invest into “bio-greentech companies” across plant and animal agriculture; food, feed, and nutrition; bio-renewable chemicals and materials; and other agtech opportunities along the value chain such as big data analytics, robotics and synthetic biology, according to a press release.

The first fund co-managed by the partnership, Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, raised $162 million in 2011. It is invested into 12 portfolio companies including Chromatin, a seed and feedstock production company; Mascoma, a bio-conversion company producing fuels and chemicals from biomass sources and Codexis, a bio-catalyst, or custom enzyme, developer.

“The use of biological processes to improve health, agricultural, and industrial processes is giving rise to a new bio-economy,” said Roger Wyse, managing partner of Spruce Capital Partners. “We believe there are significant opportunities with the potential to generate superior returns in these areas, and improve productivity, sustainability, quality, and affordability.”