SAN FRANCISCO– Avestria Ventures, a Bay Area-based life sciences venture fund, has closed Avestria Ventures Fund I.
Founded by veteran life science industry executives Linda Greub and Corinne Nevinny, Avestria invests in early-stage women’s health companies and female-led life science ventures.
Avestria seeks to generate strong returns by focusing on these two under-invested sectors. Although the NIH has accepted sex as a biological variable since 2016, less than 1% of the venture capital invested in the $4T US healthcare industry was directed towards women’s health in 2020 according to Pitchbook Inc. Similarly, only 2.3% of venture capital was invested in female-led companies last year, even though female-led teams generate a 35% higher ROI than all-male teams.
“Men still represent approximately 85% of the investment partners at venture capital firms,” Greub summarized, “and many of them are missing out on great investment opportunities when they underinvest in women’s health and female entrepreneurs.”
Avestria closed Fund I to new investors due to the June 16th acquisition of its portfolio company Alydia Health for up to $240M by Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global women’s health company. Uqora, a second Avestria portfolio company, was acquired on July 1st by Pharmavite for an undisclosed amount.
“We believe that both of our focus areas – women’s health and female-led life science companies – are ripe for innovation,” Greub concludes. “And the two exits we’ve already had indicate that strategic investors are beginning to draw the same conclusion.”
