Tübingen/Schlieren (Switzerland) - SHS V, a fund managed by Tübingen-based SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement, is investing in Swiss evitria AG together with AFINUM. The life science company supplies large pharmaceutical and biotech companies with custom antibodies for research. For SHS, it is the first investment from the SHS V fund, which had its first closing in July 2018.
evitria AG, based in Schlieren near Zurich, is a service provider for the production of customized antibodies. The company has a track record of more than 5,000 antibody-based molecules produced. evitria’s customers are leading global pharmaceutical companies as well as academic laboratories and biotech companies from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Many of the world’s top-selling drugs are therapeutic antibodies. Accordingly, drug developers are intensively researching further antibody-based drugs against diseases such as cancer or neurological disorders such as dementia. For this, they need specialized and reliable suppliers. The market in which evitria operates will therefore continue to grow dynamically in the coming years.
SHS and AFINUM acquire a stake in evitria AG, which was founded in 2010, with the aim of tapping into new customer groups and establishing a business unit in the USA to serve the market there directly. This is the first joint investment for SHS and AFINUM.
Cornelius Maas, Senior Investment Manager at SHS, says: “We are very pleased to join forces with AFINUM and the experienced management team to further develop this fast-growing company internationally. The antibody production process at evitria is characterized by high efficiency, quality and stability combined with very short delivery times. In short, evitria combines an established, leading market position with high growth potential. These characteristics guide all further investments of our SHS‑V fund.”
About SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH
Tübingen-based SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement invests in medical technology and life science companies with a focus on expansion financing, shareholder changes and succession situations. In doing so, SHS enters into both minority and majority shareholdings. As an experienced industry investor, the company, which was founded in 1993, supports the growth of its portfolio companies through a network of collaborations, for example in the introduction of new products, regulatory issues or entry into additional markets. The German and international investors in SHS funds include professional pension funds, pension funds, strategic investors, funds of funds, family offices, entrepreneurs and the SHS management team. The equity investment of the AIFM-registered company is up to € 30 million, volumes exceeding this can be implemented with a network of co-investors. Following the first closing of SHS’s fifth fund of more than EUR 90 million in July 2018, investments are already being made from the fund. The final closing will take place in July 2019.