Third Rock Ventures stocks up with $516 million new fund

Third Rock Ventures LLC, a venture capital firm focusedon building healthcare companies, announced March 25 the final closing of FundIII, which raised $516 million in an oversubscribed fund. With Fund III, ThirdRock says it will continue to "execute on its strategy of launching, buildingand supporting transformative healthcare companies."

The firm has raised more than $1.3 billion so farsince its founding, all for investments in healthcare companies and with aparticular emphasis on innovative product engines.

"Since 2007, it has been our mission to be thepreferred partner for entrepreneurs, investors, employees and industry to buildgreat companies that discover and develop breakthrough products that make adifference for patients," said Kevin Starr, a partner at Third Rock Ventures. "Ourfunding to date has enabled us to successfully seed, support or launch morethan 31 important healthcare companies. With Fund III we will continue on ourmission, launching up to 16 new companies focused on disruptive areas ofscience and medicine."

Many of Third Rock's portfolio companies havedeveloped as part of collaborations with industry partners, the venture capitalfirm notes, maintaining that this "collaborative company building approach"enables Third Rock to address the unprecedented demand in the healthcareindustry for innovative products.

"Our approach has always been to seek out andexplore unique collaborative models that are aligned with our mission andvision," said Mark Levin, a partner at Third Rock Ventures. "I am personallyexcited about the continued interest from our industry partners in working withThird Rock to identify new areas of exciting science and launch companiestogether through high-value strategic partnerships."