The venture capital, Invivo Capital, a member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has completed the sale of Versantis, the Swiss biotechnology company. In an agreement valued at 140 million euros, it is the second transaction in the HealthEquity portfolio, the firm's first vehicle. Last year they closed the transfer of Sanifit for 205 million to Vifor Pharma, which was the largest operation in the biotechnology sector in Spain.

The operation of Versantis has been structured in an initial payment of 41 million euros, plus another 67.3 million for the fulfilment of development milestones of its therapeutic programs. The buyer is the French biotechnology company GENFIT, a company listed on the Nasdaq.

Versantis is a private Swiss-based clinical stage biotechnology company focused on addressing the growing unmet medical needs in liver diseases. The acquisition of Versantis fits perfectly within GENFIT’s strategic vision of becoming a global leader in ACLF (acute-on-chronic liver failure) and is another critical milestone in the execution of GENFIT’s strategic plan.

HealthEquity is the first vehicle of Invivo Capital, which started the project in 2013 with an investment volume of 12 million euros. Among its participating companies are GlyCardial Diagnostics, Minoryx Therapeutics and Peptomyc, also members of CataloniaBio & HealthTech.

Photo: Lluís Pareras, Invivo founder and Managing partner