Longwood Raises $85M First Fund

Ryan McBride1/3/11

Longwood Founders Management, a Boston venture firm focused on biotech investments, announced last week that it capped its first fund at $85 million, according to a press release. The firm’s partners—Rich Aldrich, Christoph Westphal, and Michelle Dipp— previously worked together on Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, which British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline acquired for $720 million in 2008. Glaxo (NYSE:GSK) and Cambridge, MA-based biotech powerhouse Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) are among the institutional investors in Longwood’s fund. The fund has already made investments in Alnara Pharmaceuticals, which Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) acquired in July 2010, and the biotech startup Verastem.