Morgenthaler Ventures, ATV To Merge Life Sciences Teams, Form New Fund
Summary
The new life sciences fund, which doesn’t have a name yet, will include biotech partners at Morgenthaler and ATV in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Boston, according to sources familiar with the matter.The merger of two venerable life sciences investors is another sign of how tough it has become for biotech VCs to raise new funds in a down economy, and in the shadow of white-hot IT investments like Facebook, Groupon, and Zynga.Morgenthaler, founded in 1968, has more than $3 billion in venture capital and private equity under management in information technology and life sciences firms.Back in June, Fortune reported that ATV had cut its costs by letting go its investment staff below the level of general partner.Morgenthaler and ATV got returns from investments they made in Mountain View, CA-based Ardian, the developer of a device for treating uncontrolled high blood pressure.