Inserm investment arm raises EUR 33.5M

Inserm Transfert Initiative, the seed investment arm of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), raised EUR 33.5 million ($42.8 million). Investors included the French government's Fonds National d'Amorcage and Fonds Stratique d'Investment; Inserm; Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT); Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund; GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK); Ipsen Group (Euronext:IPN); LFB S.A. (Les Ulis, France) subsidiary LFB Biotechnologies; Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK); and Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NYSE:SNY). The Initiative expects to provide 15-20 life science companies with an average investment of EUR 2 million ($2.6 million) per company over five years. ...