Cambridge, MA-based Flagship Ventures said today it has formed a partnership with Merck Research Ventures Fund—the $250 million fund the Whitehouse Station, NJ-based drug giant set up last year to foster biotech startups. The two companies will collaborate to find and back new companies that are developing drugs to address unmet medical needs. As part of the deal, Merck Research Ventures Fund (MRVF) became an investor in Flagship’s fourth venture capital fund, which closed in January. The financial details of the Merck partnership were not disclosed.
Merck (NYSE: MRK) established its fund in the fall and has made four fund-to-fund investments so far. MRVF’s managing director, Reid Leonard, who works out of the Boston-based Merck Research Labs, says the company was looking to team up with a Boston-area VC firm that was well-connected in the startup community. “We have excellent relationships with all the firms here, but we had a strong feeling Flagship would make the best partner,” Leonard says. “We had to be alligned on whether the firm had an open fund, whether the size of that fund would meet our needs, and how the relationship would work.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Merck Teams With Flagship to Bankroll Early Biotech Ventures | Xconomy
