Do you have a late-stage life-science startup that needs an extra push to get over the edge? Less than a year after launching its last fund, today (Tuesday), Peregrine Ventures announced the launch of its fifth fund, Peregrine Growth, which has raised $101 million for startup investment. This time around the VC fund will focus on late-stage startups that are on the verge of an IPO, acquisition or merger.

Between $20-$30 million for each startup

Peregrine Ventures was founded in 2001, and has successfully credited 10 exits valued at over $2 billion. Among others,, the fund supported Eximo Medical, which developed a medical device for treating clogged arteries, and was acquired by NYC-headquartered AngioDynamics for $66 million; Valtech Cardio, which develops miniature devices for the non-invasive treatment of mitral valve regurgitation in the heart, was acquired by MedTech giant Edwards Lifesciences for $990 million; and Rocketick Technologies, which surprisingly is not a lifescience startup, but rather developed GPU-based simulation acceleration fro chip verification, and was snagged up for $40 million.

Peregrine are looking to invest between $20-$30 million  per funding round, with a strong emphasis on companies which are on the verge of an IPO or M&A.

In a conversation with Geektime, Venture Partner Tal Carasso tells that in the medical device realm, the fund will invest in companies that have already passed the technological, the clinical, and the regulatory risk. In the biopharmaceutical world, the VC fund is targeting companies that have begun human testing phase 1 or 2.

Carasso adds that the COVID-19 crisis created quite the uphill challenge for the fund, despite Peregrine 4’s success in making 14 investments during the last year. According to Carasso, the fund recognized that its portfolio companies would struggle with fundraising and advancing clinical trials, thus leading the fund to make the necessary adjustments to the budget and workflow. “Where we could, we found local alternatives for clinical studies abroad, we took advantage of the pause in clinical trials to submit updated plans for the moment that hospitals open their doors to continue experimenting, etc.”

“Interaction with the entrepreneurs wasn’t affected all that much, even though the face-to-face meetings and small talk had been reduced to a memory,” explains Carasso. “The simplicity in the video chats allows us to manage the meetings without any interruptions, and in most cases we are actually able to meet more entrepreneurs because the meetings have become more focused and to-the-point. This helps save crucial time and getting stuck in traffic, and all the accompanying hassles that come with a packed schedule.”

Another $200M on the way

Peregrine state that they plan to raise an additional $200 million for the fund from foreign investors, though at this stage its closing on the $101 million funding round. Managing General Partner Eyal Lifschitz explains that the fund aims to invest in companies that are experiencing high-potential growth, and help support them so not to exit at too early a stage. “This is the stage where building value, assuming its done professionally and with discipline, is crucial.”