JPMorgan's asset management department has raised over 500 million USD for a biotechnology venture capital fund, which will invest in the hottest area of ​​medical care: weight loss drugs. #2024 macro outlook##technology#

The fund has completed fundraising this month, and 'obesity, obesity, and obesity' were its top three choices, according to Steve Squinto, chief investment officer of the department's life sciences team, in an interview.

Squinto said that GLP-1 weight loss drugs are 'all the rage' and the field has 'broad prospects'. 'This could be a key moment for the pharmaceutical industry.'

In recent months, there has been surge in demand for such new weight loss drugs, leading to a shortage of drugs. Currently, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Co dominate the field, pricing individual users at $1,000 or more per month. For JPMorgan, this is an opportunity.

'The future of obesity treatment is unlikely to be monopolized by stable duopoly,' said Gaurav Gupta, managing partner of the fund, 'there will be obvious winners.'

JPMorgan, the largest bank in the United States, hired Squinto and Gupta at the end of 2022, when its $3.6 trillion asset management business established a life sciences team. The team has seven members and belongs to the Bank's private capital business, which is part of a larger alternative investment department.

Squinto said that the first fund, 270 Life Sciences Private Capital Fund I, has made five investments so far, but only one has been publicly announced: Enlaza Therapeutics, a California-based startup the fund led with $100 million in Series A funding. In addition to weight loss therapy, the fund will also invest in fields such as oncology and immunology.

This cannot help but remind people of Wang Duoyu in the movie 'Hello, Mrs. Money', who spent one billion yuan launching an insurance policy for weight loss.