Abingworth

About Abingworth

Abingworth is a transatlantic life sciences venture capital specialist with more than $2 billion of assets under management as of December 2024 (raised nearly $1 billion across 2021-2024 for life sciences plus a separately advised $1.5 billion Carlyle-backed clinical trials fund), headquartered in London with offices in New York and San Francisco. The firm was founded in 1973 with a 50 plus year life sciences specialist track record covering 185 plus companies, 50 plus M&A transactions and 75 plus IPOs. Abingworth was acquired by The Carlyle Group in August 2022 and operates as an independent unit and LLP affiliate.

Investment thesis

Abingworth deploys capital through 12 plus Abingworth Bioventures funds (ABV VII, ABV 8, plus the Carlyle-Abingworth clinical trials vehicle), targeting transatlantic life sciences venture capital from seed to development stages. The platform combines traditional VC investing with innovative structures including Venture Investments in Public Equities (VIPEs), Clinical Co-Development and royalty-based late-stage clinical trial financing. Sector focus spans biopharma, biotech therapeutics and gene and cell therapy, with geographic deployment across US and UK core plus broader European and Asia-Pacific coverage. The Carlyle balance sheet integration enables clinical co-development and royalty financing structures unavailable to traditional VC platforms.

Recent activity

Recent realised exits include biopharma and respiratory therapeutics (Verona Pharma, 2025) and biotech immunology (Escient Pharmaceuticals, 2024). Recent investments include Solve Therapeutics Series C (November 2025), Addition Therapeutics (gene and cell therapy, 2025) and Iambic Therapeutics follow-on (2025), with 9 investments completed in 2025. The platform continues active deployment across the transatlantic life sciences franchise. Detailed buyer names and multiple data available on Pro at €29/month.