Pontifax Raises $50M For Its AgriTech Fund

February 3, 2016 | Israeli life sciences venture capital firm Pontifax has raised $ 50 million for its first fund in food and agriculture technologies, Calcalist reports. Established in 2004 and run by Co-Founder and CEO Tomer Kariv, Pontifax specializes in pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices investments. The Herzliya-based firm currently manages $ 445 million in four funds, investing in over 40 companies, two of which have recently exited: exoskeleton system ReWalk, which now trades on the Nasdaq for $10 per share with a $125.17 million market cap, and cancer immunotherapy drug developer CCAM Biotherapeutics, recently acquired by Merck (for an undisclosed amount). Pontifax’s first two funds recorded impressive returns: the first fund raised in 2004 has achieved an annual return of 48 percent, and the second fund raised in 2007 has achieved an annual return of 31 percent.