Life sciences venture capital firm RiverVest Venture Partners has announced the final closing of RiverVest Venture Fund IV, L.P., reaching $184.4 million in capital commitments in an oversubscribed fundraise. RiverVest Fund IV marks the firm’s fourth dedicated life sciences fund, bringing its total assets under management as of Sept. 30 to $753 million.

“Since its initial closing late last year, RiverVest Venture Fund IV has invested in eight high potential companies, including founding or co-founding three,” said RiverVest Managing Director John McKearn, Ph.D.

Earlier RiverVest Funds II and III have each provided net internal rates of return to their Limited Partners of over 20% per annum as of Sept. 30. That puts those funds’ performance in the top 5% of all venture funds started in the same respective vintage years according to Cambridge Associates’ U.S. Venture Capital Index, which benchmarks over 1,500 institutional-quality venture capital funds.

“We are pleased that Fund IV exceeded our target,” said RiverVest co-founder and managing director Jay Schmelter. “It enables us to continue executing our strategy for generating top-quartile investor returns.”

Schmelter credits RiverVest’s success to the firm’s dual focus on developing biopharma and medical device products that treat high, unmet medical needs while simultaneously attracting a buyer or being ready for an IPO within three to five years of the initial investment.