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CM Life Sciences III
CM Life Sciences III is a special purpose acquisition company targeting life sciences consolidation, founded by Eli Casdin and Keith Meister.
CM Life Sciences III
CM Life Sciences III is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed in 2021 by Eli Casdin and Keith Meister, structured to consolidate life sciences businesses. Casdin founded Casdin Capital in 2011, a $3.3B life sciences investment firm; Meister previously served as CEO of Icahn Enterprises, where he grew assets from $1.5B to $18B (per firm website). The SPAC draws on Casdin's network of over 100 private company investments and Meister's public company board experience. The vehicle targets services and tools supporting drug discovery, development, and manufacturing, as well as molecular diagnostics and synthetic biology. It explicitly seeks companies with regulated products and long life cycles, often combining workflows to create larger platforms. Its confirmed business combination is EQRx, a biotech firm developing low-cost cancer therapies, announced alongside a $1.8B raise (per SEC filing, 2021). Geographic focus spans North America, with offices in New York, Menlo Park, Abu Dhabi, Baltimore, Dallas, and San Francisco. Casdin Capital manages $3.3B targeting public and private growth equity in life sciences (per firm website). The SPAC's board includes independent directors intended to enhance industry connectivity. No additional funds or philanthropic vehicles are disclosed. As of 2021, CM Life Sciences III's main operational event was the EQRx combination announcement. The SPAC's structural differentiator is its pairing of a dedicated life sciences investor (Casdin Capital) with an activist-oriented capital markets specialist (Corvex Management). This hybrid applies a buy-and-build strategy in an asset class where consolidation is rare, using public currency to fund roll-ups of private companies that ordinarily lack public market access.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
667 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10065, United States
Additional offices
Menlo Park · Abu Dhabi · Baltimore · Dallas · San Francisco
Principals
Eli Casdin
CEO
Keith Meister
Board of Directors
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who manages investment decisions at CM Life Sciences III?
Eli Casdin, founder and CIO of Casdin Capital, serves as CEO of CM Life Sciences III and leads the investment platform. Keith Meister, founder of Corvex Management, provides capital markets and board expertise. The SPAC's board includes independent directors with life sciences industry and operational experience.
How does CM Life Sciences III source proprietary deal flow?
The SPAC leverages Casdin Capital's network of over 100 private company investments, relationships with venture partners, research institutions, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Casdin Capital's long-standing investor-partner reputation in the life sciences ecosystem provides access to under-resourced firms that might otherwise be overlooked.
What investment stages does CM Life Sciences III target?
CM Life Sciences III focuses on private companies in the life sciences ecosystem that are under-resourced and under-scaled but have defensible IP and long product life cycles. The SPAC is designed to provide public currency for buy-and-build strategies, targeting firms that find it hard to access public capital markets but need to scale.
Which sectors does CM Life Sciences III explicitly invest in?
The firm targets services and tools supporting drug discovery, development, and manufacturing; molecular diagnostics; synthetic biology; and regulated products for R&D across academia, government, and industry. It also seeks companies with regulated products that have long and lucrative life cycles, as well as those exploiting technological advances in engineering of biological systems.
What is CM Life Sciences III's relationship to Casdin Capital?
CM Life Sciences III is formed by Eli Casdin, founder of Casdin Capital, a $3.3B life sciences investment firm. The SPAC draws on Casdin Capital's deep sector expertise, proprietary deal flow, and reputation as a leading investor in both public and private life sciences markets. Casdin Capital's investment team supports the SPAC's sourcing and due diligence.
Does CM Life Sciences III maintain any philanthropic structures?
No philanthropic structures are disclosed in connection with CM Life Sciences III. The firm is a standalone SPAC vehicle, not an operating charitable entity. Eli Casdin's Casdin Capital may have separate philanthropic activities, but those are not publicly linked to the SPAC.
What is CM Life Sciences III's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The SPAC is structured as a standalone entity that raises capital through its IPO and then combines with target companies. It does not appear to operate as a co-investment vehicle alongside external GPs. Its strategy is to use its own public currency to execute buy-and-build consolidation in the life sciences sector.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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