European venture capitalists have breathed a sigh of relief after realising a significant multiple of their original investment in Idenix, a US biotech company, through its sale to a trade buyer.

A consortium of venture capital firms, including Germany's TVM, sold Idenix to Novartis, the pharmaceuticals group, earlier this month. The deal marks a welcome return to success for the venture capital industry, which has been struggling to make exits for more than two years.