Investors & Partners

Based in Basel, Switzerland, BioMedPartners is a leading independent European venture capital firm, providing private equity to early- to mid-stage life sciences companies, frequently acting as lead- or co-lead investor. Since its foundation in 2003, BioMedPartners has used its BioMedInvest funds to invest in 57 highly innovative companies, of which 20 have already either been acquired by leading biopharma players (including Glycart Biotechnologies, ESBATech, Okairos, SuppreMol and Symetis) or progressed to IPO (including Arpida, Curetis and Santhera). With more than CHF 350M now in committed capital, and a strong team of experienced industry experts, BioMedPartners has established itself as one of the leading early-stage human healthcare investors in Europe.

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages well over EUR 1.8 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio)pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion’s current team consists of over 20 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 79 companies. The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients.

The Fournier-Majoie Foundation for Innovation, founded in 2007 by Doctor Bernard Majoie helps, both operationally and financially, Researchers-Finders to become Entrepreneurs, to accelerate the validation of innovative developments so that they may more quickly be made available to the medical profession.

In just 13 years, some 12 teams of researchers from Belgian Universities and 5 young start-ups have benefited or continue to benefit from the Foundation’s support. Beyond the granting of financial assistance, we provide advices and open doors to partners, experts and useful networks for those researchers with interesting projects.

All of these supportive efforts are driven by the Foundation’s single objective - encourage entrepreneurship to beat cancer and save lives.

Gimv is a European investment company with over three decades of experience in private equity and venture capital. The company is listed on Euronext Brussels and currently manages around EUR 1.6B of investments in around 50 portfolio companies, jointly realizing a turnover of EUR 2.5B. As a recognized market leader in selected investment platforms, Gimv identifies entrepreneurial and innovative companies with high-growth potential and supports their transformation into leading players in their niche. Gimv’s four investment platforms are: Connected Consumer, Health & Care, Smart Industries and Sustainable Cities. Each of these platforms works with a skilled and dedicated team across Gimv’s home markets of Benelux, France and Germany, and can count on an extended international network of experts. Today, Gimv’s Health & Care portfolio comprises 20 portfolio companies, half of which are active in life sciences and medical technology.

HealthCap is a European venture capital firm investing exclusively and globally in life sciences. The investment strategy focuses on diseases with high unmet medical needs and breakthrough therapies that have the potential to be transformative and change medical practice, and the lives of patients suffering these conditions.

Having raised more than EUR 1B since 1996, HealthCap has backed and built more than 100 companies, taken more than 40 companies public and done numerous trade sales.

Over the years, HealthCap companies have developed more than 20 pharmaceutical products to market approval, many of which are breakthrough therapies helping patients with life-threatening diseases. In addition, HealthCap companies have brought more than 50 innovative medical device products to market. These products have generated significant value to many stakeholders, including patients, physicians and society, and as a result also to HealthCap investors.

INKEF Capital is a leading venture capital firm based in Amsterdam with a proven history in backing promising early stage companies in Europe. INKEF takes pride in being a patient, long-term investor with the ability to support companies through several funding rounds all the way up to IPO. From the early stages of being a technology or life science venture, INKEF supports entrepreneurs building their ideas into successful international businesses. INKEF's investments include Onward Medical, Castor, iOnctura, Cardior and GitLAb, Remote among others.

As the regional institute for research and innovation in the Brussels-Capital Region, Innoviris' mission is to connect, stimulate and financially support citizens, companies, research institutes and non-profit organizations in achieving progress. Innoviris plays a pioneering role and provides the financial fuel to power the innovation engine in Brussels.

Jeito Capital is a global leading investment company with a patient benefit driven approach that finances and accelerates the development and growth of ground-breaking medical innovation. Jeito empowers and supports entrepreneurs through its expert, integrated, multi-talented team and through the investment of significant capital to ensure the growth of companies, building market leaders in their respective therapeutic areas with accelerated patients’ access in Europe & the United States. Jeito Capital has EUR 534m under management. Jeito Capital is based in Paris with a presence in Europe and the United States.

Novo Holdings A/S is a Danish private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the holding company of the Novo Group, comprising Novo Nordisk A/S, Novozymes A/S and NNIT A/S, and manages the Foundation’s assets. In addition to being the major shareholder in the Novo Group companies, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies, takes significant ownership positions in well-established life science companies and manages a broad portfolio of financial assets. As of December 31, 2017, Novo Holdings manages and invests EUR 48B of assets on behalf of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the vision of Novo Holdings to be recognized as a world-leading life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value.

Founded in 2004, Pontifax is a healthcare-dedicated venture capital firm with a portfolio of about 80 companies and over USD 775M under management. Pontifax invests in transformative, cutting-edge life science technologies at all development stages.

V-Bio Ventures is an independent venture capital firm specialized in building and financing young, innovative life science companies. V-Bio Ventures was established in 2015 and works closely with Belgium-based VIB, one of the world’s premier life science institutes. The fund invests throughout Europe in start-up and early-stage companies with high growth potential, focusing on technologies that provide transformational improvements in the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, diagnostics and agricultural sectors.