The investors who were already involved at the start-up of V-Bio Fund 2 in early 2021 are the European Investment Fund (EIF), ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV), the Federale Participatie- en Investeringsmaatschappij (FPIM), and BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity, with in addition various family investment vehicles and university parties (VIB, KU Leuven, and Ghent University). EIF’s investment in V-Bio Fund 2 is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. Since then, additional investors have joined V-Bio Fund 2, including KBC Private Partners Life Sciences, Group Vanden Avenne Commodities, the family investment vehicles Korys (Colruyt family) and De Eik (Van Waeyenberge family) and the Dutch real estate and biotech investor Aat van Herk (known for investments in, among others, argenX). Fundraising will continue in the coming months and the total capital of V-Bio Fund 2 is expected to further increase to reach the target amount of EUR 100 million or beyond. In order to internationalize this fundraising, V-Bio Fund 2 was the very first venture capital fund in Belgium to obtain a EuVECA label. Together with their first fund, V-Bio Fund 1, V-Bio Ventures will have in total over EUR 175 million under management, making it one of the largest providers of equity capital to early-stage biotech companies.
V-Bio Ventures specializes in financing and co-creating young biotech companies, both from the medical sector and sustainable agriculture. V-Bio Ventures mainly focuses on projects that build on extraordinary scientific breakthroughs and therefore have the potential to grow into disruptive companies. The venture capitalist has a privileged partnership with VIB (Flemish Institute for Biotechnology), a Flemish research institution that is one of the world’s best in the life sciences and founded successful biotech companies such as Ablynx. In addition to the collaboration with the preferential partner VIB, V-Bio Ventures is looking for exceptional start-ups from other top academic institutes throughout Europe. In order to make the best choices among the most promising projects, V-Bio Ventures has a team of 7 experienced investment professionals with a scientific background and a wealth of experience from biotech companies and investment funds, and can also call on the expertise of more than 1800 scientists connected to VIB. V-Bio Ventures previously invested in the next generation of Belgian biotech star companies such as Confo, Orionis, Agomab, Aphea.Bio, Exevir, Precirix and Protealis, as well as in companies from other European countries, including Muna, Coave, Oxular and Corteria. With the additional financing, V-Bio Fund 2 will further expand its portfolio of exceptional growth companies.
V-Bio Ventures (www.v-bio.ventures) is an independent venture capital firm, specialized in developing and financing young, innovative life sciences companies. V-Bio Ventures was founded in 2015 and works closely with Belgium-based VIB, one of the world’s leading research institutes in the life sciences. The fund invests across Europe in high growth potential start-ups targeting transformational innovations in the biotech, pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors.
