Date: 2016-06-08
Type of information: Financing round
Company: Merck Ventures (Germany)
Investors: Merck KGaA (Germany)
Amount: € 150 million
Funding type: investment - financing round
Planned used: Four dedicated investment teams will now focus on Healthcare, Life Science, Performance Materials and new businesses.
With its four teams, the new Merck Ventures fund follows the former Merck biopharma ventures blueprint, which has been in place since 2009. The biopharma fund was at the basis of several success stories such as Galecto Biotech (galectin
modulators for the treatment of severe diseases), Asceneuron (Merck spin-off developing innovative drugs to help people with Alzheimer’s disease) and Metabomed (novel drugs against targets in the field of cancer cell metabolism),
among others.
The investment teams come with significant domain expertise and will provide a tailored investment approach across industries. Each team has the capacity to engage in seed-stage company creation, early-stage syndicated investments and
Merck spin-off creation and funding. Like the former biopharma venture fund, the new Merck Venture fund is managed by a global team headed by Roel Bulthuis.
Others: * On June 8, 2016, Merck KGaA announced an increased commitment to its corporate venture fund under the new Merck Ventures roof. Four dedicated investment teams will focus on Healthcare, Life Science, Performance Materials and new businesses. The total volume of the newly set-up corporate venture fund of Merck can reach up to € 300 million once fully invested, doubling the volume of the previous biopharma venture fund of € 150 million.
Therapeutic area:
