After a successful First Closing of Kurma‘s new Biofund III at the end of last year, the Venture Capital firm today announced the launch of its Munich operations headed by newly appointed partner Dr. Peter Neubeck. Founded in 2009, Kurma Partners invests in innovation in healthcare and biotechnology, from pre-seed to growth capital, from its third fund generation.
Dr. Peter Neubeck resumes responsibility for the German market activities of the firm after tenures at Novartis, TVM Capital Life Science and the Munich-based AI start up ExB Labs, amongst others. He comments: “Since its inception, Kurma Partners has been very active as a European Venture Capital provider and in this period developed a very successful, dedicated strategy to finance early-stage projects. In Germany we see many promising projects in research institutions and academia in our fields of interest, all of which are desperately looking for early-stage financing. This provides ample opportunity for our investment approach – a fact that strongly suggested to enforce our presence in this market.”
The new fund Kurma Biofund III will invest in private companies, addressing high unmet medical and patient needs with a portfolio of approximately twelve to fifteen companies, of which roughly 30% will be early stage financings. The Kurma early-stage financing model consists of several dedicated phases, starting with a seed or even pre-seed financing of a research project, which will be facilitated by the funding and the expertise of Kurma Partners until it reaches a risk-optimized stage that can be transferred into a more conventional VC round.
„Germany offers an excellent eco-system for Biotech innovation: outstanding research capabilities tech transfer support, reliable service providers who can handle even the most complex challenges and above all, experienced talent and managers “, says Thierry Laugel, Founder and Managing Partner of Kurma Partners. „We think we can close a gap with our financing model here in Germany and of course we are interested in participating in VC rounds together with our industry peers. “
The Munich office of Kurma Partners, located in Maximilianstrasse, is active since January 1st, 2019 and the team will be expanded soon. Member of the German team is also Dr. Jochen Knolle, with more than 30 years of experience and holder of more than 100 patents, one of the pioneers of the German Biotech industry.
About Kurma Partners
Founded in July 2009, Kurma Partners is a key European player in the financing of innovation in healthcare and biotechnology, from pre-seed to growth capital, notably through Kurma Biofund I through III and Kurma Diagnostics, as well as via strategic partnerships with prestigious European research and medical institutions. Innovative projects from Academia and research institutions, aspiring to meet unmet medical need is an important pillar of the firm‘s investment strategy, a second is venture capital financings of innovative young companies in Biotech and MedTech; all with a strong focus on innovative drug development approaches.
www.kurmapartners.com
Company Contact
Kurma Partners, Büro München
Dr. Peter Neubeck,
Maximilianstrasse 29, 80539 München
T ++ 49(0) 89-236859-30