The Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam is established in January 2009. Its goal is to provide investment capital to fund biomedical entrepreneurial activity in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. The fund targets companies that are developing commercially promising products and the technologies in life sciences, including: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, information technology, medical devices and other high technology opportunities that offer venture capital returns.
The fund focuses on seed and early stage companies, but also on pre-seed commercially viable academic projects. The benefits of this early funding means that emerging medical breakthroughs in research and technology businesses can be sustained by sufficient venture capital to optimize their chances of success and ultimately provide revenue to the fund’s investors and the research groups involved. Once these companies are established with seed funding, the Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam will seek to work with other traditional venture capital companies to partner in the effort to advance these technologies.
The Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam collaborates closely with the Life Sciences Centre Amsterdam. In the Life Sciences Centre Amsterdam, the Technology Transfer Offices of the capital’s leading institutions have joined forces to commercialize their combined life sciences research results for the public good. Licensing opportunities, expertise centers, patient cohorts, biobanks, facility and tools from the University of Amsterdam/Academic Medical Center, the VU University/Academic Medical Center, the Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, and the Netherlands Cancer Institute are combined in the Life Sciences Center Amsterdam.
By combining the resources of the Life Sciences Centre Amsterdam and the Life Sciences Fund Amsterdam, the fund is able to facilitate the transfer of technology to the private sector and to provide emerging technology companies and university researchers with vital seed funding and specialized financial and technical assistance. Furthermore, the creation of these new spin-out companies, benefits local economic development and has created many new jobs in the region.
We are interested in technologies that are in the nascent stages of development, but also in the established mid-market high tech companies. Nurturing technologies that are still in the laboratory is a common practice at Innovation Industries. Nevertheless we don't rule out later stage companies.
We concentrate on innovation in life sciences, physical sciences (physics and chemistry), information technology, and in areas where the converge technology. Our technology specializations include semiconductors, acoustics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, advanced materials, clean technology innovations, photonics, security, diagnostic and drug discovery platforms, nano- and microtechnologies. These specializations are reflected in our portfolio companies.
In addition to our specializations we are foremost multidisciplinary as are universities. Many, if not most, of the ideas emerging from universities involve two or more basic disciplines. We call this technology convergence and they represent an increasing proportion of our investments.
We have invested for over 20 years in the Netherlands. We understand and have our networks here. Building on these networks.
We are very active investors, which we believe is a requirement to be successful as an investor. We have a special competence in building companies from start-up, often from research originating in academic and research laboratory settings. Our practice is to play an active and supportive board role from the time of initial investment to divestment.
We have served as interim management on numerous occasions to (re) organize a company, consolidate intellectual property and other assets, and catalyse initial management teams around an opportunity. We also cultivate a cross-section of business relationships with our strategic and financial partners that can be useful to our portfolio companies.
We are responsible investors. At the core of everything we do is the promise to provide hands-on guidance and financing to technology ventures that have, or will have, a positive impact on society. All of the companies which we form and in which we invest involve this kind of forward edge science and technology.
We believe in strong syndicates constructed from the earliest round of investment. We raise enough funds to stay through three to four investment rounds. Our syndicate partners for portfolio co-investment rank in the top tier of venture investors, and we have close access to leading technologists for diligence review and advisory services.
We concentrate on bringing to market disruptive innovations in life sciences, physical sciences (physics and chemistry), and information technology, and specialize in the spaces where they converge.
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