# Top 50 Biotechnology Startup Investors in Denmark in June 2026

## Novo Holdings
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Hellerup, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 30
- Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

Novo Holdings is a world-leading life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value.

## BioInnovation Institute
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 19
- Stages: Convertible Note, Pre-Seed, Debt Financing
- Focus: Biotechnology, Medical, Health Care

BioInnovation Institute is a biotechnology startup that offers entrepreneurs and researchers in life science. Early-stage life science start-ups are supported with up to 10 million DKK in funding, business acceleration, network, labs, and office space. It helps to early-stage start-ups within human health and planetary health. The startup'smission is to use its knowledge, network, funding, and infrastructure to incubate world-class life science and catalyze the commercialization of new solutions through start-ups.BioInnovation Institute was founded in 2018 and is based in Denmark.

## Vaekstfonden
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Hellerup, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 16
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Software, Information Technology, SaaS

Vaekstfonden – The Danish Growth Fund – is the Danish state's investment fund. We strive to improve access to risk capital to enable Danish businesses to innovate, and to generate growth and new jobs. In close collaboration with banks and domestic and international private investors, we finance companies from all sectors nation-wide. We canaccompany you for the entire journey – from your company’s infancy through growth phases to expansion abroad and even to an initial public offering.

## Export and Investment Fund
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Hellerup, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 14
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, Biotechnology, Health Care

Denmark's Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) serves as a single point of contact for Danish firms seeking risk-tolerant government finance. We aspire to help successful enterprises that can expand the Danish economy and green the world on a daily basis, guided by professionalism and an international perspective.

## Seed Capital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 9
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, Health Care, SaaS

Seed Capital invests in Danish tech businesses with global ambitions. We are focused on "late seed"-stage companies, typically investing 1-3 MEUR in rounds of 1-6 MEUR. Proud backers of Trustpilot, Vivino, Lunar, Templafy, Dixa, Forecast, and many other great companies.

## PSV
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Lyngby, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 8
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Software, Information Technology, SaaS

PSV cares about a conscious future. As a venture house, our mission is to clear the path for founders who build companies that matter. Our hybrid setup, comprising PSV Foundry, PSV Lab, and two unique venture funds, PSV Tech and PSV Hafnium, sets us free from adhering to a singular method. Rather we rethink existing ways and models to maximise our impact beyond any individual firm or investment. Together, we can punch above our weight.

## Oskare Capital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
- Relevant deals: 6
- Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Health Care, Biotechnology, Medical

Oskare Capital is a venture capital firm.

## Sunstone Life Science Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 6
- Stages: Series B, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

Sunstone Life Science Ventures is an independent European venture capital investment firm. We enable and empower life science therapeutics innovations.

## Nordic Foodtech VC
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
- Relevant deals: 6
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, Life Science, Water

We are investing in #FutureFood. Nordic FoodTech VC is the first fund in the Nordics investing explicitly in the future of food

## Gilde Healthcare
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Relevant deals: 5
- Stages: Series B, Series C, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

Gilde Healthcare is a specialized European healthcare investor managing two business lines: a lower mid-market buy-out fund and a venture & growth capital fund. It has over €800 million ($900 million) under management and is actively looking to lead new investments in digital health, diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics and healthcareservices. Gilde successfully builds healthcare businesses across Europe and US, investing up to €35 million in a single portfolio company.

## HealthCap
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Series B, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

HealthCap, a life science investor and company creator. Our motivation is to find innovative ideas and invest that could impact healthcare and society.

## ACME Capital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Focus: Software, Health Care, Mobile

ACME Capital is a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in breakthrough technologies that fuel platform shifts and disruptive business models that capitalize on new platforms. Its purpose is to support those founders who choose to take their capital.
The firm was founded in 2018 and headquartered in San Francisco, California.

## VF Venture
- Type: VC Fund
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, SaaS, Biotechnology

Vaekstfonden makes equity investments in Danish companies with a track record as well as in young entrepreneurial, innovative enterprises with an ambition for global growth.

## West Hill Capital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: London, England, United Kingdom
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Series A, Seed
- Focus: Software, Health Care, Financial Services

West Hill Corporate Finance is a leading private equity venture capital firm providing EIS qualifying high-growth investments to private individuals.

## RA Capital Management
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Series B, Series C, Post-IPO Equity
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Therapeutics

RA Capital Management is an investment advisor based in Boston specializing in the life-sciences and drug development sectors. The company's team has been investing since 2002 and is comprised of professionals with training in biology, chemistry, and medicine and also has industry and business development experience at the executive and boardlevels. The company invests in companies with promising technologies and products.

## PINC
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, Food and Beverage, Coffee

PINC was launched as Paulig Incubator in 2018 to help Paulig stay in the forefront of relevant innovations, as well as to contribute to a tastier, healthier and more sustainable planet. Today, our ambition is the same, but we have developed into a corporate venture arm. We aim for strategic, financial, and societal impact in our investments,fostering a sustainable food system for tomorrow. We are investing across the agrifood value chain in three primary impact themes:   Improve planetary health and diet within the current food system: This includes innovations in agriculture and food security, such as advanced crop breeding or green fertilizers, innovative ingredients and next generation healthy foods, as well as solutions for tracking and improving climate and nature. Novel technologies to feed 10 BN people by 2050: Technologies needed to sustainably produce enough food for our growing population. This includes food production without land use change, such as precision fermentation and cell-culture.  A circular system for food & materials: Regardless of whether we grow our food in soil or in bioreactors, the system needs to be circular. Some examples are upcycled ingredients, food from unused sources, new coating and packaging solutions, as well as technologies to prevent or make better use of side streams. We are looking for entrepreneurs in an attractive market space with an intrinsic drive to find a solution to the problem they are addressing, a clear and scalable plan for success, a reliable team and partners whom we can trust and work closely with.

## Per Falholt
- Type: Angel
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Pre-Seed, Series A, Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Robotics, Biopharma

A passion and vision for chemistry and biotechnology led Per (born 1958) to Novo A/S, where he started his career as a research chemist. He subsequently held several managerial positions developing products for the detergent industry and rose to Director for Application Technology in the company’s new enzyme development division in 1995.Hemoved to Raleigh, N.C., to head the company’s U.S. application technology unit in 1997, returning to Denmark three years later as Corporate Vice President of the Enzyme Development and Application division. In April 2000, Per merged the Research and Development division into the newly formed Enzyme Business R&D.Per assumed his current position following Novozymes’ demerger from Novo Nordisk in 2000. As chief science officer, he has helped Novozymes develop a unique industrial biotechnology platform which delivers solutions to meet customer needs and support growth.Per holds a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Committed to promoting education and research within the sciences, he was appointed Honorary Professor at DTU’s Institute for Systems Biology in 2010 and became Chairman of the Board in 2013. He is also Chairman of the Young Scientists association in Denmark.Per’s current external positions also include Chairman, DTU, board member of DHI Group, board member of ARTs Biologics A/S, and member of the Danish Council for Research Policy.

## Ysios Capital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Sebastian, Pais Vasco, Spain
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

Leading #lifesciences #venturecapital firm financing highly #innovative #biotechnology companies #worlwide.

## DSM Venturing
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Heerlen, Limburg, The Netherlands
- Relevant deals: 4
- Stages: Series A, Series B
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Manufacturing

Innovators in nutrition, health, and beauty. Together, we bring progress to life by combining the essential, the desirable, and the sustainable. 

## Sofinnova Partners
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise.

## Atlantic
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, Health Care, Financial Services

Atlantic Labs supports and invests in mission-driven founders working on transformative technology ventures.&nbsp;<br><br>We partner with founders early, providing the capital, tools and network necessary to growing their companies and accompanying them on their entrepreneurial journey. We are currently active in areas including Digital Health, Future of Work, Machine Learning, Decentralized Networks, Mobility and Industrial Applications.

## Thia Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Genève, Geneve, Switzerland
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Series A, Seed, Series B
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Food and Beverage

WE ARE AN EARLY-STAGE INVESTOR IN ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND ESSENTIAL FIELDS OF CURRENT HUMAN ENDEAVOR WE BRING ROBUST INVESTOR MUSCLE TO EARLY-STAGE VENTURES INVESTOR A specialized and focused investor Resources Powerful industry, substance and business resources Experience Wide networks and longstanding experience Team Yet, adaptability and speed of a lean, self-financed team

## NOON Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, AgTech, Farming

Noon Ventures is a Copenhagen-based, early-stage venture investor established in 2020. We invest in proven transformative technologies with the potential to impact environmental or climate challenges.

## Nicholas Francis
- Type: Angel
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: SaaS, Robotics, Software

Nicholas Francis is Co-founder at framebunker

## Ugly Duckling Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed
- Focus: Software, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence

At Ugly Duckling Ventures, we make capital, know-how, and real-world application available to Nordic ventures at the seed & pre-seed stage. We are operational by nature and want to get in the grind as we excel at getting early-stage ventures ready for scale. 

## Bioqube Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Focus: Biotechnology, Therapeutics, Life Science

Bioqube Ventures is a specialist life sciences venture capital fund investing in European biotech companies developing innovative therapeutic assets and technologies. We put our venture creation experience at work to translate and de-risk scientific innovation, advancing our investment portfolio and maximising value for investors.Bioqube Venturesinvests through its independent fund “Bioqube Factory Fund I”: … an early stage venture capital fund – dedicated to advancing exciting science in vibrant European ecosystems to breakthrough therapies for patients.… a fit-for-purpose dual investment model – besides more classical investments in first investment rounds, we will have special attention for so called “Create” projects that require additional de-risking prior to creating new ventures. … a hands-on approach – the team is a mix of fund managers, sector experts and serial entrepreneurs that have a proven track record in successfully leading companies on their growth paths.Medtech, healthtech and diagnostics are not part of our current investment scope.

## Innovation Fund Denmark
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Grant, Pre-Seed, Seed
- Focus: Software, Biotechnology, SaaS

Innovation Fund Denmark invests in the development of new knowledge and technology creating growth and employment in Denmark. The Fund focuses on societal challenges, strengthens research, and increases innovation commitment within private companies.The Fund provides risk capital that enables cutting-edge initiatives to achieve resultssubstantially impacting the Danish society. Innovation Fund Denmark is also responsible for the future societal partnerships, where companies, universities, and public authorities will work together on challenges facing the society today.

## The Footprint Firm
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, Renewable Energy, Energy Management

The Footprint Firm is an advisory and investment company with a sole focus on sustainability. 

## Blue Horizon Corporation
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Food and Beverage, Food Processing, Biotechnology

Blue Horizon is accelerating the transition to a sustainable food system that delivers outstanding returns for the planet and people.

## Unconventional Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- Focus: Health Care, Software, Wellness

Unconventional Ventures invests in startups in the pre-seed and seed stage led by diverse founders identifying as women, people of color, immigrants and/or LGBTQ+, building scalable impact tech companies in the Nordics and beyond.

## EIR Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
- Relevant deals: 3
- Stages: Series A, Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Therapeutics

EIR Ventures is a new Life Science Venture Group in the Nordics.

## Newtree Impact
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Belgium, Wisconsin, United States
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology

We invest in disruptive and encouraging Agri-Food tech and Food Loss companies, reshaping our food systems in order to solve the current & future problems of production.

## Industrifonden
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Seed
- Focus: Software, Biotechnology, Information Technology

Industrifonden is a Nordic evergreen venture capital firm with a fund size of $600m, that focuses on early-stage technology and life science companies with international potential. The company works long term with the entrepreneurs we invest in, and have a strong track record of building game changing companies. Industrifonden-backed companiesinclude tech companies Qlik, Arcam, Soundtrack Your Brand, Fishbrain, and life science companies CellaVision, Oncopeptides and AMRA.

## SOSV
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Convertible Note, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Software

SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins thelater rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates.
HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.

## Balderton Capital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: London, England, United Kingdom
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C
- Focus: Software, FinTech, Financial Services

In the two decades since our founding, we have worked with hundreds of extraordinary European founders, and have raised eight funds totalling more than $3bn.

## Aescap Venture
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Series B
- Focus: Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, Chemical

The Aescap funds invest in highly innovative publicly traded biotech/life sciences companies. We're able to select the promising companies

## CAPNOVA
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Aarhus, Midtjylland, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Software, Information Technology, B2B

They are an investment and development company providing capital, solid business experience and a strong network in order to turn innovative ideas into successful businesses. They cover all of Denmark from their offices in Aarhus, Roskilde, Copenhagen, Viborg and Kalundborg.

## HTGF (High-Tech Gruenderfonds)
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Software, Biotechnology, Information Technology

High-Tech Grunderfonds finances startups with growth potential. Its team of investment managers supports young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion. The company focuses in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry, and related business areas. It also focuses on financial services in varioussectors.

## Inkef
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Series B, Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

SVB - Europe's biggest online shop for boating equipment and accessories! Worldwide delivery, even directly on-board!

## Giampaolo Cagnin
- Type: Angel
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Food and Beverage, Plant-Based Foods

Giampaolo’s aim has always been to apply a disruptive approach to functional food ingredients and that’s how he founded Italiana Ingredienti in ’89 and Campus in ’05. Both companies have been acquired, Italiana Ingredienti by Chr. Hansen in ‘99 and Campus by Firmenich in ’18. Today he serves as Founder and Chairman at Hi-Food, an Italian companyproviding key functional ingredients to food companies, and as a business Angel Investor in several startups.

## Wellcome Trust
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: London, England, United Kingdom
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Grant, Series C
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Medical

Wellcome Trust is a medical research charity that funds research that aims to protect and improving human and animal health. It focuses on the fields of public engagement, investments, innovation, humanities, and social science.

It was founded in 1936 and headquartered in London, England.

## Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series C, Series B
- Focus: Health Care, Biotechnology, Medical

JJDC, Inc. is the strategic venture capital arm of Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Learn more about our equity investment strategy.

## M Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Series B, Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Therapeutics

Merck Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck. Its mandate is to invest in innovative technologies and products with the potential to significantly impact Merck‘s core business areas. From its headquarters in Amsterdam and offices in the US and Israel we invest globally in transformational ideas driven by greatentrepreneurs. Merck Ventures takes an active role in its portfolio companies and teams up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation towards commercial success. Merck Ventures has a significant focus on early-stage investing and company creation including the creation of spin-offs to leverage Merck‘s science and technology base.

## FundersClub
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed
- Focus: Software, SaaS, Information Technology

FundersClub focuses on Seed and early stage investments. Investments include Coinbase, Instacart, Flexport, Le Tote, Teespring, Memebox, GitLab.FundersClub is the world's first online venture capital platform. Backed by Y Combinator, First Round Capital, Spark Capital, Intel Capital, Draper, Andreessen Horowitz, Felicis Ventures, and more;FundersClub Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in the United States.

## Lundbeckfonden Ventures
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series B, Series A, Series C
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Therapeutics

Lundbeckfond Ventures is an evergreen life science venture fund established in the autumn of 2009 and wholly owned by the Lundbeck Foundation. The structure as an evergreen fund allows flexibility in the investment approach and the possibility, when appropriate, to take a long-term perspective in the investments. On an annual basis, LundbeckfondVentures invests up to € 50 million.Lundbeckfond Ventures is a financially driven venture fund generating returns to support the group's activities and operating independently from the Lundbeck Foundation’s controlling ownerships in H. Lundbeck A/S, ALK-Abelló and Falck.

## The Yield Lab Europe
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: AgTech, Agriculture, Biotechnology

The Yield Lab Europe is a €55m early stage Agrifood and Ag Tech fund which comprises an accelerator and a larger follow-on fund, investing in high tech companies with the potential to significant disrupt and improve our current systems of global food production, and to improve the environmental sustainability of the industry.  The main fund invests€1m each into 10-12 companies over several follow on rounds, with the strongest accelerator companies expected to progress to the main fund. The Yield Lab Europe is also part of a global network of Agrifood Tech funds, with global headquarters in St Louis USA, and sister funds in LATAM and Singapore.

## Symrise
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Holzminden, Niedersachsen, Germany
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Seed
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Pet

About 30,000  products - 6,000 customers in roughly 160 countries. First synthesis of vanillin in 1874.

## Karolinska
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Solna, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Seed, Series A
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Pharmaceutical

Karolinska Development aims to create value for patients, researchers, investors and society by developing innovations from world class science into products that can be sold or out-licensed with high returns. The business model is to: SELECT the most commercially attractive medical innovations; DEVELOP innovations to the stage where the greatestreturn on investment can be achieved; and COMMERCIALIZE the innovations through the sale of companies or out-licensing of products.Karolinska Development has developed a well-structured selection process to identify the most commercially attractive medical innovations screened by KIAB. Pharmaceutical development is a high-risk enterprise. In most cases, development projects fail because of side effects or insufficient efficacy. Successful selection of innovations is fundamental to Karolinska Development’s business model, which makes the inflow of new projects crucial. One key to success lies in selecting those innovations that can be developed from scientific findings to products and have significant commercial potential. To date, over 1,300 projects have been screened by KIAB.The portfolio companies are often founded together with the innovators and are initially operated as virtual companies with few or no employees. During the first six to twelve months, the companies normally have minimal fixed costs and technological development is outsourced.The innovator, who is often employed at an academic institution, normally participates as a board member and scientific advisor. The CEO of a portfolio company cooperates closely with a representative of Karolinska Development, who in most cases is also a board member of the company. The companies are capitalized to reach their next milestone, usually within a period of six to eighteen months. Development projects are continuously monitored, and those that do not meet their stipulated targets are discontinued. In the first three to four years, a portfolio company’s operating expenses are often limited to a few million Swedish kronor per year, which cover the cost of external studies and the salary of the staff. In subsequent years, Karolinska Development and other investors play an important role recruiting key expertise to the companiesKarolinska Development intends to realize value by exiting portfolio companies or through out-licensing of projects. Such transactions (especially out-licensing) are often structured as single upfront payments followed by payments based on predetermined milestones and royalties on sales. Although Karolinska Development has a flexible exit strategy, pharmaceutical products are, for two reasons, preferably exited at Phase II. First a successful Phase II study indicates that the pharmaceutical has an effect on patients, which is an important value-enhancing factor when negotiating out-licensing or sales. Secondly, finalizing product development and undertaking Phase III clinical trials frequently requires very large patient populations. In many cases this requires much greater resources than those available at Karolinska Development but these can be found in established pharmaceutical companies. Several licensing deals were closed in 2011 involving projects with a similar focus and development phase to Karolinska Development's projects.

## Wellington Partners
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Munich, Bayern, Germany
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series A, Series B
- Focus: Health Care, Biotechnology, Medical

Wellington Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in technology and life sciences companies, focusing on Digital Media, Software, Electronics & Photonics, Resource Efficiency, and Biotech/Life Sciences. It is committed to providing outstanding entrepreneurs with the necessary resources to fund their strategies. We typically leadfinancing rounds ranging from € 0.5 million to € 20 million. Depending on the maturity of the company, its own commitment can go as high as € 15 million.Wellington was established in 1998 and has offices in Munich, London, and Zurich.

## Innovations Kapital
- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Göteborg, Vastra Gotaland, Sweden
- Relevant deals: 2
- Stages: Series B, Series C
- Focus: Biotechnology, Health Care, Software

InnovationsKapital was founded in 1994 and is a leading independent venture capital firm for innovative growth companies in the Nordic region. The business, carried out from offices in and Stockholm, Gothenburg and New York, is focused on investments within ICT and Healthcare & Life Sciences, dynamic sectors that are rapidly expanding and whereNordic research plays an important role. The capital is provided by highly reputable Swedish and international institutional investors.