Axel Polack
General Partner @ Joint Polish Investment Fund
Munich, Germany
Axel Polack is a General Partner at the Joint Polish Investment Fund. Before JPIF Dr. Polack was from 2000 to 2014 a key member of the Life Science team at TVM Capital, which raised more than 680m€ in venture capital and accomplished 67 investments, 18 IPOs (“initial public offerings”) and 15 trade sales. Prior to his career in venture capital hewas involved in business management as General Manager and basic biomedical research as Deputy Chairman of a large research institute. He has a proven track record in venture capital and early stage company building.During his time as board member and lead investor representative Genetix Inc. developed into high flying bluebird bio Inc. which attracted 101m$ through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at NASDAQ in June 2013. Due to break through successes in gene therapy the company reached today a Market Cap of more than 5b$.As long term board member of Alzheimer ’s disease specialist Probiodrug AG (PBD) was instrumental for the preparation of its IPO on Euronext Amsterdam in October 2014. It represents one of the rare and successful IPOs of German biotech in recent years.
- Total investments:
- 8
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 13%
Last updated:
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Industries Axel Polack invests in
Stages Axel Polack invests in
Countries Axel Polack invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Biotechnology 4 (50%)
- Pharmaceutical 3 (38%)
- Biopharma 2 (25%)
- Health Care 2 (25%)
- Genetics 1 (13%)
Stage
- Series B 2 (25%)
- Series C 2 (25%)
- Series D 2 (25%)
- Funding Round 2 (25%)
Country
- Germany 2 (25%)
- United States 1 (13%)
- United Kingdom 1 (13%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Genetix Biotherapeutics Inc.
|
bluebird bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops gene therapies for severe genetic and rare diseases. The company's gene therapy procedures aim to genetically modify a patient's cells to fundamentally correct or address the genetic basis underlying a disease. Bluebird's revenue is derived from collaborationarrangements, research fees, license fees, and grant revenue. The company works with industry peers, strategic partners, and nonprofit organizations for the development and commercialization of its product candidates. | $60M / Series D / Jul 25, 2012 | |
Vivoryon Therapeutics
|
Vivoryon Therapeutics is a Germany based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the activities of research and development, preclinical and clinical trials. It is focused on the development of therapeutic products for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and cancer. The company's pipeline products includes PQ912, PQ1565 and PQ-family. | $16.5M / Jan 04, 2012 | |
|
Genetix Biotherapeutics Inc.
|
bluebird bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops gene therapies for severe genetic and rare diseases. The company's gene therapy procedures aim to genetically modify a patient's cells to fundamentally correct or address the genetic basis underlying a disease. Bluebird's revenue is derived from collaborationarrangements, research fees, license fees, and grant revenue. The company works with industry peers, strategic partners, and nonprofit organizations for the development and commercialization of its product candidates. | $30M / Series C / Apr 20, 2011 | |
F-Star Therapeutics
|
F-Star Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel bispecific antibody products that provide a significant improvement over the current standard of care. Given its strong patent position, it is the only biopharmaceutical company with the ability to create and develop Fcab:tm: antibody fragments, and bispecificantibodies, by modifying the constant region of an antibody. In particular, F-star’s Modular Antibody Technology:tm: enables rapid discovery and development of bispecific antibodies by introducing additional binding sites to the constant region of an antibody and offers unprecedented ease in the development and manufacturing of bispecific monoclonal antibodies. Using the Modular Antibody Technology, F-star generates bispecific antibodies (mAb2:tm:) that possess the favourable characteristics of traditional monoclonal antibodies, without the production challenges often associated with other antibody formats. F-star is now applying its proprietary technology to the development of a pipeline of product candidates. Since its founding in 2006 the company has secured funding and support from leading VC investors: Aescap Venture, Atlas Venture, Novo Ventures and TVM Capital; as well as from renowned strategic corporate investors: Merck Serono Ventures, MP Healthcare Venture Management and SR One. In 2013, F-star established an asset-centric vehicle structure through the formation of F-star Alpha Ltd., which included out-licensing of FS102 from F-star to F-star Alpha Ltd. In October 2014 Bristol-Myers Squibb obtained an exclusive option to buy F-star Alpha. In addition the company has alliances with Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck Serono, each covering multiple targets. In 2011, F-star was selected by FierceBiotech as one of the Fierce 15 winners. F-star currently employs over 35 people at its research site in Cambridge, UK. | $15.9M / Apr 13, 2011 | |
TME Pharma
|
NOXXON Pharma AG, a biopharmaceutical company, develops biostable aptamers and substances based on mirror image nucleic acids. Its Spiegelmer is a mirror image oligonucleotide therapeutic for the pharmacologically relevant target. The company has a strategic alliance with Pfizer, Inc. NOXXON Pharma AG was founded in 1997 and is based in Berlin,Germany. | $36.2M / Series D / May 27, 2010 | |
|
Genetix Biotherapeutics Inc.
|
bluebird bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops gene therapies for severe genetic and rare diseases. The company's gene therapy procedures aim to genetically modify a patient's cells to fundamentally correct or address the genetic basis underlying a disease. Bluebird's revenue is derived from collaborationarrangements, research fees, license fees, and grant revenue. The company works with industry peers, strategic partners, and nonprofit organizations for the development and commercialization of its product candidates. | $35M / Series B / Mar 12, 2010 | |
|
Vivoryon Therapeutics
|
Vivoryon Therapeutics is a Germany based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the activities of research and development, preclinical and clinical trials. It is focused on the development of therapeutic products for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and cancer. The company's pipeline products includes PQ912, PQ1565 and PQ-family. | $54M / Series B / Nov 02, 2009 | |
|
TME Pharma
|
NOXXON Pharma AG, a biopharmaceutical company, develops biostable aptamers and substances based on mirror image nucleic acids. Its Spiegelmer is a mirror image oligonucleotide therapeutic for the pharmacologically relevant target. The company has a strategic alliance with Pfizer, Inc. NOXXON Pharma AG was founded in 1997 and is based in Berlin,Germany. | $40.6M / Series C / May 03, 2007 |
Co-Investors
About Joint Polish Investment Fund
Joint Polish Investment Fund is Poland-based group has reportedly become the country's first institutional venture capital fund. JPIF invests in early and mid stage Life Science companies in Central and Eastern Europe with an investment holding period of 3-5 years. In addition the JPIF team also look at Polish companies which have licensed,partnered, or acquired technologies from abroad. JPIF's aim is to create a high return investment portfolio that leverages the Polish life science capabilities.JPIF consists of a team of people with broad experience in the life-science sector. Scientists and medical doctors with industrial experience work hand in glove with colleagues who have a thorough training in economics and business affairs. Everybody is driven by true interest in the life science field and new technologies, which will greatly contribute to people’s health disease management and quality of life.Entrepreneurs backed by JPIF have access to the knowledge and advice of each member of the JPIF team and to the associated global scientific and commercial network. Together JPIF and entrepreneurs are therefore in the position to accelerate preclinical, clinical or commercial development and a successful market entry into the most important healthcare markets: Europe, the U.S., and Asia.The management team of JPIF has a long track record in sourcing, structuring and selling businesses ranging from seed stage to more mature, revenue generating companies.
Joint Polish Investment Fund Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Axel Polack
General Partner
|
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Anna Aranowska-Bablok
General Partner
|
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Anna Rusek
Financial Director
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Marek Orlowski
General Partner
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FAQ
What does Axel Polack invest in?
Axel Polack invests primarily in Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Biopharma startups, most often at Series B and Series C stage. Most of the 8 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Germany. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
When did Axel Polack last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Axel Polack closed in Jul 2012. Shizune tracks 8 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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