Swiss VC fund allocates to biotech venture incubator

Susan Barreto June 9, 2020

1 minute read

Swiss VC fund allocates to biotech venture incubator — Edward Jenner/Pexels

BB Pureos Bioventures, a newly formed Swiss biotech venture capital fund, announced that it was the first venture capital partner of the Phase II of BaseLaunch — a Basel, Switzerland-based biotech accelerator and incubator.

Pureos joins alongside Roche in supporting the effort with additional partners that will be announced in the coming weeks and months. The venture capital fund invests exclusively in private innovative drug development companies, with a special emphasis on the next generation of biological drugs and drug formats.

The fund supports early-stage drug development companies through all stages. Bellevue Asset Management, which manages more than $11 billion and has been active in the healthcare investing since 1993.

Pureos initial portfolio companies include NovaGo Therapeutics, AM Pharma, Eyevensys and Alentis Therapeutics. The Swiss venture capital firm also co-led Alentis’ Series A financing in April 2019. Alentis is known for its treatment of advanced fibrotic diseases, such as liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

“We are delighted to join BaseLaunch, as a partner in the next phase of its company building activities,” said Anja Harmeier, partner at BB Pureos Bioventures. She added that as the sole Swiss venture capital to join, officials at Pureos look forward to developing the partnership further to support and invest in the next generation of innovative drug development companies in Switzerland and beyond.

During 2018 and 2019, BaseLaunch supported nine early therapeutic ventures which have raised a total of more than $100 million in equity capital from U.S. and European venture funds, thereby contributing to the life sciences ecosystem of the Basel Area. Recently, BaseLaunch has added another four ventures to its portfolio, and has been instrumental in contributing to the development of six more ventures in the Basel Area.

During its first phase (2017-2019), BaseLaunch was supported by Roche, Novartis Venture Fund, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Roivant Sciences. The accelerator expects to announce more partners soon.