Kurma Partners, a European healthcare venture capital firm and a Eurazeo group company, has announced the final closing of Biofund IV at €215m (US$252m), some 35% larger than its previous €160m Biofund III. It held the first close of Biofund IV in 2024 at €140m.
Total AUM across all Kurma Partners franchises now stand at €1bn.
In addition to Eurazeo, Biofund IV is backed by three cornerstone investors: CSL from Australia, the European Investment Fund (EIF), and Bpifrance. They are joined by other European institutional investors and family offices.
The new fund continues to support Kurma’s strategy dedicated to the discovery and development of disruptive therapeutic solutions for severe or incurable diseases.
Biofund IV builds on the strategic success of its predecessor, Biofund III, which to date has completed three exits to leading groups: Amolyt Pharma sold to AstraZeneca for US$1.05bn; Emergence Therapeutics sold to Eli Lilly; and Corlieve Therapeutics sold to uniQure.
Kurma aims to make approximately 20 investments through Biofund IV, focusing on startups as well as the ex-nihilo creation of new biotech companies. It collaborates closely with Argobio Studio, a dedicated biotech startup launchpad co-founded with Bpifrance and supported by strategic investors Angelini Ventures, Evotec, and Institut Pasteur.
“This latest closing reflects our investors’ long-standing trust in the model we have built over the past fifteen years: an integrated ecosystem that bridges the gap between scientific discovery and venture capital financing,” said Thierry Laugel and Rémi Droller, managing partners at Kurma. “With Biofund IV and Argobio Studio, we now possess a unique capacity in Europe to identify world-class academic science, transform it into globally competitive biotechnology companies, and support them through to full maturity”
