KURMA PARTNERS, AN EURAZEO GROUP COMPANY, CLOSES €215 MILLION BIOFUND IV

• Total Assets Under Management (AUM) across all Kurma Partners franchises now stand at €1 billion.
• Kurma bridges gap between European academic research, industry, and investors to deliver disruptive therapeutic solutions, acting as a leading venture builder in the European biotech ecosystem.
• The fund leverages a proven track record in company creation, working in close synergy with Argobio Studio—the venture builder co-founded with Bpifrance—to incubate next-generation biotechs.
• Biofund IV has completed 11 investments and plans to complete around 20 in total.

Kurma Partners, a leading European healthcare venture capital firm, announces the final closing of Biofund IV at €215 million. This new fund continues to support Kurma’s strategy dedicated to the discovery and development of disruptive therapeutic solutions for severe or incurable diseases. Building on the €160 million Biofund III, this successful fundraise has increased the new vehicle's size by nearly 35%, highlighting strong support from both corporate and financial investors for Kurma's unique model.

In addition to Eurazeo, Biofund IV is backed by three cornerstone investors—the Australian pharmaceutical company CSL, the European Investment Fund (EIF), and Bpifrance (which invests directly and through the Biotech Health Acceleration Fund, managed as part of the France 2030 initiative)—alongside other European institutional investors and family offices.

Biofund IV builds on the strategic success of its predecessor, Biofund III, which to date has completed three exits to leading groups: Amolyt Pharma (rare endocrine diseases) sold to AstraZeneca; Emergence Therapeutics (cancer-targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugates or ADCs) sold to Eli Lilly; and Corlieve Therapeutics (rare epilepsies) sold to uniQure. More recently, the acquisition of ImCheck by Ipsen—a portfolio company of both Biofund II and Kurma Growth—further confirms Kurma’s ability to build and scale innovative companies aligned with clinical and industrial interests. ImCheck specializes in next-generation immunotherapy antibodies for cancer treatment.

A Powerful Network Among Europe’s Leading Research Institutes

True to its core strategy, Kurma aims to make approximately twenty investments through Biofund IV, focusing on startups as well as the ex-nihilo creation of new biotech companies. To achieve this, Kurma leverages a powerful network built over the past fifteen years with Europe’s top academic researchers, while drawing on the expertise of biotechnology professionals with proven track records.

Kurma also 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. As a venture builder, Argobio has invested in eight companies to date, three of which have already completed their initial funding rounds: Elkedonia, Laigo Bio, and Enodia Therapeutics.

Eleven Investments Already Completed by KBIV

To date, Biofund IV has completed 11 investments that illustrate the European scope of Kurma’s strategy: SciRhom (Germany – autoimmune diseases), Memo Therapeutics (Switzerland – natural immunity), Avidicure (Netherlands – cancer immunotherapy), Elkedonia (France/Belgium – resistant depression), Nuevocor (Singapore/France/USA – genetic heart diseases), Evla Bio (Switzerland/Germany – cardiorenal diseases), Adcytherix (France – antibodies targeting solid tumors), Evidence Bio (France – respiratory diseases), Laigo Bio (Netherlands/UK – oncology and autoimmune diseases), Alveus (USA/Denmark – respiratory diseases), and Givax (USA/Europe – next-generation cancer vaccines).