Dutch venture capital firm Forbion has invested in life sciences and biotech for two and a half decades. With its new BioEconomy Fund, it is applying that experience to solutions that improve planetary health.
“Biotechnology is moving beyond healthcare to tackle global challenges in food, materials, and resource efficiency,” said Forbion’s Alexander Hoffmann. Forbion surpassed its initial target of €150 million to close the fund at €200 million ($233.8 million).
Investors included French family-owned impact fund Aurae Impact, Dutch bank ABN AMRO, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, KfW Capital, Novo Holdings, and the German state-owned bank for agriculture, forestry and rural development, Rentenbank. The fund reached a first close of €75 million last June.
Software to science
Forbion has deployed more than €5 billion across 11 funds mostly focused on clinical-stage companies developing therapeutics. The BioEconomy fund will invest in a dozen or more Series A and B-stage companies across Europe and North America developing more sustainable, biological-based solutions in food, agriculture, materials, and environmental technologies.
Initial investments include Eeden, which recycles clothes made from recycling of cotton and polyester blends; the bioinsecticide company SOLASTA Bio; plant-based meat producer Novameat; and PACT, a producer of collagen-based biomaterials to replace leather and plastics.
Said Forbion’s JoyFaucher, “Capital is shifting from software to science.”
