Forbion raises record-breaking €2.3B to back 30 biotechs
Dutch life sciences investor Forbion has raised €2.3 billion across two new funds to finance about 30 biotech companies, setting a fundraising record for the firm.
Why it matters: The capital will support both new drug developers and companies facing the cost of clinical development. Forbion’s success comes as European investors push to deepen the pools of money available to build and scale biotechs.
Zoom in: The money will be deployed through Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund IV and Forbion Ventures Fund VIII. Their investment strategies cover different parts of the drug development journey:
- Growth focuses primarily on later-stage biopharma companies in Europe and North America. The wider strategy includes private clinical development financing, investments ahead of public listings and stakes in undervalued listed companies.
- Ventures backs therapeutics companies and helps build new businesses around promising assets and experienced teams. Forbion says company creation accounts for about one-third of its Ventures portfolio, which primarily focuses on Europe and preclinical to early clinical development.
The first investments from the new funds have already been completed, although the announcement does not identify the recipients.
Who’s backing it: Investors in Forbion’s new funds include Dutch pension managers MN and PGGM, Germany’s KfW Capital, the Kauffman Foundation and Eli Lilly. About 60% of the capital came from European investors and 40% from North America, according to The Wall Street Journal.
What’ they’re saying: “Our successful fundraising gives us significant dry powder in a market characterized by a general shortage of capital,” said Sander Slootweg, Forbion’s managing partner and co-founder.
By the numbers: The new total is about 10% above the €2.09 billion raised by the predecessor funds in October 2024 (€1.2 billion for Growth Opportunities III and €890 million for Ventures VII). Forbion now manages about €7.5 billion. Citing third-party data, Forbion describes itself as “Europe’s largest dedicated life sciences venture capital firm” and this round as “one of the largest life sciences VC fundraisings globally over the last five years”.
The track record: Recent exits illustrate the breadth of Forbion’s approach. AbbVie acquired its portfolio company Capstan Therapeutics, a developer of in vivo CAR-T treatments, in 2025. GSK’s takeover of RAPT Therapeutics this year also provided an exit from Growth Fund III’s public investment strategy.
The European context: Forbion was among the founding members of the European Life Sciences Coalition, launched in February to mobilize more public and private investment. As we reported at the time, the initiative targets structural barriers that prevent European companies from financing their growth at home.
- According to the coalition, European life sciences venture funds account for just 7% of the global market, compared with 63% for the U.S. It also reported that 66 of 67 EU biotech companies that went public over the preceding six years listed outside the EU.
