Forbion closes first Bioeconomy Fund with US$75m

Life Science investor Forbion opens a new sector for its lead partners who were eager to put money into industries within the ESG standards.

At first close of its new Forbion Bioeconomy Fund I with US$75m, the target remains to just double that amount to US$150m. The fund is backed by KfW Capital and Rentenbank (both from Germany) and Novo Holdings (Denmark) with other institutional investors and Family offices, according to Forbion.

This fund aims to invest in innovative companies leveraging biotechnologies to create sustainable solutions across four sectors: Food, Agriculture, Materials, and Environmental Technologies. Forbion BioEconomy represents a strategic expansion of Forbion’s investment scope in biotech and in the life sciences sector to address challenges relating to the environment, the growing need for a sustainable supply of food and the rapid depletion of natural resources.

The fund will build a portfolio of 10-12 companies and is led by Alex Hoffmann and Joy Faucher, who have a track record of investing in leading European bioeconomy companies. They will be supported by members of the Forbion partnership and network of industry veterans including Feike Sijbesma, ex-CEO of DSM, Cees de Jong, Chairman of Novonesis, Onno van de Stolpe, ex-CEO of Galapagos and Stefan Oschmann, ex-CEO of Merck KGaA as advisors and Venture Partners.

“We are at the dawn of a significant bio-enabled revolution, driven by a wealth of talent, innovation and purpose, a combination that is catalytic to urgently safeguarding the future of our planet,” said Joy Faucher, Partner at Forbion. “We look forward to working with transformational companies reaching many industries and parts of society, to bring them to a scale that is meaningful and disruptive to the status quo.”