Boehringer enters the venture capital business
pharmafile | March 31, 2010 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Boehringer, funding, venture capital
Boehringer Ingelheim is to tap into commercial opportunities in emerging technology by launching its own venture capital business.
The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund will invest in biotech and start-up companies, with candidate firms sought worldwide.
The manufacturer has pledged an initial fund of 100 million euros to splash, with the first investments expected this year.
Opening figures up to two million euros per venture will be made, up to a total of 10-15 million euros over the life of a project.
“Our investments will extend beyond the current therapeutic area focus of Boehringer Ingelheim and our existing therapeutic approaches and technologies,” said company chairman Andreas Barner.
Essentially this means the new money will target ground-breaking approaches and technologies such as stem cells and RNA silencing.
The company says it would also be interested in new generation vaccines, protein or antibody technologies as well as new molecular targets and first-in-class lead compounds.
“Disease-related biomarkers would be an additional area of focus,” Boehringer Ingelheim added in a statement.
We have extensive drug discovery expertise and can take advantage of knowledge and experience available within our global organisation,” explained Barner.
“But we are aware that there is an entire landscape of novel therapeutic ideas and potentially breakthrough technologies that need to be supported for future patients’ benefit.”
Boehringer Ingelheim will take what it calls an “active role” in its portfolio companies beyond capital investment by using its own drug discovery, scientific and managerial expertise and “access to selected relevant experts and knowledge”.
However, it insists it will establish “ethical walls” to protect entrepreneurs.
“Our philosophy is to provide both our expertise and funding to drive innovative ideas from early stages into clinical testing,” said the fund’s head Michel Pairet.
“By focusing on novel therapeutic concepts and potentially breakthrough technologies, our Venture Fund represents a long-term investment in external innovation,” he concluded.
Pairet works with investment manager Ilka Wicke, and both are based in Ingelheim, Germany.
Companies interested in receiving investment are invited to submit business plans online at www.boehringer-ingelheim-venture.com.
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