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Kurma Partners, a leading European healthcare venture capital firm and part of the Eurazeo Group, has announced the final closing of Biofund IV at €215 million — pushing total assets under management across all Kurma Partners franchises to €1 billion for the first time. The close represents a nearly 35% uplift from the €160 million Biofund III, underscoring strong support from corporate and financial investors for Kurma’s differentiated European biotech venture-building model. Biofund IV has already completed 11 investments to date and plans to reach approximately 20 in total.
Kurma Partners acts as a leading venture builder in the European biotech ecosystem, bridging the gap between academic research, industry, and investors to deliver disruptive therapeutic solutions for severe or incurable diseases. The firm 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.
Biofund IV works in close synergy 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. This integrated platform enables Kurma to identify world-class academic science, transform it into globally competitive biotechnology companies, and support them through to full maturity.
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.
Dr Steven Pitt, Global Head of External Innovation at CSL, highlighted the partnership’s role in building relationships across Europe’s scientifically rich ecosystem, describing the team as having a proven track record of identifying and translating high-quality European science. Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the EIF, emphasised the renewed cooperation with Kurma Partners as part of the EIB Group’s TechEU initiative to support breakthrough innovation in Europe’s leading biotechnology sector — strengthening European competitiveness, resilience, and strategic autonomy.
Biofund IV builds on the strategic success of its predecessor, Biofund III, which has completed three exits to leading pharmaceutical groups: Amolyt Pharma (rare endocrine diseases) to AstraZeneca; Emergence Therapeutics (cancer-targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugates) to Eli Lilly; and Corlieve Therapeutics (rare epilepsies) to uniQure. More recently, the acquisition of ImCheck by Ipsen — a portfolio company of both Biofund II and Kurma Growth — further confirmed Kurma’s ability to build and scale innovative companies aligned with clinical and industrial interests.
Biofund IV has already 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).
Thierry Laugel and Rémi Droller, Managing Partners at Kurma Partners, described the closing as a reflection of long-standing investor trust in the integrated ecosystem the firm has built over fifteen years — one that bridges scientific discovery and venture capital financing. They emphasised that Biofund IV and Argobio Studio together provide a unique European capacity to identify world-class academic science, transform it into globally competitive biotechnology companies, and support them through to full maturity — a depth of commitment that sets Kurma apart for researchers, entrepreneurs, and ultimately for patients.
Kurma Partners is a leading European healthcare venture capital firm and part of the Eurazeo Group, dedicated to the discovery and development of disruptive therapeutic solutions for severe or incurable diseases. Founded over fifteen years ago, Kurma acts as a leading venture builder in the European biotech ecosystem, bridging academic research, industry, and investors. Total assets under management across all Kurma Partners franchises now stand at €1 billion, with Biofund IV representing the firm’s latest flagship fund.
Argobio Studio is a dedicated biotech startup launchpad co-founded by Kurma Partners and Bpifrance, supported by strategic investors including Angelini Ventures, Evotec, and Institut Pasteur. Argobio acts as a venture builder for next-generation biotechs and has invested in eight companies to date.
