Venture capital for
companies developing
innovative therapeutics
Strategy
Pureos Bioventures invests venture capital in private innovative drug development companies, with an emphasis on the next generation of biological drugs and drug formats. We strive to impact patients’ lives by advancing innovative treatments for severe diseases.
Portfolio
Our companies are developing innovative therapeutics for severe diseases and conditions. We are backing great teams with development programs that make a true difference for patients.
Acrivon Therapeutics is a clinical stage oncology company developing novel cancer drugs paired with companion diagnostics predicting treatment response and driving patient selection. In November 2022, Acrivon went public at the NASDAQ (ACRV).
Adcytherix is a biopharmaceutical company based in Marseille focused on the development of novel antibody drug conjugates (ADC) to treat high unmet need diseases such as cancer.
Alentis Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough treatments for cancer and fibrotic diseases.
AM-Pharma is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing recombinant human Alkaline Phosphatase (recAP) as a potentially life-saving treatment of acute kidney injury and sepsis.
Araris Biotech is a spin-off from the PSI / ETH Zurich developing next generation antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of different cancers.
Ariceum Therapeutics is a private clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company focused on the diagnosis and precision treatment of neuroendocrine and certain other aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers.
BaseLaunch is the Basel area-based incubator and accelerator that helps scientists and entrepreneurs to launch exceptional biotech companies in Switzerland.
Corlieve Therapeutics is a French biotech company, developing transformational therapies for neurological diseases. The lead program is a treatment for drug resistant temporal lobe epilepsy leveraging innovative gene therapy approaches. In June 2021, Corlieve was acquired by uniQure for up to € 250 million.
Engimmune Therapeutics is a technology platform and product-based company using cutting-edge technologies to engineer highly potent and specific T cell receptor (TCR) therapies.
Hummingbird Bioscience is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing precision monoclonal antibodies against difficult targets for better therapies in different cancer indications.
ImCheck Therapeutics is developing novel antibody therapeutics that target butyrophilin checkpoint molecules to activate immune cells for the treatment of cancer.
Lava Therapeutics is developing bi- specific gamma- delta T-cell engagers for the treatment of hematological and solid cancers. In March 2021, Lava went public at the NASDAQ (LVTX).
Mediar is a Boston-based preclinical stage biotechnology company developing antibody therapeutics targeting fibrotic mediators and myofibroblasts to treat fibrosis.
Memo Therapeutics is a Swiss clinical-stage biotech company developing best-in-class therapeutic antibodies to transform the lives of patients with virus infections and cancer.
MinervaX is a private, clinical stage biotech company pursuing the development of a maternal vaccine for the prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes and life-threating infections caused by Group B streptococcus (GBS).
NovaGo Therapeutics is a Swiss start-up dedicated to the development of regenerative therapies for diseases in the eye and the central nervous system.
PulseSight Therapeutics SAS is an ophthalmology biotech company developing disruptive non-viral gene therapies with minimally-invasive delivery technology.
pulsesight.com
River Renal is a clinical-stage company developing novel therapies for orphan renal diseases.
Vico Therapeutics is a Dutch biotech company developing anti-sense oligonucleotides for treating rare severe neurological disorders with high unmet medical need.
We are driven by the quest for
new and better medicines
Team
We are career venture capitalists, biotech founders, former pharma and biotech executives, research scientists, medical doctors, and experienced drug developers. What unites us is the passion for biotech start-ups, innovation and the quest for new and better medicines.
Managing Partner
Managing Partner
Dominik is a founding partner of Pureos and a co-founder and Executive Chairman of CDR-Life. Previously, he was a founder and CEO of ESBATech, which was acquired in 2009 by Alcon (Novartis) for USD 589 million. As a biotech entrepreneur, he raised USD 90 million for ESBATech to develop novel antibody fragments from discovery to maturity, delivering multiple clinically successful products (e.g., Brolucizumab). Since 2002 he was a Board Member of the Swiss Biotech Association, the biotech industry organization of Switzerland which he led as President from 2013 to 2022. Dominik obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich.
Managing Partner
Managing Partner
Klaus is a founding partner of Pureos and has been a venture capital investor since 2001, across different regions, companies stages and types. Prior to Pureos, he was senior investment advisor private equity at Bellevue Asset Management. Bio-pharmaceutical companies that Klaus has invested in include AM-Pharma, Alpex Pharma, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Glycart Biotechnology, Hummingbird Bioscience, ImCheck Therapeutics and Vaximm. Before venture capital, Klaus was a researcher at ETH Zurich and a business consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton. Klaus holds an MA in chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Heidelberg (ZMBH).
Managing Partner
Managing Partner
Martin is a founding partner of Pureos and has been a venture capital investor since 1999, investing in life science companies across all stages and types. Prior to Pureos, he was senior investment advisor private equity at Bellevue Asset Management. Martin’s most successful investments and board assignments include Radius Health, Molecular Partners, Optimer, Axovan and Glycart. Martin is currently a BoD member at Ypsomed Holding, Alentis Therapeutics, River Renal and Ariceum Therapeutics. Martin obtained his PhD in protein chemistry from the ETH Zurich and his MAS in Management, Technology, and Economics from ETH Zurich.
Partner
Partner
Veronica joined the Pureos Bioventures team as a Partner in 2022. She has been a founder CEO of GlycoEra, a Zurich-based company with a glycoengineering platform for novel antibodies in autoimmune diseases, oncology and neurology. She was also a co-founder and the CEO of LimmaTech Biologics, a spin-off of GlycoVaxyn to service GSK. Before that, Veronica was in the executive team of GlycoVaxyn developing innovative vaccines for infectious diseases. She was instrumental in the acquisition of the company by GSK in 2015. Veronica is a bioengineer with a PhD in life science from the EPFL Lausanne.
Investment Manager
Investment Manager
Ximing joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2018. Prior to Pureos, he was Post-Doc at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. Ximing is currently BoD observer at Araris Biotech, Engimmune Therapeutics and Tridek-One. Ximing obtained his PhD at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and holds an MSc. in Biology at ETH Zurich.
Associate
Associate
Anne joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2021. She has collected first venture capital experience as Analyst fellow at M Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Merck KGaA, in Amsterdam. Prior to that, Anne was Post-Doc at the University of Basel. Anne obtained her PhD in structural biology from the University of Basel and studied biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Kiel and the University of Jena, in Germany, and at the University of York in the UK.
Analyst
Analyst
Butrint joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2023. Prior to Pureos, he led an antiviral drug development project at the University of Basel. Butrint obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel, where he collaborated with Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals AG on the development of novel therapies targeting rare neurological disorders. Butrint studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
CFO/COO
CFO/COO
Christian joined the Pureos Bioventures team in 2022 and has worked in the finance industry for over 20 years. Prior to joining Pureos, Christian was Deputy CRO at responsAbility Investment AG and before this COO & CRO and member of the management board at QCAM Currency Asset Management AG. Christian also held senior positions at Leonteq AG and Man Investments AG. Christian obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration at the ZHAW and is a certified international investment analyst (CIIA). He is a lecturer at the Swiss Training Centre for Investment Professionals AZEK.
Sales Assistant & Office Manager
Sales Assistant & Office Manager
Prior to joining Pureos Bioventures, Deborah worked as the head of the medical practice assistants for an ENT specialist. Prior to that, she held various operations positions at OYM AG, a competence center for performance management and research of top-class athletes. Before that, she worked as a school principal for two schools.
After completing her commercial education with a higher vocational diploma, Deborah gained several years of experience in supporting and managing operations within small, large and start-up companies, where she also successfully led her own teams. Therefore, she was able to gain solid knowledge in the fields of travelling, sales, teaching, sports, innovation management and operations assistance.
Venture Partner
Venture Partner
Dragan was CSO and co-founder of Covagen AG, a Swiss biotech company focusing on bispecific antibodies and antibody alternatives. Cilag GmbH International, an affiliate of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson acquired Covagen in 2014. Since 2015 Dragan is an independent advisor in pharmaceutical biotechnology, start-up coach at ETH Zurich and Innosuisse (Swiss Innovation Agency), board member and entrepreneur. Dragan received his master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and Doctor of Sciences from ETH Zurich.
Venture Partner
Venture Partner
Dominik is currently Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Granite Bio, former CMO at Quell Therapeutics and has significant drug development and translational medicine experience. Before joining Biotech, he was Therapeutic Area Head – Translational Medicine/ Biomarkers/ Precision Medicine for Autoimmunity, Transplantation and Inflammation at Novartis. Before that, Dominik held senior roles at Galapagos and Roche Pharma focused on translational medicine strategies in immunology and autoimmune diseases. Dominik received his M.D. from LMU Munich and spent 18 years in clinical practice and academic research, specializing in paediatric immunology, rheumatology, and pulmonology. He also is an Adjunct Professor of Paediatric Immunology at the University of Tübingen.
Venture Partner
Venture Partner
Lars is CEO of Engimmune Therapeutics and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the development of several pharmaceutical products and innovative technologies. Previously, Lars was Chief Technology Officer at Nordic Nanovector, VP and Strategic Product Lead at Bayer and held several leadership roles at F. Hoffmann-La Roche responsible for clinical supply planning, biologics technology and technical business development biologics. Lars gained his PhD from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Munich, and Institute for Biochemistry at the University of Zürich; he also holds an executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Venture Partner
Venture Partner
Sai is a Professor at ETH Zurich in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering since 2012. He also serves as the Vice-Director of the Botnar Research Centre for Child Health, focusing on the development of cutting-edge technologies for pediatric patients globally.
His academic research is dedicated to the emerging field of systems, synthetic and computational immunology. Based on his research, he co-founded the biotech companies deepCDR Biologics and Engimmune Therapeutics. deepCDR was acquired by Alloy Therapeutics in December 2021 due to its bioinformatics and machine learning expertise.
Sai studied biomedical engineering at the Northwestern University, USA, and obtained his PhD from EPFL Lausanne.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Thomas is a founder and advisor of Alentis Therapeutics and is an internationally renowned gastroenterologist with 25 years of R&D experience in fundamental, translational and clinical research. Thomas developed novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for fibrosis and cancer as well as underlying viral diseases. He has published more than 400 articles in leading scientific journals and led more than 50 research programs in fibrosis, cancer and virology. He is a Professor of Medicine, Gastroenterologist and head of the Inserm Institute IVH at the University of Strasbourg, France. He previously held positions at the Universities of Freiburg and Munich, the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and the US National Institutes of Health. He has received his MD from the University of Heidelberg.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Omar is currently CMO at VectivBio, and was before that CMO and Head of Research and Development at Voyager Therapeutics. Previous to that, he was the Global Head of Rare Diseases and Neuroscience Translational Medicine at Roche, practiced medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and was Chief Resident at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Khwaja received his MD and PhD in Human Molecular Genetics from the University of Cambridge, UK. He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, serves as CMO for the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the CDKL5 Forum.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Roger is co-founder, CEO and President of Neurimmune and a key opinion leader in neurodegenerative diseases. He is a pioneer in the development of therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases, and inventor and developer of aducanumab in partnership with Biogen, the first disease-modifying treatment and first approved therapy in more than two decades for Alzheimer disease. Roger is a professor emeritus at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Zurich, a Potamkin prize winner and member of the German Academy of Sciences. He obtained his medical doctor from the University of Heidelberg.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Sonia is a highly experienced R&D executive with clinical development expertise and a demonstrated translational mindset. She has served as the Chief Medical Officer and a member of the executive management team at Kymab, where she was responsible for transforming the company from preclinical into clinical-stage. Currently, she is CMO at Georgiamune and supports several biotechs as advisor and board member. She is a Professor in Immunology with over 20 years of research experience in basic and translational autoimmune disease and oncology, and over 10 years in clinical development for immuno-oncology and immunology. Sonia received her PhD in Immunology from the Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology) and her MD from University of Palermo, Italy.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Bernd was the former President & CEO of GPC Biotech. He built the company from a pre-clinical stage to a NASDAQ listed, Phase 3 clinical stage oncology company. Prior to that, Bernd was VP Oncology drug discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb and held senior faculty positions at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Princeton University. For the last decade, he has successfully worked with several biotech companies and start-ups acting as CEO, director or chairman of the board. Bernd holds an MD from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University and a PhD from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry Munich, Germany and has published over 100 scientific papers.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Mathieu is Chairman of Idorsia and board director at a number of public and private biotech companies. He also serves an advisor to the European Commission D.G. Research and Innovation and as Senior Strategic Advisor to Messier Maris Partners, a small international investment bank. He was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cellectis and, prior to that, SVP and Head of Global Pharmaceutical Operations at Pierre Fabre. He also was at Wyeth (now Pfizer) in both senior corporate and regional roles in the US and Europe. Mathieu holds a degree in internal medicine from the Faculty of Medicine, Paris VII.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board
Dallas Webb is a Portfolio Manager with BB Biotech / Bellevue Asset Management since 2006, focusing on emerging public biotech companies. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and Equity Analyst at Stanford Group Company, at Sterling Financial Investment Group, and at Adams, Harkness & Hill. Dallas has an MBA from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Zoology from Louisiana State University.
General Partner Board
General Partner Board
Ben is a partner and head of the funds group at Carey Olsen in Guernsey and has significant experience advising a variety of private and public funds. Ben qualified as an English solicitor in 1992 and practiced in the City before joining Carey Olsen in 1999. Ben became an advocate in 2003 and has been a partner in the Guernsey office since 2003. Ben is also a member of the firm's London office. He currently holds a number of directorships with other fund management companies and funds. Ben has been a Director of BB Pureos Bioventures GP (Guernsey) Limited since its inception.
General Partner Board
General Partner Board
Karen has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry across the areas of private equity, alternative investment administration, corporate governance, risk management, tax information exchange related issues and accounting. She currently holds a number of directorships with other fund management companies and funds, and provides consultancy and training services in her field of expertise. In 2016, Karen founded the Women’s Business Network which gives networking opportunities to senior women in business in Guernsey. Karen has been a Director of BB Pureos Bioventures GP (Guernsey) Limited since its inception.
General Partner Board
General Partner Board
Pascal is a Vice President at Northern Trust in Guernsey, where he manages client relationships over multiple jurisdictions. Prior to that, he was a senior manager of several operational teams within Northern Trust’s private equity department. He is a qualified accountant with over two decades of experience in offshore fund administration. He has been a member of audit, portfolio management and risk committees and currently holds a number of directorships with other fund management companies and funds. Pascal has been a Director of BB Pureos Bioventures GP (Guernsey) Limited since its inception.
Pureos Partners Board
Pureos Partners Board
Bruno is a Director at Pureos Partners and a co-founder and Partner at Crystal Asset Management, which invests in Swiss and European equities. Bruno began his investment career in equity sales at Credit Suisse in 1994. Prior to founding Crystal in 2011, Bruno was an analyst, Head of Sales and a member of the management board of Bank am Bellevue. Bruno obtained his PhD in Business Management from the University of Zurich and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Pureos Partners Board
Pureos Partners Board
Matthias is a Director at Pureos Partners, Partner and co-head of Life Sciences Team at the law firm Vischer AG and notary public in Basel-City and Basel-Country. Matthias is an experienced lawyer specialized in the life sciences sector, including company acquisitions and sales (M&A), financing by private equity/venture capital investors, licensing and collaboration agreements, IPOs and restructurings. He is also president of BioValley Basel and board member of the BioValley Business Angels Club (BioBAC). Matthias has studied in Halifax, Basel, Bruges and Freiburg i.B. and has a PhD in Law from the University of Basel and a Master of Advanced European Studies from the College of Europe, Bruges.
News
Our companies and we are trying to stay at forefront of innovation with the goal to save and improve patients’ lives. We are glad to share our progress on the way to achieving this goal.
Alentis Therapeutics Receives FDA IND Clearance for ALE.P02, a Novel CLDN1-ADC for the Treatment of Squamous Cancers
ImCheck Awarded EUR 20.18 Million from the French Government Through the France 2030 Investment and Innovation Plan
Ariceum Therapeutics Commences Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma
Swiss Research Institute Established to Focus on Immune Engineering and Advancing Global Child and Adolescent Health.
Alentis receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Lixudebart to treat Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Memo Therapeutics AG Appoints Erik van den Berg as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Alentis Therapeutics receives FDA Fast Track Designation for ALE.C04 for the Treatment of Claudin-1 Positive HNSCC
Hummingbird Bioscience Initiates HMBD-001 Phase IB Trials in Australia and Partners with Omico to Accelerate Clinical Development
Alentis Therapeutics Receives IND Clearance from FDA for ALE.C04 for the Treatment of CLDN1+ Tumors
Ariceum Snaps up Fellow European Biotech Theragnostics to Bolster Radiopharma Efforts
Ariceum Therapeutics Expands Pipeline with Acquisition of Theragnostics Ltd
Engimmune Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Dr Annalisa D’Andrea to its Board of Directors
Hummingbird Bioscience and Merck Enter Collaboration to Evaluate HMBD-001 In Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma
Alentis Therapeutics Reports Positive Topline Results From Phase 1 Multiple-ascending Dose Cohorts Study
Engimmune Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Lars Nieba as Chief Executive Officer
Alentis Therapeutics Closes $105 Million Series C Funding to Advance Transformational Medicines for Claudin-1
Mediar Therapeutics Announces $105 Million Financing to Advance Portfolio of First-in-Class Fibrosis Therapies
Pureos Partners Welcomes Prof. Dr. Sai Reddy to its Team as Venture Partner
Ariceum Therapeutics Appoints Radioligand Expert, Germo Gericke, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer
Pureos Partners Welcomes Dr. Ulf Grawunder to its Team as Venture Partner
Positive Results from Single Ascending Dose Phase 1 Study of ALE.F02 Targeting Claudin-1
Alentis Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Luigi Manenti as Chief Medical Officer
Hummingbird Bioscience and Synaffix Enter License Agreement to Develop a Next Generation Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) Program
Caris Life Sciences and Hummingbird Bioscience Enter Into Collaboration to Advance Clinical Development of Anti-HER3 Therapy
ImCheck Presents Initial Patient Data from the EVICTION-2 Clinical Trial at SITC Annual Meeting
Alentis Therapeutics Announces Presentations at AASLD The Liver Meeting® 2022
Ariceum Therapeutics and AmbioPharm Enter Strategic Manufacturing and Supply Partnership
Swiss Innovation Agency to co-fund Research Collaboration to Accelerate Discovery of Biomarkers for Fibrosis
Pureos Partners Welcomes Dr. Veronica Gambillara Fonck as New Partner to its Investment Team
Hummingbird Bioscience Announces Trial in Progress Poster Presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2022
Alentis Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Andrea Pellacani as Chief Medical Officer
Engimmune Therapeutics Raises CHF 15.5 Million in Seed Financing to Develop Novel T-Cell Receptor Therapeutics
Hummingbird Bioscience Publishes Preclinical Data Demonstrating Therapeutic Potential of HMBD-002 in VISTA-expressing Cancers
ImCheck Announces First Patients Dosed in Phase II of EVICTION Trial for ICT01
Alentis Therapeutics Starts First-in-Human Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Liver and Kidney Fibrosis
Acrivon Therapeutics Announces its Scientific Advisory Board with Renowned Oncology Thought Leaders
Hummingbird Bioscience Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of HMBD-001 in Advanced HER3-Expressing Solid Malignancies
Hummingbird Bioscience Appoints Jan Møller Mikkelsen as Chairman of the Board
LAVA Therapeutics Provides Business Update and Reports Third Quarter Financial Results
ImCheck Provides Promising Updated Patient Response Data from the Phase I/IIa EVICTION Trial with ICT01 at SITC Meeting 2021
Araris is Expanding its Scientific Advisory Board with Dr. Jeff Sharman and Dr. Clive Stanway
Hummingbird Bioscience Announces Trials in Progress Poster Presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2021 36th Annual Meeting
Pureos Bioventures Welcomes Dr. Lars Nieba to its Team as Venture Partner
Alentis Therapeutics Announces Appointments of Luca Santarelli to the Board of Directors and Rafaele Tordjman as Chairperson
Hummingbird Bioscience to Present Pre-Clinical Data on Novel Biomarkers for HER3-Driven Cancers
Pureos Bioventures Expands the Team by the Appointment of Venture Partners
ImCheck Presents Preliminary Patient Response Data from the Phase I/IIa EVICTION Trial with ICT01 at ESMO Congress 2021
Araris Biotech Shortlisted in Top 5 of World ADC Awards 2021 in Category “Best ADC Platform Technology“
Hummingbird Bioscience Announces US FDA Clearance of IND for First-in-Human Phase 1 Trial of HMBD-002 in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors
ImCheck to Present Early Patient Response Data from the EVICTION Trial at the ESMO Congress 2021
LAVA Therapeutics Provides Business Update and Reports Second Quarter Results
uniQure to Acquire Corlieve Therapeutics and Advance its Gene Therapy Program to Treat Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE)
ImCheck Announces Initiation of U.S. Enrollment in Phase I/IIa EVICTION Trial for ICT01
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