Investors
Emergence is supported by a network of world-leading experts in immuno-oncology and leading international investors. Kurma Partners led the Company’s seed funding round and acted as the originator and incubator investor. Pontifax Venture Capital led the subsequent series A funding round. Further investors and partners include RA Capital Management, OrbiMed Advisors, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) Hadean Ventures, Bpifrance, Gründerfonds Ruhr, Heidelberg Pharma Research GmbH, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Eurazeo and NRW.BANK.
ETX Investors
& Partners
Kurma
Founded in July 2009, Kurma Partners is a key European player with offices in Paris and Munich in the financing of innovation in healthcare and biotechnology, from pre-creation to growth capital, notably through Kurma Biofund I through III and Kurma Diagnostics, as well as via strategic partnerships with prestigious European research and medical institutions. The new fund Kurma Biofund III invests in private companies, addressing high unmet medical and patient needs with a portfolio of approximately twelve to fifteen companies, 40% of which early stage financings and company creations like Emergence Therapeutics.
Pontifax Venture Capital
Founded in 2004, Pontifax is a healthcare-dedicated venture capital firm with $1.2 billion under management. Pontifax seeks transformative, cutting-edge life sciences technologies at all development stages. The portfolio comprises of about 100 companies that develop breakthrough solutions to substantial unmet needs.
Bpi France
Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses – at every stage of their development – through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances. Bpifrance also provides extra financial services (training, consultancy) to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges (innovation, export…).
InnoBio 2 is an investment fund dedicated to life sciences, managed by Bpifrance, which is also one of the LPs alongside Sanofi, Boehringer Ingelheim, Takeda, Ipsen and Servier. InnoBio 2, with a first closing at €135 million, aims to invest in companies developing innovative products and services, close to or in early clinical development, with the objective of bringing them until the clinical proof of concept. InnoBio 2 takes minority equity stake in companies and can lead or co-lead the investment rounds.
Gründerfonds Ruhr
Jointly initiated by Initiativkreis Ruhr and NRW.BANK, Gründerfonds Ruhr is the first private-sector early-stage fund in the Ruhr region to be financed by regional industrial and financial companies. The fund invests in innovative and technology-oriented companies in the life science & health, digital economy, chemicals & new materials, energy & industry and logistics & trade sectors. Good growth and exit prospects as well as competent management are prerequisites. As a multi-corporate early-stage fund Gründerfonds Ruhr also opens up important industry access opportunities for the respective portfolio companies.
Hadean Ventures
Hadean Ventures is a life science fund manager that invests in life science companies across Europe with a particular focus on the Nordic and DACH regions. The funds are backed by leading private and institutional investors. Hadean Ventures has offices in Oslo and Stockholm and collaborates with world-class academic institutions and start-up hubs across the region. Hadean recently launched its second fund.
Heidelberg Pharma
Heidelberg Pharma is an oncology specialist and the first company to develop the toxin Amanitin into cancer therapies using its proprietary Antibody Targeted Amanitin Conjugate (ATAC) technology and to advance the biological mode of action of the toxin as a novel therapeutic principle. Amatoxins are small bicyclic peptides naturally occurring in the death cap mushroom. They inhibit mRNA transcription by binding to RNA polymerase II, a mechanism that is crucial for the survival of eukaryotic cells. In preclinical testing, ATACs have been shown to be highly efficacious, overcoming frequently encountered resistance mechanisms and combating even quiescent tumor cells. This technology platform is being applied to develop the Company’s proprietary therapeutic ATACs as well as in third-party collaborations to create a variety of ATAC candidates. Heidelberg Pharma Research GmbH is a biopharmaceutical company based in Ladenburg, Germany, held by Heidelberg Pharma AG, which is listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange: ISIN DE000A11QVV0 / Symbol WL6.
High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is a seed investor that finances high-potential, tech-driven start-ups. With around EUR 900 million in total investment volume across three funds and an international network of partners, HTGF has already helped forge almost 600 start-ups since 2005. Driven by their expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion, its team of experienced investment managers and startup experts help guide the development of young companies. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital business models, industrial technology, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected over EUR 2.4 billion into the HTGF portfolio via more than 1,500 follow-on financing rounds. HTGF has also successfully sold interests in more than 100 companies.
Investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, KfW Capital, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and 32 companies.
Eurazeo
Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €32 billion in assets under management, including nearly €23.2 billion from third parties, invested in 530 companies. With its considerable private equity, venture capital, private debt as well as real estate and infrastructure asset expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 360 professionals and by offering deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.
Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Milan, Madrid, Luxembourg, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore and Sao Paulo. Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
NRW.Bank
NRW.BANK is the state development bank of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its mission is to support its owner – the state of North Rhine-Westphalia – in the completion of its structural and economic policy tasks. In its three fields of promotion “Economic Development”, “Housing Promotion” and “Infrastructure/Municipal Promotion”, NRW.BANK uses a wide range of promotion tools – from low-interest promotion loans to equity finance to advisory services. It cooperates with all banks and savings banks based in NRW on a competition-neutral basis. NRW.BANK takes into account the existing offers by the Federal Government, the North Rhine-Westphalian government and the European Union in the arrangement of its promotion.
Orbimed Advisors
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with over $18 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets.
RA Capital Management
RA Capital is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare and life science companies that are developing drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics. The flexibility of its strategy allows RA Capital to provide seed funding to startups and to lead private, IPO, and follow-on financings for its portfolio companies, allowing management teams to drive value creation from inception through commercialization.
