Kurma Partners closes €215 million Biofund IV to support European biotech ventures from Paris

The new fund builds on the €160 million Biofund III, marking an increase of nearly 35% in size. Biofund IV is supported by three cornerstone investors: Australian pharmaceutical company CSL, the European Investment Fund (EIF), and Bpifrance, which invests directly as well as through the Biotech Health Acceleration Fund under the France 2030 initiative.

Read Also - Berlin-based VREY Raises €3.3M Funding Led By Rubio Impact Ventures

Thierry Laugel and Rémi Droller, Managing Partners at Kurma Partners, said: “This latest closing reflects our investors’ long-standing trust in the model we have built over the past fifteen years: an integrated ecosystem that bridges the gap between scientific discovery and venture capital financing.

“With Biofund IV and Argobio Studio, we now possess a unique capacity in Europe to identify world-class academic science, transform it into globally competitive biotechnology companies, and support them through to full maturity. It is this depth of commitment that sets us apart for researchers, entrepreneurs, and, ultimately, for patients.”

Kurma Partners’ final close of Biofund IV aligns with a broader wave of biotech and therapeutics financing activity across Europe. Relevant examples include:

• France: ErVimmune in Lyon, which raised €17 million to advance cancer vaccines and cell therapies for hard-to-treat cancers; and Generare in Paris, which secured €20 million to expand its molecular data and drug discovery platform.
• Laigo Bio in Utrecht, which completed a €17 million seed round to progress cancer and autoimmune therapies, with Kurma Partners among the investors.
• iDEL Therapeutics in Dortmund, which raised €9 million to develop its cancer therapeutics platform.
• STORM Therapeutics in Cambridge, which secured €47.5 million to advance its RNA-modification-based oncology pipeline.

Collectively, these funding rounds total approximately €110 million, reflecting sustained capital deployment into European biotech in 2026, with a strong focus on oncology and adjacent therapeutic areas.

France features prominently through ErVimmune and Generare, which is particularly noteworthy given Kurma Partners’ domestic base. EU-Startups has also previously reported on Kurma Partners in relation to the initial close of Biofund IV.

Dr Steven Pitt, Global Head of External Innovation at CSL, adds: “Our partnership with Kurma Partners has enabled us to further build relationships across Europe, a region brimming with scientific innovation. By investing in a team with a proven track record of identifying and translating high‑quality European science, we are pleased to support the European biotech ecosystem and the progression of promising research toward therapies for patients with unmet medical needs.”

Founded in 2009, Kurma Partners, an Eurazeo group company, invests in healthcare companies from inception through to growth stages, spanning the full spectrum of the sector through its dedicated investment franchises.

These have expanded over time alongside successive funds focused on early-stage biotech (Biofunds I, II, and III), early-stage digital health and diagnostics (Kurma Diagnostics and Kurma Diagnostics 2), and, more recently, growth capital through the Kurma Growth Opportunities Fund.

With the final close of Biofund IV, Kurma Partners’ total assets under management (AUM) across all franchises have reached €1 billion.

Biofund IV builds on the strong track record of its predecessor, Biofund III, which has so far delivered three exits:

• Amolyt Pharma (rare endocrine diseases), acquired by AstraZeneca
• Emergence Therapeutics (cancer-targeting antibody-drug conjugates), acquired by Eli Lilly
• Corlieve Therapeutics (rare epilepsies), acquired by uniQure

More recently, ImCheck Therapeutics, a portfolio company of both Biofund II and Kurma Growth, was acquired by Ipsen. The company develops next-generation immunotherapy antibodies for cancer treatment.

EIF Chief Executive, Marjut Falkstedt, added: “We are thrilled to be renewing our cooperation with Kurma Partners as we pursue our common goal of supporting breakthrough innovation in Europe’s leading biotechnology sector. Apart from improving people’s lives, this has an important impact in strengthening European competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.

“Through the EIB Group’s TechEU initiative, the EIF ultimately seeks to ensure that Europe’s brightest entrepreneurs get the support they need throughout the business lifecycle, and this transactions does exactly that.”

Kurma aims to complete around twenty investments through Biofund IV, targeting both early-stage startups and the ex-nihilo creation of new biotech companies.

To date, Biofund IV has made 11 investments: SciRhom (Germany – autoimmune diseases), Memo Therapeutics (Switzerland – natural immunity), Avidicure (Netherlands – cancer immunotherapy), Elkedonia (France/Belgium – treatment-resistant depression), Nuevocor (Singapore/France/USA – genetic heart diseases), Evla Bio (Switzerland/Germany – cardiorenal diseases), Adcytherix (France – antibodies targeting solid tumours), 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).

Kurma also works closely with Argobio Studio, a biotech venture builder co-founded with Bpifrance. As a company creation platform, Argobio has backed eight startups so far, three of which have already completed initial funding rounds: Elkedonia, Laigo Bio, and Enodia Therapeutics.

About Kurma Partners

Kurma Partners is a French venture capital firm that invests in healthcare and life sciences companies. It focuses on areas like biotechnology, digital health, diagnostics, and later-stage healthcare businesses. Founded in 2009 as part of the Eurazeo group, it supports companies at all stages from early ideas and startup creation to growth-stage funding. The firm runs several dedicated funds, including biotech-focused Biofunds, digital health and diagnostics funds, and a growth capital fund. Kurma Partners is especially active in supporting innovative treatments in areas such as cancer (oncology), rare diseases, and immune system disorders. It also helps create new biotech startups through partnerships like Argobio Studio.