Kurma Partners closes €215M Biofund IV, crosses €1B in assets under management
Kurma Partners, the Paris-based biotech investor and member of the Eurazeo group, has closed Biofund IV at €215M — its largest fund to date and a 35% increase over the €160M raised for Biofund III. The close brings Kurma’s total assets under management to €1B, up from a €51M debut fund in 2009.
Key backers include CSL (the Australian pharmaceutical group), the European Investment Fund, and Bpifrance (investing directly and through France’s Biotech Health Acceleration Fund under the France 2030 initiative). The fund closed below its €250M target but still attracted more interest than the previous vintage.
European biotech is experiencing a wave of exits that is validating the venture model. Kurma’s prior fund, Biofund III, delivered three acquisitions by major pharma: Amolyt Pharma to AstraZeneca, Emergence Therapeutics to Eli Lilly, and Corlieve Therapeutics to UniQure. More recently, ImCheck Therapeutics was acquired by Ipsen for €350M upfront with milestone payments up to €1B.
Founded by Thierry Laugel and Rémi Droller , Kurma’s model is distinctive: it both invests in existing startups and co-creates companies from academic research, working through its Argobio Studio venture builder (a joint initiative with Bpifrance, Angelini Ventures, Evotec, and the Institut Pasteur).
The fund closed 14% below its €250M target — a sign that European biotech fundraising, while improving, still faces headwinds. The LP base leans heavily on institutional and public backers (EIF, Bpifrance, CSL) rather than the deep pool of private capital available to US peers.
European biotech VC also faces structural challenges: longer timelines to exit, smaller average deal sizes, and a less developed IPO market compared to the US. Kurma’s exits have been strong, but they are the exception rather than the rule for the continent.
Kurma reaching €1B in AUM is a milestone for European biotech venture capital. The firm sits alongside Sofinnova Partners, Forbion, and Versant Ventures Europe as one of the continent’s largest life sciences investors. Unlike its rivals, Kurma’s venture-building model — spinning out companies directly from academic labs — gives it a differentiated deal pipeline that pure fund investors cannot easily replicate.
Biofund IV has already made 11 investments across seven European countries and plans roughly 20 in total. The pan-European spread signals that the best biotech science is no longer concentrated in a single hub.
Sources:
Eurazeo
Fierce Biotech
Tech Funding News
Finyear
Pharmaceutiques
Image credit:
Kurma Partners
J.V.
