Primo Capital launches biotech venture fund for Italy's Lazio region
What's the deal? Primo CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has launched Primo Biotech Lazio, a venture capital fund dedicated to biotechnology in Italy's Lazio region. The fund is backed by Lazio InnovaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, through the LAZIO Venture 2 fund-of-funds programme, and by pension foundation ENPAMDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The fund's size was not disclosed.
What's the endgame? Primo Biotech Lazio wants to turn one of Italy's densest ecosystems of research, clinical expertise, and pharmaceutical industry into scalable biotech companies. It will build a concentrated portfolio, operating mainly as lead investor, focused on biotech and innovative technologies applied to life sciences.
Why now? Lazio combines universities, research hospitals, clinical infrastructure, and pharmaceutical hubs, but startup creation and funding have not kept pace with that base. The fund aims to close that gap.
Who's running it? Letizia Goretti and Michele Cerqua serve as general partners, with Professor Sergio Abrignani as scientific advisor. The team spans finance, pharma, scientific research, and biotech entrepreneurship, covering the full life sciences cycle from validation to licensing, M&A, and exit.
What's the expansion? To get closer to the region's scientific and institutional ecosystem, Primo Capital will strengthen its direct presence in Rome with a permanent base. It frames the move as part of a wider strategy to invest in talent anywhere in Italy.
"In biotech, scientific rigour, clinical need, and execution capability must move together," Goretti and Cerqua said (translated from Italian). "The Lazio region has excellent skills and infrastructure: the challenge is turning them into companies capable of attracting capital, competing internationally, and generating concrete impact for patients."
Roberta Angelilli, vice president of the Lazio region and economic development councillor, called Lazio "the leading Italian hub for life sciences" thanks to an ecosystem integrating pharma and biotech firms, universities, research centres, and research hospitals (translated from Italian).
The signal: The fund is one of six deep tech and tech transfer vehicles Lazio Innova has finalised in recent months, signalling a regional push to convert scientific strength into venture-backed companies. For Primo Capital, it extends the firm's platform toward a bigger role in Italian high-tech investing.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
