Innovestor Life Science Fund
Nordic health-focused fund which loves science and impact
KEY FACTS
| Fund size | 90M€ |
| Target sectors | Biotech & Digital health |
| Target geographics | Nordics and Baltics |
| Target stage | Pre-seed to Series A |
| Initial ticket size | 250k€ – 3M€ |
Co-investors:
We prefer to syndicate with other specialist investors.
Early-stage Founders:
You don’t need to have it all figured out, we are glad to help.
Our focus areas
Biotech
- Strong scientific foundation
- Strong IP
- Targeting an unmet clinical need with a well differentiated asset
- Drug target or mechanism of action that is validated and relevant to human disease or condition
Digital Health
- Strong scientific foundation or commitment to generating scientific/clinical evidence
- Solutions that directly impact the diagnosis, treatment, or management of patients or discovery and development of new diagnostic or treatment options
- Solutions that have strong IP or data assets, or other barriers to entry
Life Science team
Pekka Simula
Partner, Innovestor Life Science
pekka.simula@innovestor.fi
Pekka (MSc) has more than 20 years of hands-on management experience in health and life sciences, including founding CEO of Oncos Therapeutics (funded by HealthCap, exited through merger and IPO in Oslo) and CEO of Herantis Pharma (restructured and IPO’d 2014). Well-connected in the European Life Sciences industry, Pekka is also Board Member of Finnish Bioindustries and mentor and board member in Finnish startup companies in health and life sciences. Pekka has raised over 50 MEUR as CEO in life sciences companies.
Milla Koistinaho
Partner, Innovestor Life Science
milla.koistinaho@innovestor.fi
Milla (PhD and Adjunct Professor in Neurobiology) has 20 years of experience in commercializing life science inventions. Milla has a strong track record in IPR creation, international business development, licensing and fundraising. After postgraduate training with Eli Lilly in the USA, Milla has been founding CEO of 3 biotech start ups and and COO of the tech transfer organization of Helsinki University, managing a large patent portfolio and launching startups. Milla serves as Board member in several life science companies.
Marko Kuisma
Partner, Innovestor Life Science
marko.kuisma@innovestor.fi
Marko is a seasoned commercial leader and executive with experience in digital health, international health tech, health care and med tech sectors. He has close to 15 years of experience from strategic planning and execution, leading commercial operations and hands-on experience from the front lines. He has held leadership roles in multiple companies, e.g. Mobidiag (acquired by Hologic in 2021) and, recently as CCO of Kaiku Health (acquired by Elekta in 2020). He is also a mentor in the SPARK Finland program, and has served as an advisor to several digital health companies.
Petri Laine
Partner, Innovestor Ventures
petri.laine@innovestor.fi
Petri ( degrees in accounting and in finance), has more than 15 years of venture capital and corporate finance experience. Prior to joining Innovestor, Petri built Finland’s largest venture portfolio covering all fields of technology making 200+ investments over a period of 10 years. Petri is a council member of the International Venture Club. He is currently board member in 5 tech start ups. Petri is well connected within European startup ecosystem and provides his invaluable experience in building and evaluating deal flow and syndicating investments. Petri is a part-time partner in ILS with continued commitments in Innovestor’s previous funds.
Sara Kangaspeska
Investment Director, Innovestor Life Science
sara.kangaspeska@innovestor.fi
Sara (PhD) has almost a decade of experience in commercialization of research-based inventions to spin-outs and IP licensing, especially in biotech and molecular medicine. After receiving her PhD from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Germany, Sara worked as a post doc and academia-industry liaison at the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine (FIMM). Before joining Innovestor she was also Head of Innovation at HIS, the technology transfer office of the University of Helsinki, and most recently at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) where she was responsible for their broad chemistry and biotech IPR portfolio.
Matias Posa
Analyst, Innovestor Life Science
matias.posa@innovestor.fi
Matias (MD) is a business-minded Medical Doctor. He serves as Board member in Duodecim Ltd and Young Physicians’ Association of Finland. In 2021, he was selected as one of the top 10 Healthcare Influencers in Finland by the Bachelors of Medicine.
Our portfolio
WARD 247 ApS
Co-investors: Vaekstfonden
WARD 247 is a Danish digital health start-up based in Copenhagen. Founded by three experienced anesthesiologists, the company is bringing AI based smart patient monitoring to all hospital wards. The company’s real-time monitoring of vital signs will enable early detection of complications, reduce the amount of adverse events, and allow healthcare professionals to spend their time more efficiently.
Teitur Trophics ApS
Co-investors: Sunstone Life Science Ventures, Sound Bioventures, Industrifonden, P53 Invest
Teitur, a spin out from Aarhus University seeded by the BioInnovation Institute (“BII”), has developed a platform of first-in-class cyclic peptides with a novel mechanism that preserves neuronal function. The peptides have the potential to treat patients suffering from a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases.
NEUmiRNA Therapeutics ApS
Co-investors: Sunstone Life Science Ventures
NEUmiRNA Therapeutics is a Danish pharmaceutical start-up based in Copenhagen. NEUmiRNA focuses on achieving transformative disease modification for neurological conditions.
HVR Cardio Oy
Co-investors: Tesi, Industrifonden
HVR Cardio develops an innovative transcatheter mitral valve repair device for the treatment of Mitral Regurgitation (MR). MR impacts about 15 million people in the USA and Europe, and its currently available treatment options are limited.
Tribune Therapeutics AS
Co-investors: HealthCap, Novo Holdings
Tribune Therapeutics is University of Oslo spin-out seeded by HealthCap and Novo Holdings. The preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company builds a promising pipeline of novel medicines to treat patients with a wide range of fibrotic diseases.
Alex Therapeutics AB
Co-investors: Hadean Ventures, Scale Capital, Bonit Capital, Sweet Studio
Alex Therapeutics is a digital therapeutics (DTx) developer focusing on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based interventions. Alex has developed a proprietary platform for rapid development, deployment and maintenance of regulatory approved new digital therapeutics.
