Bayer Pharma AG participates in High-Tech Gruenderfonds II
April 8, 2014
High Tech Gruenderfonds II presents Bayer Pharma AG (Bayer) as its first investor from the pharmaceutical industry. This is expected to give a considerable push to start-ups in the pharmeceutical sector. Together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the KfW bank group and the private sector, a total of 20 investors participates in HTGF Fund II of the public-private-partnership, now totalling 304 million Euros.
High-Tech Gruenderfonds II intends to support and finance promising young start-ups in the life sciences and healthcare sectors.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Busch, member of the Bayer HealthCare Executive Committee and Head of Global Drug Discovery, explained, ”The participation in Fund II complements our strategy to identify at an early stage new approaches for the development of active ingredients in therapeutic areas with a high medical need. We want to support young entrepreneurs in testing their creative ideas and we want to promote the exchange of ideas and bring in our expertise.”
Dr. Michael Brandkamp, Managing Partner of the High-Tech Gruenderfonds confirms this: “We are particularly pleased that with Bayer Pharma AG we have won our first investor from the pharmaceutical industry. The possibility of accessing Bayer’s expertise in the future represents a significant additional value for High-Tech Gruenderfonds and our portfolio companies. We are confident we can contribute together with Bayer to the early-stage support of innovations in the healthcare sector.”
High-Tech Gruenderfonds wants to motivate young scientists from the life science sectors biotechnology, diagnostics, healthcare, medical technology and pharmacy to start their own business and to provide a seed capital amounting to 500,000 €, with the necessary networks and contacts. In 2013, 15 life science companies received such a seed financing and almost 43 million Euros could be raised for subsequent rounds of financing in the life science portfolio.
About High-Tech Gruenderfonds
High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech start-ups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests EUR 500,000 in the seed stage, with the potential for up to a total of EUR 2 million per portfolio company in follow-on financing. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, B. Braun, Bayer, Robert Bosch, CEWE, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gruenderfonds has about EUR 576 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 304 million HTGF II).
Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Stefanie Zillikens – Marketing & Communications Manager
Schlegelstraße 2 – 53113 Bonn
Tel: +49 228 823001-07 – Fax: +49 228 823000-50
s.zillikens@htgf.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
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