1. Home
  2. Companies
  3. Droia Ventures
DV

Droia Ventures

About

Droia invests in novel science and innovative approaches to bring promising drug candidates to patients, and accelerate their progress by actively supporting young drug development companies to achieve clinical proof of concept with their lead programs. Droia has an in-house team of experts and drug development professionals who follow the portfolio companies closely and provide hands-on support. Droia invests in early financing rounds and incubates new companies. Operating from Luxembourg and Belgium, Droia invests globally.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Droia invests globally in young drug development companies that use novel science and innovative approaches to bring promising therapies to patients. We are specialists, investing exclusively in therapeutics for oncology and genetic disease.

Our focus and our in-house team of drug development experts and biotech professionals allow us to accelerate our companies’ progress by actively supporting them from company creation through clinical proof of concept. We are hands-on investors and entrepreneurs, fully dedicated to making an impact and saving patient lives.

BREAKTHROUGH FOCUS

For biotech companies, ultimate success is measured in effective patient benefit. Promising therapies should have a material impact on patient prognosis, measured as a function of the severity of the unmet medical need addressed and the improvement in therapeutic benefits as compared to (expected) standard of care.

We only invest in companies that are able, through their technology platforms or scientific insights, to go after previously unsolvable clinical problems. Companies should differentiate not only by way of innovation, but also in the way this innovation translates to clinical breakthrough.

GETTING IT DONE

Droia actively scouts for the best science and the best teams. Whether investing in an existing company or creating a new company, we actively participate in our portfolio companies’ development. Our team has deep and specialized experience in disease biology, translational science, clinical development and company building.

We have built many companies from the ground up, supporting and complementing founders and management teams. Our team members dedicate their time to helping their companies, and will take on interim roles within companies to help them get off the ground faster. Our whole organization is geared towards doing what we do best: building great drug development companies.

Similar companies

TV

Takeda Ventures

We invest in early-stage opportunities that complement Takeda’s pipeline and products. Our mission is to create strategic growth opportunities for Takeda by investing and nurturing Innovative Life Science Companies in areas aligned with Takeda’s R&D focuses which include; Oncology, Gastroenterology, Neuroscience, and Rare Disease. Our aim is to access and support therapeutic and platform innovation working closely with academic innovators, entrepreneurs and investors. We invest in seeds or syndicated venture investing providing to the companies access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company.

SV

Sanofi Ventures

We invest in the innovators behind the miracles of science who are passionate about improving human health. Sanofi Ventures serves as an entry point to the innovation ecosystem for Sanofi, strategically investing in early-stage transformational science and technology, when companies are too early to partner with or acquire. Our Approach As the corporate venture capital arm of Sanofi, we invest in top-tier biotech and digital health companies that focus on helping patients and transforming the practice of medicine. We invest across all stages of the private company lifecycle, from Seed to Series B and beyond, while leading financings, serving on boards, and taking pride in working alongside portfolio companies to drive long-term value through future financings and IPO. How We Work Think of us like institutional venture capitalists with an added bonus: in addition to our investment, we aim to offer our portfolio companies select access to Sanofi’s expertise and capabilities in science, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory, data analytics, manufacturing, market access, and commercialization. Our goal is to foster strong relationships over time so when our portfolio company is ready to consider a partnership or acquisition, our colleagues on the BD and M&A teams can be a first and last call. We move quickly, we don’t believe in drawn-out processes, and we always aim to provide thoughtful feedback. Our Investment Focus We invest in early-stage biotech and digital health companies of strategic interest to Sanofi. We seek to accelerate all strategic focus while reaching into novel and emerging areas of science and technology. Here are some of the areas that we currently are thinking about: Rare diseases Immunology and inflammation Oncology Cell and gene therapy Vaccines Digital health and data science We can't do it alone - we would love to hear how we can team up to improve human health for people everywhere!

BI

Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund

The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund Mission is to invest in the development of pioneering science – from idea to proof of concept – which offer the potential to provide significant benefits firstly for patients and also for our business. Our Investment PhilosophyActivating success: Our primary aim is to activate success for those companies and entrepreneurs we support and to earn a reputation as a long-term trusted partner. Added-value expertise: Beyond capital investment, we intend to take an active role with our portfolio companies – delivering significant added value through our own extensive drug discovery, scientific and managerial expertise and access to selected relevant experts and knowledge. Nevertheless, we also attach significant importance to confidentiality, establishing ethical walls to protect our portfolio companies and entrepreneurs. Ongoing investment: The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund has an initial commitment of €300 million. Opening investments of up to €3 million per venture will be made at the early stage with subsequent staged investments made to align with each venture’s progress, up to a total of €15 million per venture (up to €7.5 million for Digital Health) over its life. Opportunities for the future: Boehringer Ingelheim would welcome the opportunity to enter into strategic partnerships with those companies in which the Venture Fund has invested. However we will be equally proud to see portfolio companies develop in their own right or enter strategic partnerships with other pharmaceutical partners. Ultimately, our goal is to add value to those companies we invest in, delivering success for them and generating revenues to finance further new investment to benefit patients. Our Investment Focus Therapeutic and Digital Health Focus Our sole focus is to search for significant enhancements in patient care through innovative and pioneering science including (but not limited to): Immunomodulation, esp. Immuno-Oncology Tissue Regeneration, e.g. stem cells, NCEs, biologics New Therapeutic Modalities, e.g. genetherapy, cell-based therapeutics Microbiome, esp. approaches based on NCEs and biologics Antiinfectives with new mechanism of action Patients Care Management, e.g. diagnosis and monitoring of disease, prevention of onset and progression of disease (incl. digital biomarkers), population management Medication adherence Digital companion therapy Digital therapy as stand alone These reflect our interest in platform technologies and the extention of the current therapeutic area focus of Boehringer Ingelheim and demonstrate our commitment to investigate new treatment modalities and technologies, beyond our existing landscape, for the potential future benefit of patients. Geographical Focus We recognise that innovation is not restricted by geography and welcome applications from entrepreneurs worldwide.

TR

Third Rock Ventures

When we founded the firm in 2007, our imaginations were on fire with the possibility of translating scientific discoveries to breakthrough medicines. Could we finally find cures for cancer? Would we be able to diagnose diseases before they even appear? How far could we go in restoring hope and quality of life to patients with incurable conditions? We dared to believe that nothing was impossible. To achieve what hadn’t been done before, we created a process that hadn’t been done before. By starting with big ideas and fostering collaboration among brilliant people with expertise in science, medicine, business and strategy, we set out to do more than fund startups – we aim to build sustainable, innovative companies that can transform the lives of patients. Discover Our Discovery effort is a collaborative and iterative process. We look for emerging fields of science and medicine where the time is right for us to bring transformative change to areas of unmet medical need. Working with leading scientific founders and expert advisors, we then develop a clear vision and strategy for a company with the patient front and center. With 12 years and over 50 companies worth of experience, we have created an industry-leading and differentiated approach to bring breakthrough science to patients. Launch Once a company concept has been refined and optimized through our Discovery process, we Launch the company with the necessary financial, technical and human resources to enable it to reach milestones critical for its growth and success. We become active members of the company’s leadership team, serving in interim roles to ensure the execution of the company’s R&D strategy, and to build a world-class team that shares the company’s scientific vision. Importantly, we work to establish a dynamic and innovative culture at launch where the growing team has a unified passion and commitment to make a difference in the lives of patients. Build Next, we Build on that foundation. We transition out of our interim roles and establish experienced and motivated management teams. As board members and domain experts, we work with these teams for as long as is needed to relentlessly execute on the strategy, bringing whatever resources are required from within the firm to deliver on our commitment to patients. An important element is the work we do to cultivate future partnerships and drive value creating transactions. Our companies also have access to our Beyond Great learning community, which provides peer-to-peer networking for leaders across the portfolio as well as tools and resources focused on shared elements of building successful and sustainable companies. Transform Our companies are now bringing products to patients – Transforming their lives, and the lives of their families. Third Rock portfolio companies have now launched 16 products. It is this that we are most proud of, as it means we are delivering on our mission of creating great companies that discover and develop products that make a difference for the patients we serve. Mission & Core Values Third Rock's mission is to be the preferred partner for entrepreneurs, investors, employees and industry to build great companies that discover and develop products that make a difference for the patients we serve. Integrity: always do the right thing Attitude: nothing is impossible Patients: making a difference through breakthroughs in medicine Partners: make them raving fans Organization: great people, great culture, great accomplishments Entrepreneurs: passionately innovate, found, build, have fun

MG

Mass General Brigham Ventures

Our unique model combines first access and proprietary rights to disruptive deal flow with an established track record of new venture formation, company building, and value creation. We invest in bold, transformative innovations to develop new drugs and technologies to improve outcomes for the market benefit of patients worldwide. Investing in early-stage venture capital We invest in seed and early-stage life science ventures, bringing Mass General Brigham’s expertise and extensive network to bear to create transformative solutions to solve unmet medical needs. Leveraging a competitive advantage Research is the driving force that advances medicine and Mass General Brigham Ventures sits at the center of the largest medical research engine in the United States. #1 in hospital medical research​ Mass General Brigham Ventures is a member of the largest hospital system-based research enterprise in the U.S., which includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, two of the nation’s premier academic medical centers whose origins date back to the early 1800’s.​ Mass General Brigham Ventures' unique model leverages a preferred position to source technology including first access and rights to disruptive deal flow. This is an exceptional advantage that conventional venture capital funds cannot reproduce. Legacy of investing in medical innovation Mass General Brigham Ventures plays a key role in founding and funding next-generation technologies. These three transformational companies are examples of start-ups that are poised to address significant unmet medical needs. All were seeded by Mass General Brigham Ventures with founding intellectual property from Mass General Brigham. Editas Medicine: IPO Feb. 2016 (NASDAQ: EDIT) Unlocking the power and potential of CRISPR genome editing technology. CoStim Pharmaceuticals: Acquired by Novartis, Feb. 2014 Next-generation immuno-oncology drugs based on T-cell costimulatory targets. Keros Therapeutics: IPO April 2020 (NASDAQ: KROS) Novel treatments for patients suffering from hematologic and musculoskeletal disorders. Our investment strategy We invest in next-generation life science companies based on intellectual property created within our own research community. We seek strong co-investor syndicates to develop products across a range of categories including drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digital health.​ Initial investments are directed at the seed and Series A stages, where our participation attracts capital and talent into the most difficult-to-fund phase of company development. When we invest, we expect to support each portfolio company through its entire financing lifecycle. In addition to providing the necessary venture capital, we leverage our experience in starting and growing companies, our expertise in the medical industry, and our network of scientific and business talent to build great companies. Leveraging a proven approach:The annual output of high-impact invention and discovery represents a unique opportunity to create, finance, and monetize new life science-based companies. We deploy start-up capital to capture the collective expertise of our unrivaled base of scientific talent and clinical resources to bring cutting-edge science to patients Competitive advantage of Mass General Brigham: The power of collective impact from our vast research enterprise provides an unrivaled competitive advantage to build next generation life science companies capable of bringing innovative therapeutics to patients in need and delivering outstanding returns to our investors. Academic medical centers: We source deals from our five research and teaching hospitals, which collectively represent the largest teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

CV

Claris Ventures

Claris Ventures SGR is a venture capital firm based in Italy, founded in 2019. Its first fund under management, Claris Biotech I, is focused on early stage investments in high potential biopharma companies arisen from the Italian R&D ecosystem – both local and international We identify and support innovation in the pharmaceutical space, investing in new companies with transformational drugs under development. We aim at the highest impact possible on highly unmet patients need, building value around strong science. Our pursuit for high potential projects involves every research center, clinical structure and company in the Italian life sciences network, whether the founding team is based in Italy or it includes Italian scientists abroad who have strong links with Italy. Claris Ventures is authorized by Banca d’Italia (Albo SGR – Sezione Gestori di FIA – n. 176) and it is a member of the AIFI (Italian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association). Strategy Claris Ventures is the first VC firm in Italy with focus on biopharma projects ready to start clinical studies in 12-24 months. Our team provides resources, capabilities and connections to complete preclinical studies and run first in human trials. We are particularly interested in oncology, immunology, rare diseases and other therapeutic areas with limited treatment opportunities. Claris Ventures allows scientific founders to focus on science and development, while supporting project management, finance and strategic development.