Analysis
Forbion raised €2.3 billion (about $2.6 billion) across two new funds, the company said, marking the largest fundraise in the life sciences venture firm's 20-year history and lifting its total assets under management to roughly €7.5 billion.
Two Funds, One Pipeline
The raise splits into Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund IV, aimed at later-stage biopharma companies in Europe and North America developing therapies for significant unmet medical need, and Forbion Ventures Fund VIII, which backs therapeutics-focused biotech companies -- both established businesses and new ventures Forbion builds itself around promising assets and experienced teams. Together the funds are expected to finance about 30 biotech companies, and Forbion says initial investments have already been made.
“Together the funds are expected to finance about 30 biotech companies, and Forbion says initial investments have already been made.”
Investors in the raise include MN, PGGM, KfW Capital, the Kauffman Foundation, and Eli Lilly and Company, among other existing and new institutional backers. Eli Lilly's participation stands out on its own: a major pharmaceutical company funding the early-stage pipeline that could eventually produce the next drug Lilly licenses, partners on, or competes against is a different kind of bet than a pure financial LP writing a check.
A Track Record Built On Exits, Not Just AUM
Forbion points to 20 years of financing 142 companies, including 37 it created from scratch, and says its portfolio has produced 21 approved medical products that have reached more than 1.6 million patients globally. That's a meaningfully different pitch than most venture firms can make in 2026, when exit activity across tech venture broadly has been slow and IPO windows have mostly stayed shut outside biotech -- Forbion can point to regulatory approvals, not just paper markups, as its proof of work.
Managing partner Sander Slootweg called the raise evidence of "significant dry powder in a market characterized by a general shortage of capital," which cuts both ways: capital scarcity elsewhere is exactly what makes a €2.3 billion raise notable, however it also means Forbion's LPs are betting that being one of the few well-capitalized life sciences funds left standing is itself a competitive advantage -- a bet that only pays off if deal terms improve for Forbion as a result, which the firm hasn't yet demonstrated.