Bioqube Ventures welcomes two seasoned professionals

Bolstering the team with industry veterans Tom Heyman and Peter Verhaeghe will help steer the portfolio to optimal growth and deliver sustainable long-term relationships with limited partners. Following a first closing of 60 million euro for the Bioqube Factory Fund I end of May 2020, Bioqube Ventures is currently in investment mode. Simultaneously, Bioqube Ventures is fundraising to top up the Bioqube Factory Fund I to a maximum of 100 million euro.  

Tom Heyman strengthens the Bioqube Ventures’ team leveraging a highly successful track-record gained during his 37 years at Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, Tom served as President of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), leading the corporate venture arm of Johnson & Johnson. In this capacity and chairing the JJDC board, he represented the longest-standing corporate venture fund in the life science industry making strategic investments in healthcare for nearly 46 years. Tom has also engaged in hundreds of transactions involving both early and late stage pharmaceutical products spanning his 25 years in business development. He was responsible for acquiring several key companies for Johnson & Johnson and from 2008 through 2016 he was the CEO of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV in Belgium.

Tom graduated as Master of Law from the K.U. Leuven in Belgium. He continued with post-graduate studies in International Law in Geneva, Switzerland, and post-graduate studies in Business Management at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.  Currently, Tom is Member of the Board of imec vzw (Belgium) and Akero Tx (US).

Debora Dumont, Managing Partner of Bioqube Ventures said: “We are delighted to welcome Tom as Operating Partner to the team. His experience in leading investment professionals and his impressive business development track record will prove highly instrumental on the road to success of the Bioqube Factory Fund I and its portfolio companies.”

In addition, the LP and Advisory Committee of Bioqube Factory Fund I has appointed Peter Verhaeghe as Chairman.

Peter Verhaeghe brings on board a wealth of cross-industry expertise representing media and entertainment groups as well as numerous biotech and pharmaceutical companies and high-tech and software companies, providing guidance to their intellectual property rights and the legal and tax aspects of their financing needs.

Peter obtained a Juris Doctor Degree from the K.U. Leuven in Belgium and a Master of Law degree at Harvard Law School (US). He is currently Chairman of the Board of argenx SE (The Netherlands) and Haretis SA (Luxembourg) and Member of the Board of Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV, Belgium) and miDiagnostics (Belgium).

Dirk Reyn and Nico Vandervelpen, Managing Partners of Bioqube Ventures said: “We like to extend a warm welcome to Peter as the independent chairman of the LP and Advisory Committee of the Bioqube Factory Fund I. We believe that his deep expertise and network will be very valuable for the Fund in achieving its ambitious goals.”

About Bioqube Ventures (www.bioqubeventures.com)

Bioqube Ventures NV is a specialist life sciences investment firm with Managing Partners Debora Dumont, Dirk Reyn and Nico Vandervelpen. The firm was founded by Debora Dumont and Nico Vandervelpen in 2016 and has seen its team grow to 10 people over the past years. Bioqube Ventures’ team today consists of a mix of investment managers, sector experts and serial entrepreneurs that have a proven track record in successfully building and leading companies on their growth paths. 

Leveraging on the team’s experience, Bioqube Ventures enables early stage life sciences companies to maximize their full potential. Bioqube Ventures recognizes the value of industry guidance and has therefore set up strategic relationships with a selected number of industry partners with complementary skills.

Bioqube Ventures NV launched Bioqube Factory Fund I, a private privak under Belgian law, in May 2020 with a clear focus on therapeutics. Through a diversified investment strategy, including de-risking projects in a “Create” stage, the Fund will exclusively invest in the most promising innovative science in Europe and will put its expertise at work to ensure its portfolio flourishes.

About European Investment Fund (www.eif.org)

The European Investment Fund is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.

About InnovFin Equity

This investment is supported by InnovFin Equity with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020). Through or alongside selected Venture Capital (VC), Business Angels (BA), Technology Transfer funds and funds-of-funds, the EU provides risk capital financing to enterprises, research organisations, universities in their proof-of-concept, pre-seed, seed, start-up and other early stage phases allowing them to set up or reach their next stage of development.

InnovFin Equity investments, deployed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), can represent up to 50% of the total commitment made by the financial intermediary, who shall demonstrate a high policy fit by targeting in its investment strategy sectors covered by Horizon 2020 including ICT, medical technologies, biotechnologies, green technologies, nanotechnologies, etc. In addition, the facility has been designed to support Horizon 2020 objectives addressing societal challenges such as those related to resource efficiency, bio-economy, health and demographics, and climate change.