Van Herk Ventures

Van Herk Ventures is the life-sciences investment arm of Van Herk Groep, the Rotterdam-based family investment group built by Dutch entrepreneur Adriaan van Herk and whose roots trace back to 1951. Operating with patient, evergreen family capital, Van Herk Ventures invests in the life-sciences sector through direct stakes in both private and publicly listed companies as well as commitments to specialist venture capital funds. For private companies it concentrates on the Benelux region and typically participates in businesses with an enterprise value of between roughly EUR 10 million and EUR 150 million at the time of first investment, while its public-market positions extend across the broader European and global biotech landscape, generally as a co-investor. The wider Van Herk Groep deploys across real estate, energy, financial services and construction, but the Ventures vehicle is focused squarely on life sciences, biotechnology and healthtech. Across roughly 28 portfolio companies it has produced eight IPOs and seven acquisitions, with a track record that includes some of Europe's most prominent biotech names, argenx, Merus, Galapagos, Zealand Pharma, BioInvent, DCprime and DermTech, alongside landmark exits such as Ablynx, acquired by Sanofi, and Crucell, acquired by Johnson & Johnson. The group runs a lean team of around ten people including two partners. Backed by patient, multigenerational family capital, Van Herk Ventures takes long-term positions across private and public European life-sciences companies and has built one of the region's most successful biotech investment track records.