Fund+

Fund+ Research

Investment Thesis

Fund+ is a Belgian evergreen (open-ended) fund founded in May 2015 by the private foundation Desire Collen and the non-profit Life Sciences Research Partners. It invests in innovative life sciences companies, primarily therapeutics, without excluding diagnostics and medical devices. The fund is registered as a Belgian NV/SA with offices in the Groot Begijnhof of Leuven, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fund+ aims to realize an attractive financial return alongside a societal return, evaluated through a proprietary SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) scorecard, and wants to contribute sustainably to the biotech ecosystem.

Sector Focus

Fund+ invests exclusively in life sciences, with a primary focus on therapeutics and a patient-centric approach addressing unmet medical needs. The portfolio spans oncology (Ona Therapeutics, EPICS Therapeutics), gene and cell therapy (Coave Therapeutics, Novadip Biosciences, Cellaion), mRNA immunotherapy (eTheRNA Immunotherapies), immunology and autoimmune disease (Immunic Therapeutics, Egle Therapeutics), rare CNS disease (Minoryx), antiviral nanobody therapeutics (ExeVir Bio), ophthalmology (EyeD Pharma), diabetes medical devices (Indigo Diabetes), GPCR drug discovery (Confo Therapeutics), and thrombosis biologics (TargED Biopharmaceuticals). The fund does not exclude diagnostics and medical devices but is not active outside life sciences.

Stage Focus

Fund+ targets companies seeking Series A or Series B financing that already have a Proof of Concept (POC). It generally acts as a first institutional or growth-stage life sciences investor rather than a true seed fund, entering once there is validated science.

Check Size

The intended investment size per company is between EUR 5 million and EUR 15 million, spread over multiple milestones. Fund+ aims to become a significant minority shareholder, targeting more than 10% ownership in its portfolio companies.

Lead Tendency

Fund+ takes board seats and significant ownership stakes (10%+) as a matter of policy, but it frequently invests as part of larger syndicates rather than always leading. For example, it participated (not led) in Novadip's September 2026 EUR 10.4 million convertible financing led by New Science Ventures, and in Ona Therapeutics' $86.6 million Series B co-led by Columbus Venture Partners and Merieux Equity Partners. Its board-seat requirement and >10% ownership target indicate it negotiates lead-like terms even in syndicated rounds.

Recent Activity

Fund+ has been actively deploying through 2026:

• September 2026: Participated in Novadip Biosciences' EUR 10.4M convertible financing (total convertible financing to date: EUR 20M / $23.3M), unlocking an additional EIB venture debt tranche.
• September 2026: Portfolio company Ona Therapeutics advanced its ONA-255 Phase 1a trial (more than half of planned patients enrolled) and appointed Aleix Prat, MD, PhD as Chief Medical Officer.
• June 2026: Participated in Ona Therapeutics' oversubscribed $86.6M Series B financing, alongside Alta Life Sciences, Asabys Partners, Bpifrance, CDTI/SICC Innvierte and Ysios Capital.
• Astrivax Therapeutics appears to be a newer addition to the current portfolio (updated portfolio logo dated April 2026).

Portfolio Highlights

Current portfolio (15 companies): Minoryx Therapeutics, Astrivax Therapeutics, Coave Therapeutics, Immunic Therapeutics, eTheRNA Immunotherapies, Novadip Biosciences, Cellaion, EPICS Therapeutics, Confo Therapeutics, EyeD Pharma, Ona Therapeutics, Indigo Diabetes, ExeVir Bio, Egle Therapeutics, and TargED Biopharmaceuticals.

Notable exits: iTeos Therapeutics (later acquired by Concentra Biosciences, 2025), Octimet Oncology, Ogeda (acquired by Galapagos), qBiologicals, Cardior Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to EUR 1.025B, 2024), and Tubulis.

Team

• Caroline Goddeeris, Venture Partner: PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences plus MBA/corporate finance (Vlerick). Formerly at UCB and a principal at Gimv (board roles at Complix and Multiplicom, sold to Agilent). Serves on the board of Confo Therapeutics; follows the Tubulis investment.
• Bart De Leeuw, Partner/CFO: Joined 2023. Previously CFO/Risk Officer at Fortino Capital Partners and Group Controller/Investment Manager at Ackermans & van Haaren; over a decade at Ernst & Young. Serves on the boards of Coave Therapeutics, EPICS Therapeutics, EyeD Pharmaceuticals, Minoryx Therapeutics, and Novadip Biosciences.
• Halina Novak, PhD, Associate Partner: Former leadership roles at VIB (Flemish Institute for Biotechnology), headed its Tech Watch Program and Technology Innovation Lab. Represents Fund+ on the boards of Egle Therapeutics, Astrivax Therapeutics, ExeVir, and TargED Biopharmaceuticals, and as board observer of EyeD Pharma. Previously represented Fund+ at Cardior Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Novo Nordisk).
• Diane De Wyngaert, Administrative Assistant: Bachelor's in informatics; prior roles at ADB (Siemens), VIB, and Life Sciences Research Partners.

Board members include Luc Debruyne (Chairman, former President of Global Vaccines GSK), Mark Waer (Honorary Chairman, former rector of KU Leuven), Chris Buyse (co-founder, former Managing Partner through end of 2024), Desire Collen (Honorary Chairman/Board Observer, founder of ThromboGenics), Francois Fontaine (Fund Manager at SFPI-FPMI, a main Fund+ investor), Urbain Vandeurzen (private equity investor, GIMV/Smile Invest/Smile Sail), and Kenneth Bonheure (Senior Partner at McKinsey, Senior Advisor at Fund+).

Decision Process

Fund+ operates with an investment team (Venture Partner, Partner/CFO, Associate Partner) supported by a Board of Directors that includes life-sciences industry veterans and representatives of major LPs (e.g., SFPI-FPMI). Portfolio company board seats are held directly by the investment team, indicating a partnership-style decision process with board-level governance involvement post-investment.

Founder Preferences

Fund+ looks for experienced management teams respecting the highest ethical values, presenting a solid business plan, and operating in an advanced development stage (first round and subsequent financing) with a strong patient-centric approach to unmet medical needs. Many portfolio companies are academic or hospital spin-offs (VUB, ULB, UCLouvain, KU Leuven, Institut Curie, University Medical Center Utrecht), suggesting a preference for science with strong academic pedigree.

Geographic Focus

Fund+ invests in Europe with a specific focus on Belgium. Portfolio companies are based in Belgium, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and the US, reflecting a Belgian-anchored but pan-European mandate.