Ysios Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Ysios Capital is a leading European life sciences venture capital firm founded in 2008, headquartered in Barcelona with a second office in San Sebastián. The firm invests globally in biotech ventures developing transformative therapeutics and medical technologies for indications with high unmet medical need. Ysios describes its philosophy as centered on the management team and strength of science behind each venture: they back exceptional teams with pioneering science and the drive to change patients' lives, aiming to transform capital into medical breakthroughs.
Stage Focus
Ysios invests across the biotech lifecycle, from company creation and early-stage projects (via its InceptionBio vehicle) through later clinical-stage financings, and has also served as investment advisor to a publicly-traded biomedical equities fund (Telescope Biotech Fund). Its flagship Ysios BioFund III (2020 vintage, €216M) targets asset-centric companies and product-enabling platform technologies, with a target of up to 15 portfolio companies.
Check Size
Explicit per-round check size is not published on the website. Ysios BioFund III is sized at €216 million against a target of up to 15 companies, implying substantial per-company commitments across financing rounds, consistent with lead and co-lead participation in Series A through late-stage clinical financings.
Lead Tendency
Not explicitly disclosed. Board seats held by Ysios partners across the large majority of portfolio companies (including current investments such as Ona Therapeutics, Anaconda Biomed, Minoryx, Vivet Therapeutics, Cytoki Pharma, Synendos, and SparingVision) suggest an active, hands-on investment style, though whether Ysios typically leads or co-leads rounds is not stated.
Recent Activity
Ysios has been active in 2026 across its existing portfolio: Anaconda Biomed secured $56M in new financing (September 2026); Ona Therapeutics advanced to a clinical-stage company and appointed a new Chief Medical Officer (September 2026); Xeltis raised an additional €20.5M for its aXess vascular access device and completed its first commercial implant in Europe while exceeding 50% enrollment in its US pivotal trial (July 2026); Minoryx's NEZGLYAL (leriglitazone) received a positive CHMP opinion for cerebral Adrenoleukodystrophy (July 2026); and portfolio company Memo Therapeutics was acquired by Ipsen (July 2026). Ysios also launched InceptionBio, a new €100M fund focused on biotech company creation with a strong focus on Spain (March 2026), signaling active fundraising and deployment.
Portfolio Highlights
Ysios's portfolio spans roughly 38 companies across Europe (Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Switzerland) and the United States. Notable exits include TiGenix/Cellerix (acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals), BioVex (acquired by Amgen), EndoSense (acquired by St Jude Medical/Abbott), Sanifit (acquired by Vifor Pharma), STAT-Dx (acquired by Qiagen), Neurona Therapeutics (acquired by UCB), and Memo Therapeutics (acquired by Ipsen). Public portfolio companies include Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ: AURA), Fusion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FUS, later acquired by AstraZeneca), KALA BIO (NASDAQ: KALA), LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ: LVTX), Mineralys Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MLYS), and CVRx. Active private portfolio companies include Ona Therapeutics, Anaconda Biomed, Adcendo, AELIX Therapeutics, AM Pharma, Babyscripts, CorWave, Cytoki Pharma, Engrail Therapeutics, Galecto Biotech, Inbiomotion, Kynexis, MedLumics, Northsea Therapeutics, OxThera, Prexton Therapeutics, ReproNovo, SparingVision, SpliceBio, Synendos, Tagworks Pharmaceuticals, VarmX, Vivet Therapeutics, and Xeltis.
Team
- Joël Jean-Mairet, Managing Partner — co-founder and former CEO of Glycart Biotechnology (sold to Roche); oversees firm operations and strategy
- Julia Salaverría, Managing Partner — investor relations and corporate development; 25+ years in financial services, formerly at Talde and the Bank of Spain
- Karen Wagner, Managing Partner — therapeutic investments; PhD in Cell Biology, former McKinsey healthcare consultant and Glycart/Roche business development lead
- Joan Perelló, Managing Partner — leads company creation and early-stage vertical; co-founder and former CEO of Sanifit (sold to Vifor Pharma for €375M+)
- Cristina Garmendia, General Partner — institutional relations, investor relations and fundraising; former Spanish Minister for Science and Innovation (2008-2011)
- Jordi Xiol, Guillem Laporta, Thomas Harth, Arturo Urrios — Partners
- Iñigo López-Huerta — CFO; Wen Wen Cheng — General Counsel and Head of ESG
- Additional Associates, Venture Partners (including Antoni Ribas and Pamela Klein), and support staff round out an international team of scientific and financial investment experts
Decision Process
Structured as a multi-partner investment team (four Managing Partners plus a General Partner and additional Partners), consistent with a partnership decision process rather than a solo GP model.
Founder Preferences
Ysios prioritizes exceptional management teams paired with pioneering, differentiated science, favoring founding teams capable of advancing therapeutics from academic or translational origins (many portfolio companies are university or research-institute spin-offs) through clinical development.
Geographic Focus
Global investor with a strong European base (Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Switzerland) and significant United States exposure; headquartered in Barcelona with an additional office in San Sebastián.
Impact / ESG
Ysios runs a proprietary impact methodology ("Y-mpact") focused on promoting health and well-being, enhancing workforce diversity in biotechnology, and measuring ESG performance across the firm and its portfolio companies.