Boehringer Ingelheim announced the launch of its corporate venture capital fund, the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF). The BIVF aims to invest in Biotech and Start-up companies that provide ground-breaking therapeutic approaches and technologies to help drive innovation in medical science. These may include - but are not limited to - new therapeutic concepts including stem cells and RNA silencing as well as new generation vaccines, new generation protein or antibody technologies, new molecular targets and/or first-in-class lead compounds. Disease-related biomarkers would be an additional area of focus.
"Our investments will extend beyond the current therapeutic area focus of Boehringer Ingelheim and our existing therapeutic approaches and technologies." says Prof. Andreas Barner, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim. "We have extensive drug discovery expertise and can take advantage of knowledge and experience available within our global organisation, but we are aware that there is an entire landscape of novel therapeutic ideas and potentially breakthrough technologies that need to be supported for future patients' benefit."
Boehringer Ingelheim has initially committed to invest a total fund volume of € 100 Million with the first investments being made in 2010.
Investment opportunities will be sought, on a worldwide basis.
"By focusing on novel therapeutic concepts and potentially breakthrough technologies, our Venture Fund represents a long-term investment in external innovation" says Dr Michel Pairet, Head of the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. 2Our philosophy is to provide both our expertise and funding to drive innovative ideas from early stages into clinical testing."
Innovators interested in contacting the BI Venture Fund, please visit: www.boehringer-ingelheim-venture.com.
About Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 138 affiliates in 47 countries and 41,300 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the independent, family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
In 2008, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 11.6 billion euro while spending one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.