AdBio Partners Welcomes Inserm Transfert As Investor in Second Fund – AFB Fund II

AdBio partners, an AMF-regulated (the French financial market authority) investment company dedicated to life sciences, and Inserm Transfert, the private subsidiary of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) with a focus on technology transfer in life sciences and creating value from Inserm’s innovations, today announce that Inserm Transfert has joined the investors in AdBio partners’ second fund – AFB Fund II.

“We’re delighted to welcome Inserm Transfert as investor in our second fund. It is a prestigious partner within the French and European life sciences industry. We share a single vision: promoting entrepreneurship in French academic research into health and helping to develop an ecosystem, which sometimes has a silo mentality but is also rich in innovation and talented individuals. This is the goal that we will pursue together,” said Alain Huriez, chairman and managing partner at AdBio partners.

This partnership will make it easier for the most innovative life sciences startups to get off the ground and find funding, whilst also strengthening entrepreneurial skills among scientists with a background in academic research, such as those at Inserm. AdBio partners’ portfolio already contains a number of companies whose IP originates from Inserm, such as Alderaan Biotechnology, DiogenX, Tridek-One and Thabor Therapeutics. This is a clear demonstration of the work already undertaken by the two partners in recent years.

“We’re very familiar with the AdBio partners team, their network and their experience as investor-entrepreneurs in early-stage healthcare companies. This combination of factors convinced us that it is the ideal partner for strengthening the role of entrepreneurship in our value-adding strategy, as we look for practical ways to bring innovative technologies to the market for the benefit of all,” added Pascale Augé, chairman of the Executive Management Board at Inserm Transfert.
 
Inserm Transfert joins the international limited partners who have invested in AdBio partners’ second fund. The initial closing announced in September 2021 reached €86 million ($102M). Among these other investors are the European Investment Fund (EIF), the French Seed Fund 2 (FNA 2), managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French State as part of the future investments program, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Pierre Fabre, various family offices and the management of AdBio partners.

“It’s crucial that we continue to develop early-stage financing for new companies in France and Europe. AdBio partners has put together a team of experts to meet this challenge and to create startups in direct partnership with the scientists and academic researchers at the root of the innovations; Inserm is a major French player in this sector,” explained Matthieu Coutet, managing partner at AdBio partners. 

Inserm Transfert has helped startups from Inserm raise over €1.66 billion ($1.78bn) since 2010. Around a dozen startups are created every year based on innovations researched by Inserm.