Kurma Partners has closed its fourth biotech venture capital fund after raising 215 million euros ($252 million) to support European startups.
Paris-based Kurma held the first close of Biofund IV in October 2024. At that time, the VC group had raised 140 million euros and was aiming to pull in a total of 250 million euros by the end of 2025. Amid a tough period for biotech, Kurma disclosed Thursday that it closed Biofund IV 14% below its publicly set target in 2024. Even so, the fund is 34% bigger than the 160 million euro Biofund III.
Kurma plans to use Biofund IV to make 16 to 20 new investments when it held the first close. The VC group had made three Biofund IV investments at that time, and that has now increased to 11. The current plan is to spread the money across around 20 bets.
The existing beneficiaries include U.S. and Denmark-based obesity startup Alveus Therapeutics, which disclosed a $159.8 million series A financing in January. Kurma also co-led the 105 million euro series A round that Adcytherix raised to fund antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs in October 2025.
Adcytherix represents a wager that lightning will strike twice. The French biotech was founded by the team behind Emergence Therapeutics, an ADC developer that used cash from investors, including Kurma, to advance to the point that Eli Lilly bought the business. Lilly reported an acquired in-process R&D expense of $406.5 million associated with the Emergence acquisition.
Kurma also used Biofund IV to lead or co-lead several smaller rounds, including investments in Nuevocor, EvlaBio, Laigo Bio and Elkedonia (PDF). Argobio Studio, a biotech builder backed by Kurma, was involved with Elkedonia and Laigo.
Bpifrance, a bank that cofounded Argobio, is one of four cornerstone investors in Biofund IV. Australian biotech CSL, the European Investment Fund, and Kurma’s parent company, Eurazeo, were the other three cornerstone investors.
“This latest closing reflects our investors’ long-standing trust in the model we have built over the past fifteen years: an integrated ecosystem that bridges the gap between scientific discovery and venture capital financing,” Kurma managing partners Thierry Laugel and Rémi Droller said in the April 23 release.
“With Biofund IV and Argobio Studio, we now possess a unique capacity in Europe to identify world-class academic science, transform it into globally competitive biotechnology companies, and support them through to full maturity. It is this depth of commitment that sets us apart for researchers, entrepreneurs, and, ultimately, for patients,” they added.
Kurma’s final close is the latest in a series of funding milestones for European VC shops. Medicxi raised a 500 million euro fund in November and Jeito Capital hailed a new record when it reeled in more than 1 billion euros earlier this month.
