Hakan Goker

Operates as a clinical-stage drug company that develops novel treatments in women’s health

Develops therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders

Merck Ventures invests in companies located in the Netherlands. The firm targets companies operating in the fields of healthcare, healthcare drug development, life science tools, electronics and frontier technology & sustainability sectors. It provides financing for early stage capital requirements.

Develops therapies that extend health span for cancer patients

Operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops molecule drugs through RNA biology for the treatment of cancer, inflammation, viruses and CNS diseases

Operates as a biotechnology platform for drug discovery

Develops small molecule drugs that target functional RNA structures to create new avenues to treat human disease

Aescap's investment objective is to achieve a high rate of return for their investors while actively developing their portfolio firms' potential for commercial success. They invest in seed, start-up and early-stage biomedical firms based in Europe. They generally take majority stakes. They target firms working on treatment of human diseases. They seek a balanced portfolio composed of 15 to 20 firms. Within the biomedical area, Aescap looks for firms with marketplace leadership potential at a worldwide level. They prefer to invest in products which are sufficiently mature to yield realistic opportunities in the marketplace as well as assuring cash flow from licensing deals. Aescap is an active, hands-on investment partner. They work closely with the portfolio firm's management team to optimize human resources to build the business around innovative research. Aescap generally invests over a time frame of three to six years, depending on the type of investment. They seek transparency in legal and IP structure.

Atlas Venture is a leading international venture capital investment manager specialized in sectors including life sciences, communications and information technology and investing in Europe and the US. The firm targets early-stage, science-based businesses and leads the first financing round, generally acquiring a significant minority stake which grants them board representation. They subsequently help recruiting a management team to carry the emerging business forward, typically towards international expansion. Atlas Venture also invests in later-stage operations such as corporate spin-offs and down financing. Investment criteria include leadership potential in a global high-growth market, market momentum and a proprietary disruptive technology or business model. In the technology industry, Atlas Venture focuses on components, systems, software and services. The group has invested in data warehousing, storage systems for digital media, core chips for mobile phones and MEMS-based displays for mobile devices. Their biotechnology investments focus on drug discovery. They have invested in blood-thinning agents, small interfering RNA, emerging cancer drugs and anti-infectives. Atlas Venture sources deals though a combination of top-down global market analysis and bottom-up local connections in their industries of choice, including contacts in the academic world. Their exit strategies are international and include M&A transactions and IPOs on a variety of exchanges.