Equity

The Brussels Philharmonic was founded in 1935 by the Belgian public broadcaster (NIR/INR). Over the years, the orchestra has performed with many top conductors and soloists. It enjoys an excellent reputation for performing premieres of new works and has collaborated with world-renowned composers such as Bartók, Stravinsky, Messiaen and Francesconi.  The orchestra’s historic home port is the Flagey building, where it rehearses and performs in Studio 4 – in acoustic terms one of the top concert halls in the world – and which serves as its home base for concerts in Brussels, Flanders and Europe.

GlobalYeast is a Belgian-Brazilian company that develops and markets yeasts for the bioethanol industry. The company works for both first and second generation ethanol producers. It also markets industrial software that allows real-time monitoring of conversion in fermentation processes. In this way, production can be adjusted in order to make maximum use of the raw materials. GlobalYeast works with technology originating from VIB's labs.

More information on the website: www.globalyeast.com

Kebony is a beautiful wood recommended by leading architects. It is sustainable, durable and requires no maintenance beyond normal cleaning. Kebony’s performance has been proven in a variety of applications including decking and cladding. Developed in Norway, the Kebony® technology is an environmentally friendly, patented process, which enhances the properties of sustainable softwood with a bio-based liquid. The process permanently modifies the wood cell walls giving Kebony premium hardwood characteristics and a rich brown color. 

Key Technology is a global leader in the design and manufacture of process automation systems including digital sorters, conveyors, and processing equipment. Applying processing knowledge and application expertise, Key helps customers in the food processing and other industries improve quality, increase yield, and reduce cost. Key manufactures its products at its headquarters in Walla Walla, Washington, USA; Beusichem, the Netherlands; Hasselt, Belgium; and Redmond, Oregon, USA. 

Laminaria is a company from Ostend that was founded in 2011 for the development of a buoy (at sea) to convert wave energy into electricity. Thanks to an automated height control, the buoy protects itself against storms. To build the first buoy 'to scale', the company raised funding from Qbic and PMV in 2017.

Luceda Photonics is een spin-off van IMEC die design- en simulatiesoftware voor fotonicacircuits ontwikkelt en verkoopt. Deze software is een nuttige aanvulling op software om elektronische circuits te simuleren (EDA), zeker nu fotonische circuit steeds belangrijker worden in datacommunicatie en ook daarbuiten. Luceda heeft een indrukwekkende klantenportefeuille uitgebouwd in deze jonge, maar groeiende nichemarkt.

Meer info op de website: www.lucedaphotonics.com

LUXeXceL focuses on the development of 3D technology for printing ophthalmic lenses or spectacle lenses and more specifically in the "specialty glass" segment. In addition, the technology offers new possibilities in 'smart applications' such as VR/AR or the integration of sensors in the spectacle lenses. There is a consortium of investors including SET Ventures, Munich Venture Partners, PMV and Innovation Industries.

More info on the website: www.luxexcel.com

Oxynade is the company behind the ticketing platform MyUpcoming, MijnEvent, TeleTicketEasy, Antigone Cloud Edition, Nousorganisons and Eclipse-Ticketing. They offer ticketing solutions in a variety of markets, to a wide range of clients – from local theatres to big blockbuster stadiums.

Niceberg Studios was founded in 2011.The company's management and production team have a solid background in media and entertainment industries.Niceberg's team is passionate about developing and producing computer graphics, visual effects and animation. Their main goal is producing state-of-the-art 3D/4D attraction and ride films for integration in media based attractions.

With its innovative 3D cameras and associated software, the Leuven scale-up Pick-it allows for extensive automation in all organisations with industrial robots. The Pick-it 3D cameras and software allow robots of all known constructors to see and grab objects in their environment. Thanks to the artificial intelligence integrated in the Pick-it software, industrial processes such as bin picking, machine loading and depalletising can be fully automated. The product was immediately able to convince a number of established values: Saint Gobain, Continental, Procter & Gamble and Hutchinson already use Pick-it in their production departments. To achieve further growth, the company raised funding from Urbain Vandeurzen and PMV in 2018.

More information on the website: www.pickit3d.com

RapidFit+ is a smart and revolutionary service offered by Materialise to provide customized jigs, fixtures and quality control solutions by exploiting the benefits of additive manufacturing. As a modular system, RapidFit+ offers a high degree of customization and accuracy while also allowing for the re-use of standardized elements.

Sentea develops advanced silicon-photonics based fiber optic sensor solutions. Applications include continuous monitoring of buildings and machines to detect damage early (thus often avoiding catastrophic consequences) and measuring the load on industrial installations in order to maximize their efficiency.  Silicon Photonics is highly cost-effective, making fiber optic sensors affordable for a wide range of new markets and applications, enabling universal and continuous monitoring of structures. In order to develop and market its first products, the company raised funding from a consortium of investors including Fidimec, Finindus, PMV and QBIC II in 2018.

More information on the website: www.senteatech.com

Sputnik Media is an independent media production company that’s active in the Benelux, with offices in Antwerp (Belgium) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands). They have been creating and producing engaging, modern entertainment, factual formats and television since 2002.  

The Belgian label Strelli Homme focuses on the collision of casualwear and suiting, and how they can coexist in a variety of hybrid, high-impact separates. The label multiplies different kinds of pieces to show off its easy to combine spirit. Strelli Homme suggests a complete wardrobe with an effortless chic style, combining delicate materials, refined detailing and a perfect cut.

UnifiedPost started document processing in 2001. Although the name still suggests that, the company has been doing much more than that for a long time. UnifiedPost is the European leader in fintech innovation and has developed a unique model to facilitate payment and document flows for both small and large customers within a secure cloud environment. Within that environment UnifiedPost customers can pay, sign and send invoices, documents and contracts within just about any sector.

More info on the website: www.unifiedpost.com

The aim of Unifly is to enable the safe integration of unmanned aircraft (drones or UAVs) in the airspace. It does this by developing and commercialising a management system for UAVs. For this purpose, existing aviation standards are used to visualise the location of drones. In addition, all important relevant information is "stored" and can be shared and coordinated with all interested parties such as the drone company, the pilot, but also air traffic controllers and emergency services. Unifly is a spin-off of VITO.

More information on the website: www.unifly.aero

Yesplan came into being as a result of Arts Centre Vooruit’s search for good software to support its activities. Because it couldn’t find any solutions which were suited to the specific characteristics of the planning process for events, Vooruit decided to develop it itself. As a consequence Vooruit entered into a collaboration with Inceptive bvba, set up by three PhD software architects from the VUB. This meant that Yesplan was building on functional and cultural expertise on the one hand and technical knowhow on the other.

Roald Borré

Head of Equity

Marie Delbeke

Head of Equity Investments

Stefan De Waele

Senior investment manager

Lieven De Jonge

Business manager Scale Up & Industrials

Isabelle Tennstedt

Senior investment manager

Mark Hillewaere

Fund manager

Johan Keppens

Principal investment manager

Els Lamberts

Senior Investment manager

Frank Gerard

Senior investment manager

Dany Vandevelde

Principal investment manager

Tim Govaert

Investment manager

Evy Bruyland

Senior investment manager

Sanne Vergaelen

Business flow coordinator

Vincent Hebbelynck

Business manager ICT

Jolien Tortelboom

Investment manager

Alexia Vansteelant

Investment manager

Florian Vanderveken

Financial analist

Robin Mees

Investment manager

Quiten Depré

Financial analist

Débra Wellekens

Management assistant

Annelies Sarens

Management assistant

Aelin Therapeutics, a privately held Belgian biotherapeutics company, is pioneering a novel modality in drug development in order to create a completely new class of antibiotics and first-in-class therapeutics against high-value undruggable human targets. The technology, branded Pept-ins™, harnesses the power of protein aggregation to specifically induce functional knockdown of a target protein.

Aelin Therapeutics is founded by VIB and its partner universities KU Leuven, VUB and UGent, based on the groundbreaking work of renowned structural biologists Prof Joost Schymkowitz and Prof Frederic Rousseau. The company is based on a very comprehensive preclinical Proof of Concept data package illustrating different applications of the technology such as in bacteria and cancer cells, but also in fungi, viruses and plant cells, with publications in high impact journals including Science. The Pept-in technology allows for the rational design of novel biotherapeutics and differentiates itself from any other therapeutic modality through its unique mode of action, its designability and intracellular target space out of reach for typical small molecule or antibody approaches.

Building on the solid science and a convincing data set, Aelin Therapeutics has succeeded in raising 27 M€, bringing together a strong group of well-reputed investors consisting of LSP (the Netherlands), PMV (Belgium), Novartis Venture Fund (Switzerland), Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (Germany) and Fund+ (Belgium). These resources enable the company to build on its platform capabilities and develop its first products until the end of initial clinical development.

Animab is a new venture designed to address the changing needs of animal production. Using proprietary research discoveries, Animab targets the emerging science and new possibilities in the gut. The interdisciplinary team integrates cutting-edge research, animal science, and biotechnology for product breakthroughs in animal health, cost-efficiencies and sustainability. Led by an experienced group of experts with expertise in a range of relevant domains from vaccines, biotechnology, business management and international marketing, Animab is dedicated to offering a safe and sustainable way to ensure animal performance. 

Aphea.bio is a new spin-off from VIB, Ghent University and KU Leuven. Aphea.Bio will develop next generation biopesticides based on natural microorganisms. These products will provide an alternative for chemical pesticides, which are currently under serious pressure. In addition, the company will develop novel biostimulants, i.e. microorganisms that stimulate crop growth, for example through promoting the uptake of nutrients from the soil. The company pulls together resources and expertise in plant-bacteria interactions of the lab of prof. Sofie Goormachtig (VIB-Ghent University) and microbiome know-how contributed by the group of prof. Jeroen Raes (VIB-KU Leuven).

Apitope is a European biotech company focused on the discovery and development of revolutionary disease modifying therapies for autoimmune and allergic diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Graves’ disease, FVIII intolerance and uveitis. 

argenx is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a deep pipeline of differentiated antibody-based therapies for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases and cancer. Argenx is focused on developing product candidates with the potential to be either first-in-class against novel targets or best-in-class against known, but complex, targets in order to treat diseases with a significant unmet medical need. The ability to execute on this focus is enabled by its suite of differentiated technologies. The SIMPLE Antibody™ Platform, based on the powerful llama immune system, allows argenx to exploit novel and complex targets, and three antibody engineering technologies are designed to enable them to expand the therapeutic index of their product candidates.  

Biocartis is an innovative commercial stage molecular diagnostics (MDx) company providing next generation diagnostic solutions aimed at improving clinical practice for the benefit of patients, clinicians, payers and industry. The Company’s proprietary MDx Idylla™ platform is a fully automated, real time system which offers accurate, highly-reliable molecular information from any biological sample in virtually any setting. Idylla™ addresses the growing demand for personalized medicine by allowing fast and effective treatment selection and treatment progress monitoring.

Bloomlife's mission is to empower women by delivering unprecedented insight into their health. Bloomlife has developed the world’s first and only wearable for pregnancy, putting clinically validated information into the hands of expecting parents to visualize and track contractions. Bloomlife's long-term mission, to improve the health of moms and babies worldwide, is fulfilled through its community of moms. By gathering the largest and most comprehensive dataset on maternal and fetal health parameters, the company hopes to accelerate advancements in women's healthcare with a better understanding of pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth.

Complix is developing Alphabodies™, a revolutionary class of novel biotherapeutics with the potential to access well-known disease targets that are largely undruggable with conventional small molecule or antibody-based approaches. The company’s drug development pipeline is initially focused on cancer and autoimmune diseases, therapeutic areas representing a significant opportunity for new therapeutic interventions that can address intracellular targets and protein-protein interactions. In addition, the alphabodies platform offer the potential to replace small molecules and antibodies in a number of indications based on better efficacy, superior side effect profile or more convenient dosing, and even develop therapeutics for a broad range of diseases for which no therapies currently exist.

Confo Therapeutics is a drug discovery company building a portfolio of pre-clinical development programs in therapeutically relevant disease domains. Confo Therapeutics employs its proprietary CONFO® technology to lock inherent unstable functional conformations of GPCRs as a superior starting point for drug discovery in CONFO® body-stabilized active state conformations of these receptors.     

eTheRNA Immunotherapies, a spin-off from the VUB University of Brussels, is a clinical stage biotech company developing novel immunotherapies that help patients battle life-threatening conditions, such as cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s proprietary mRNA-based TriMix technology boosts dendritic cells leading to a more comprehensive, sustainable and safer enhancement of the patient’s immune system than any other similar approach investigated until now. Having secured the support of an international consortium of strong VC investors and under the leadership of a team of serial entrepreneurs, the company is developing a strong pipeline, including a cell therapy with stellar results in phase II clinical trials, and clinical-stage off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy vaccines for the treatment of melanoma and breast cancer. 

Exact Imaging is the world’s leader in high-resolution micro-ultrasound systems enabling real-time imaging and guided biopsies in the urological market for prostate cancer. The ExactVu™ platform offers a whole new level of resolution with the benefits of ease of use, affordability, and being an extension of the current urological workflow. As a result, urologists are now able to visualize areas of interest in the prostate and specifically target biopsies at those areas in addition to performing systematic biopsy protocols, improving thus significantly both diagnosis and prognosis for prostate tumours. In 2016 Exact Imaging was granted regulatory approval for their first ExactVu™ instrument and realized a significant financing round to support ambitious commercialization efforts in the US and EU.

FEops is a revenue-generating emerging company with a disruptive technology: a cloud-based simulation platform designed to assist clinicians in predicting and preventing complications of transcatheter-based structural heart interventions. Its first product, CE-marked TAVIguideTM, is currently the only such technology on the market that offers patient-specific assessment of medical device-host interaction for guiding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) procedures. The company’s pipeline includes an additional three simulation products that can significantly improve clinical outcomes for critical structural heart interventions, including mitral valve replacement.  

fertihome provides the Sonaura solution, which allows women to make their own ultrasound images at home during an IVF treatment. With the easy-to-use tablet-based ultrasound imaging system, there is no need to travel frequently to the fertility center or to loose valuable time to monitor the follicle growth. The images are stored in the cloud, accessible for the care providers using a standard browser. Both  patient and clinician have the most comfortable and efficient solution to monitor follicle growth anywhere at any time. 

Indigo Diabetes develops the next-generation needle-free glucose sensors for diabetics by exploiting groundbreaking photonics technologies licensed from globally recognized research institutions UGent and imec.
Indigo’s first product addresses the need for accurate, low-cost glucose monitoring systems with an optimal user experience. Indigo is based in Ghent, Belgium, where it benefits from access to Ghent University and more specifically the Photonics Research Group and the NB-Photonics consortium, a leading European academic consortium in the field of photonics, with first-class clean room and laboratory facilities. Access to this multi-disciplinary environment and to the cleanrooms of imec will play an important role in Indigo’s future development.

LindaCare, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, is a digital health company specializing in remote patient monitoring solutions for chronic disease management. Created in 2015 with initial focus on patients with heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia, the company’s first product, OnePulseTM, enables cardiologists to significantly improve the efficiency of remote monitoring of patients with Cardiac Implanted Electronic Devices (CIED); a figure which amounts to an estimated 10 million patients worldwide. LindaCare’s solutions will be extended its offering to remote patient monitoring services and to other chronic disease domains, integrating a wide range of remote monitored medical devices.

miDiagnostics combines the intellectual property, know-how and technical expertise of imec, the world’s leading nano-electronics research institute and Johns Hopkins University, the world’s leading medical research university. miDiagnostics will develop miLab as a cost-effective, accurate and user friendly diagnostics platform and one-time use disposable. miLab is a disposable multi-diagnostic test platform which can be used anytime, anywhere by anybody. miLab will be able to use smartphones which are the most ubiquitous computing & networking platform available globally.    

MyCartis’ goal is to deliver innovative solutions for fast and cost effective identification of a patient’s specific signature of biomarkers. On their road to validate biomarkers on a larger scale, our intention is to build a bridge between research and medical practice by developing broadly available multiplexed biomarker solutions through technology (Evalution™) and bio-assays. The new multiplexing solution Evalution provides a ‘one technology fits all’ solution to enable researchers and assay developers to validate their biomarkers and to utilize and commercialize them. 

Neuroventis is a CE-marked medical device and digital health platform for neurology that consists of applications for patients and a dashboard for physicians. Currently, patients suffering from epilepsy and headaches can track their condition with the Helpilepsy and MigraineManager applications respectively. These are linked to the dashboard for the medical team, where the data are consolidated and visualised. The mission of the Belgian start-up is to support Neurology in order to improve patients’ care. All this with the ultimate goal of enabling patients themselves to manage their health with confidence. Currently, the Neuroventis platform supports more than 9,000 patients and around 150 healthcare providers.

Oxypoint nv, a spin-off from Antwerp University, develops and commercializes innovative oxygen flowmeters for hospitals. The commercially validated and CE-marked Econo-Comfort™ Oxygen Flowmeter uses Oxypoint’s patented technology, combining a traditional flowmeter with a pneumatic on-demand oxygen delivery valve. The combination of these two administering principles allows hospital nursing staff to switch from a conventional, continuous oxygen flow delivery to an innovative patient-friendly on-demand setting. The on-demand setting delivers an adjustable dose of oxygen at the start of the inhalation phase. The benefit to the patient is a vastly improved comfort due to a reduced nasal dehydration and a higher therapy adherence. Hospitals benefit from lowered spillage and improved oxygen therapy.

Pulsify Medical, a spin-off from imec and KU Leuven, is a digital medical device company developing wearable ultrasound patches. These patches will monitor vital organs in real-time, in particular the heart. The new and disruptive technology will address a serious unmet need for continuous cardiac monitoring in ICUs, hospitals, and homes across the world. The smart patch monitors critical data about a patient’s cardiac health, such as changes in heart function. The information is relayed to both patient and physician when needed, thereby enabling earlier medical intervention and prevention of an adverse cardiac event should an anomaly be detected. This will benefit for example patients with heart failure and other chronic heart conditions.

reMYND nv, a spin-off from the University of Leuven, develops disease-modifying small molecule treatments for protein misfolding disorders through its proprietary phenotypic screening platform. reMYND has advanced preclinical lead programs in Alzheimer’s, targeting Tau, aBeta & inflammation and restoring cognition and synaptic function, and in diabetes, improving beta-cell health. In addition, reMYND has a well-filled pipeline with in vivo proof-of-concept combined with novel mode of actions and targets for epilepsy/ Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, with the potential to extent into other orphan protein misfolding disorders.

Rewind Therapeutics was founded in 2017 by KU Leuven-linked CD3 (Leuven, Belgium) and Axxam S.p.A. (Italy), based on their proprietary drug discovery research into myelin-related diseases of the Central Nervous System (CNS). In such diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis, there is high unmet need, as none of the marketed therapies can halt disease progress and restore neuronal function. In close collaboration with both CD3 and Axxam, and backed by a strong investor consortium and a world-class academic network, Rewind aspires to advance innovative first-in-class therapies for myelin-related diseases into fast track clinical application.

Sequana Medical is a commercial stage medical device company focused on the development of innovative treatment solutions for the management of malignant ascites and other fluid imbalance disorders. Sequana Medical's alfapump® is a fully implantable, programmable, wirelessly-charged, battery-powered system that is CE-marked for the management of refractory ascites (chronic fluid build-up in the abdomen) and malignant ascites, and is one of the first alternatives to large-volume paracentesis. The company is also developing the alfapump® for patients with heart failure.

Sequana Medical got listed on Euronext Brussels in February 2019.

Trod Medical is a Venture Capital backed privately held company focused on the development and commercialization of tools for use in the focal ablation of soft tissues. The company was founded in 2006 with initial in-vivo studies undertaken during 2007 and first in man studies were completed in 2010. Trod Medical obtained a 510K clearance from the FDA in 2008 and a CE mark for its Encage™ Focal Ablation Device in 2015.

ViroVet is a frontrunner Belgian biopharmaceutical company active in the development of innovative vaccines and antiviral drugs for livestock. The unique proprietary vaccine platform has the potential for cost-effective mass production of modified-live virus vaccines that can be tailor-made to maximize efficacy and minimize safety concerns, while removing any cold-chain requirement. ViroVet will pursue application of this technology platform for both endemic and epizootic viral livestock diseases. The company also develops fast-acting antiviral drugs that are critical to the effective control and treatment of respiratory diseases of cattle and swine, thereby reducing secondary bacterial infections and the associated use of antibiotics.

Cartagenia, founded in 2008 as a KULeuven spin-off, provides software solutions for variant assessment and reporting of clinical genomics data from next-generation sequencing and microarrays. The Cartagenia Bench platform enables technicians, lab directors and clinicians to visualize, assess and report clinical genetics data in the context of patient information. Cartagenia was acquired in May 2015 by Agilent Technologies, a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. While the Leuven-site of Cartagenia became a bioinformatics knowledge center within the Agilent group, CEO Herman Verrelst moved to the US to lead Agilent’s Genomics Division. As from August 2017 Herman returned to Belgium to become the new CEO of Biocartis. 

Founded in 2011 as a spin-off from the University of Antwerp and VIB, Multiplicom achieved end of 2012 its first CE-IVD-certification for the BRCA MASTR Dx assay for breast and ovarian cancer predisposition. It was the first company in Europe achieving a BRCA CE-IVD certification and it continues to develop and market quality controlled MPS-based assays as well as a novel NIPT assay for non-invasive prenatal testing. Multiplicom was acquired in January 2017 by Agilent Technologies Inc. 

Founded in 2011 as a spin-off from VIB and Ghent University, Q-Biologicals was a provider of process development and biomanufacturing services, specializing in biologicals used in therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics, such as recombinant proteins, antibodies, viruses and living cells. Amatsigroup, the leading French provider of services for the development of human and veterinary pharmaceutical products, acquired Q-Biologicals in January 2016, to become one of the few players in this sector to have a complete offering to conduct development of new biological molecules. The activities of Q-Biologicals at its site in Gent have substantially grown since its integration in Amatsigroup. 

Kenneth Wils

Head of Life Sciences & Care

Thomas Beke

Investment manager

Tine Bekaert

Senior investment manager

Filip Goossens

Principal investment manager

Stéphanie Seghers

Investment manager

Nathalie Van Bruaene

Investment manager

Kelly Niesings

Management assistente