• € 47 m committed by fund initiators Ascenion and Goethe-University together with the European Investment Fund (EIF), Evotec, and other investors
• Focus on high-potential, early-stage life-science start-ups and projects, sourced from Ascenion’s and Innovectis’ partner institutions and other European academic institutions
• 15 + 5 years timeframe enables the partners – and the institutions they represent – to participate in future profits

Munich and Frankfurt a. M., Germany, 21 June 2022: 
A consortium of strong partners has launched the CARMA FUND I as a new vehicle for the translation of promising early-stage life-science projects: the initiators, Ascenion GmbH, a life-science focused technology transfer company of the LifeScience Foundation and the Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main with its technology transfer company Innovectis GmbH, together with the European Investment Fund (EIF), the life science company Evotec SE and other investors. The fund will be managed by CARMA FUND Management GmbH, headed by its general partners Christian Leikert and Martin Raditsch.

The fund, with a target size of € 60 m and a first closing at € 47 m, will invest in promising start-ups or high-potential academic projects in the life-science field, from Ascenion’s and Innovectis’ partner institutions. However, outstanding innovations or spin-offs from other German or European research organizations will also be considered as investment targets. Projects will be selected for their scientific excellence and potential to deliver outstanding societal or patient benefits and financial returns. CARMA is open to the full breadth of life-science and medical innovation, including new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches, platform technologies, medical devices and digital health. Along with funding, the projects will benefit from the partners’ network of distinguished top-level industry representatives and experts.

For further information, please follow this link to the press releases from Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main and Ascenion, respectively.