Bpifrance Archives

Kurma Diagnostics (KDx), the first Venture Capital fund dedicated to financing early-stage European innovative Diagnostic projects and companies, is here to stay. The firm Kurma Partners, author of this initiative, has received the support from several European and French institutions. The fund has raised €33 Million in its first fundraising round. KDx is a venture accelerator fund dedicated to diagnostics, patient monitoring and e-Health. To carry on this strategy covering different areas, this new fund will invest in about fifteen different projects and companies all specialized in diagnostics. The fund will look at the full scope of diagnostic opportunities, from imaging systems, biomarkers, in vitro diagnostics, Big Data, all the way through to new platform technologies and e-health systems. A key feature of the fund will lie in its ability to seed fund projects at pre-industrialization stage within a 12 to 24 months period, and incorporate them into a specifically designed accelerator during this early phase. Several European institutions have placed their trust in this newborn fund, such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), BpiFrance, Institut Pasteur, and BNP Paribas. Diagnosis is a rapidly evolving field, creating both challenges and opportunities. Kurma Partners is expanding its horizon, focusing now on this field. To date, the VC has made investments across Europe in therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostic companies. Thanks to this fund, new projects and companies will be able to cover many unmet medical needs. For instance, it will allow the development of a new innovative field strongly linked to the diagnostics: the theranostics, a combination of diagnostics and therapy.