European life sciences venture capital firms, research institutions, and other stakeholders across the value chain, have joined with Invest Europe, the association representing Europe’s private equity, venture capital and infrastructure sectors, as well as their investors, to launch the European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC).

The coalition seeks to strengthen Europe’s life sciences and biotechnology VC ecosystem by mobilising greater levels of private and public investment across the sector. Its creation comes in response to concern that Europe is increasingly unable to scale and retain its life sciences innovation – despite the region’s strong scientific foundations and entrepreneurial talent. Structural barriers, including the underutilisation of private savings, fragmented capital markets, low (and decreasing) numbers of specialised VC firms, and slow and uneven regulatory processes, continue to limit access to growth capital and push promising companies to seek financing elsewhere.

European life sciences venture capital funds currently account for just 7% of the global market, compared with 63% in the US and 14% in China. More strikingly, 66 out of 67 EU biotechnology companies that went public over the past six years chose to list outside the EU.

The message from founders and investors is clear: Europe is not currently equipped to finance and scale its life sciences innovation at home.

Through the ELSC, members – which collectively manage more than €24bn in Life Sciences-specific assets and have invested in, or helped found, over 1,400 life sciences and biotechnology companies – .

 aim to help reverse these trends by advocating for more effective mobilisation of start- and scale-up capital and a more integrated, efficient investment environment for innovative companies.

ELSC Members: Cooley, Covington & Burling, Forbion, HealthCap, Novo Holdings, Omega Funds, Sofinnova Partners, Van Lanschot Kempen and the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB).

Press release: European Life Sciences Coalition launched to strengthen Europe’s life sciences investment ecosystem — Sofinnova Partners