Introduction / 2025 year in review

2025 year in review

2025 has been a year of disciplined growth and meaningful impact. With our platform now exceeding EUR 5 billion in assets, we continue to back companies that push the boundaries of science – improving patients’ lives while advancing the transition to a more sustainable economy.”

Sander Slootweg, Managing Partner & Co-Founder

We strengthened our leadership across Ventures, Growth and BioEconomy, expanding our ability to support breakthrough innovations from idea to global scale.

Our commitment remains clear: to build enduring companies, deliver strong returns for our investors, and create positive change for people and the planet. We are proud of the progress we have made.

Business highlights

exits

new investments

follow-on rounds

BioEconomy Fund closed

new employees

Clinical and regulatory milestones drive portfolio progress

AAVantgarde Bio announces FDA fast track designation for AAVB-039 for the treatment of Stargardt disease.

AAVantgarde receives FDA clearance to progress Stargardt disease asset, AAVB-039, into CELESTE, a Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial.

Azafaros granted important regulatory designations and clearance by European authorities for global Phase 3 studies, to be initiated in 2025.

Azafaros announces Initiation of two global Phase 3 studies with Nizubaglustat in Niemann-Pick disease Type C (NPC) and GM1/GM2 gangliosidoses, respectively.

Calluna Pharma announces initiation of Phase 2 AURORA study of CAL101 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Capstan Therapeutics announces initiation of Phase 1 trial of lead in vivo CAR-T therapy, CPTX2309, for treating autoimmune disease.

CatalYm announces first patient dosed in Phase 2b trial evaluating visugromab in combination with chemoimmunotherapy as first-line treatment in metastatic non-squamous NSCLC.

First patient dosed in Citryll's Phase 2a trial evaluating CIT-013 in rheumatoid arthritis.

Complement Therapeutics receives FDA IND clearance to advance CTx001 into Opti-GAIN, a Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial in geographic atrophy secondary to AMD.

Kynexis announces first patient dosed in Phase 2 Clinical Trial of KYN-5356 for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.

NewAmsterdam Pharma presents positive data from BROADWAY trial demonstrating statistically significant reductions in key Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers at AAIC 2025.

Noema Pharma announces Phase 2a study results with cendifensine in women with vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) due to menopause.

Purespring Therapeutics granted European Medicines Agency (EMA) orphan drug designation for PS-002 for the treatment of patients with primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN).

VectorY Therapeutics receives FDA clearance of IND to proceed with the PIONEER-ALS Phase 1/2 trial of VTx-002, a first-in-class vectorized antibody targeting TDP-43 Pathology in ALS.

Source: Forbion.

Advocating for industry

At Forbion, leadership is not only delivering strong returns, but actively shaping the future of responsible Life Sciences investing. In 2025, we extended our leadership role in advancing ESG integration across the industry through active participation in key initiatives and industry bodies.

The growth of Public Affairs

Forbion formalized the Public Affairs role in 2025 and hired its first Head of Public Affairs in the person of Marc van Voorst to address issues specifically related to biotech investing. In addition, Forbion is represented in a number of initiatives.

European and national association involvement

As Chair of the ESG Committee at Invest Europe and a member of the Responsible Investment Committee of the Dutch Association of Private Equity Firms (NVP) in the person of Silva Dezelan, we contribute to the development and implementation of ESG best practices, supporting greater consistency and alignment across the private capital ecosystem.

Sector sustainability advocacy

Forbion is also a founding contributor to the Life Sciences VC Sustainability Initiative, a pan-European entity which has grown to include over 30 Life Sciences VC investors since its launch in 2023. The initiative is focused on advancing standardized impact and ESG measurement approaches for early-stage Life Sciences companies, harmonizing impact and ESG reporting, and seeks to improve data comparability while reducing reporting burden for companies. In parallel to the active involvement in the initiative, Forbion co-organised the 3rd Impact Day for Life Sciences VCs in 2025, with a strong focus on patient engagement.

Annual Excellence Roundtable

At Forbion, underrepresented areas of innovation and societal need form a large part of our remit. As part of this focus, we launched the Forbion Excellence Roundtable in 2024, an annual gathering of key stakeholders, with a goal to address underserved areas of Life Sciences. The first Roundtable focused on Women’s Health, while the second one in 2025 discussed Rare Diseases. By hosting, initiating, leading, and elevating these discussions, we demonstrate our leadership in investments in areas where impact, innovation, and value creation go hand in hand.

Forbion Excellence Roundtable:
Elevating the dialogue on rare diseases

In October 2025 Forbion convened the second Annual Excellence Roundtable on Rare Diseases, bringing together leaders from patient advocacy, biotech and clinical development to reflect on progress, challenges and the broader impact of orphan drug innovation. Participants included key opinion leaders from across the rare disease community:

Stefano Porlano, MD & CEO, Azafaros
Tanya Collin‑Histed, CEO, International Gaucher Alliance
Yann Le Cam, Founder & Past‑CEO, EURORDIS
Carlo Incerti, MD Operating Partner, Forbion
Geert‑Jan Mulder, MD, Co‑founder & Managing Partner, Forbion

The roundtable discussion underscored the scale and complexity of rare diseases, and the importance of sustained commitment across the ecosystem. Panelists emphasized the vital role of patients and advocacy organizations in shaping pragmatic Clinical Trials, defining meaningful endpoints and generating evidence that reflects daily life and disease burden. Early and continuous dialogue between patients, clinicians, companies, regulators and payers was highlighted as critical to improving development success and access.

From an industry and investor perspective, the panel highlighted how rare disease R&D delivers impact beyond individual indications. Orphan drug development has pioneered new modalities, advanced regulatory science and generated innovations later applied to more prevalent diseases. Forbion’s long‑standing, science‑driven and patient‑engaged approach, including early focus on disease natural history and patient perspective, was highlighted as a key differentiator.

The panel concluded that rare diseases remain a powerful source of impact, driving scientific breakthroughs, addressing profound unmet needs and creating long‑term value for patients, society and investors.