Hovione Capital rebrands and extends investment to biotechnology ‘startups’

Venture capital firm Hovione Capital announced that it has changed its name to Bionova Capital and that it will start investing in biotechnology ‘startup’ that develop new therapeutic products.

“Bionova Capital is the new name of the venture capital firm Hovione Capital, reflecting an expansion of the investment strategy”, the company said in a statement.

The company indicates that it will also start investing in biotechnology ‘startups’ to develop new therapeutic products, complementing the current investment strategy in new medical devices and digital health products.

“This new corporate name is in line with the expansion of the investment focus, which from now on will also include biotechnology companies”, underlines the company.

Hovione Capital was founded in 2015 by the shareholders of the Portuguese pharmaceutical company Hovione, a multinational company with laboratories and factories in Portugal, Ireland, Macau and the United States of America.

ionova Capital maintains its current shareholders and management team, with the investment strategy only being extended.

“In recent years, we have invested across Europe in several innovative companies in the health field, having contributed positively to its success”, says the president of Bionova Capital, Peter Villax, quoted in the statement.

“We recently made the strategic decision to also invest in biotechnology companies that are developing new therapeutic products in areas where current treatments are not effective, which diversifies and broadens our investment strategy, and with which our new name is in line”

According to the executive president of Bionova Capital, Ricardo Perdigão Henriques, the company recently made its first investment in a biotechnology company, CellmAbs, a Portuguese ‘startup’ that is developing a potential new treatment for cancer.

“In the future, we will certainly make more investments in biotechnology companies, as we have received numerous contacts from ‘startups’ in this area, which across Europe are developing new therapeutic products based on excellent biomedical research”, says Ricardo Perdigão Henriques.

Bionova Capital has also created a scientific council, made up of scientists and executives with international experience in the pharmaceutical industry, who will have an advisory role and will allow access to new investment opportunities across Europe.

According to the statement, Bionova Capital is a European investor specialized in the health area, being in Portugal the only investor exclusively focused on this sector.

The venture capital company currently manages a portfolio of five companies, two based in the UK and three in Portugal.