HealthCap

What HealthCap does

HealthCap is a Stockholm-based, privately held venture capital firm founded in 1996 by Björn Odlander that invests exclusively in life sciences companies across Europe and globally. The firm has raised nine successive funds (HealthCap I through IX, with the most recent classified under EU SFDR Article 8) and has financed more than 131 portfolio companies developing breakthrough therapies for rare diseases, cancers, and genetic diseases. HealthCap operates with 27 named professionals across its Stockholm headquarters and Lausanne (Switzerland) office, with a partner group dominated by MDs and PhDs trained at Karolinska Institutet, ETH Zurich, and other leading institutions, many of whom previously held senior R&D and business development roles at AstraZeneca, Merck Serono, Bayer, Medtronic, and SEB Företagsinvest.

The firm's core activity is multi-stage venture investing — from academic spin-out co-creation through IPO or trade sale — in clinical- and pre-clinical-stage biotech, pharma, medtech, and digital health companies. HealthCap differentiates through active ownership: one or more partners typically take board seats in portfolio companies, and the firm leverages its scientific and industrial networks to recruit experienced operators to portfolio management. Co-founded companies include Tribune Therapeutics, Neobiomics, Mahzi Therapeutics, Pretzel Therapeutics, Precirix, and Positrigo. HealthCap's track record includes 47 approved pharmaceutical products, 50 approved innovative medical devices, 48 IPOs across 14 different stock markets, and trade-sale exits to J&J (Actelion), Bayer (Algeta), AstraZeneca (Fusion Pharmaceuticals, ~$2.4B), Alexion (Wilson Therapeutics), Medtronic (CoreValve), and Shire (Jerini).

HealthCap's business model is fund management: management fees on committed/invested capital across nine funds form the recurring revenue base, while capital appreciation is realized at portfolio exit events (IPO or M&A). Deal flow is sourced through direct enterprise-style relationship origination, deep academic and clinical research community partnerships (particularly with Karolinska Institutet, ETH Zurich, VUB, and University of Cambridge), and co-investor syndicates. The firm is a founding member of the European Life Sciences Coalition (members collectively manage over €24 billion in assets) and is a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. Limited-partner pricing (management fees, carried interest, minimum commitments) is not publicly disclosed.

Name

HealthCap

Legal name

Odlander, Fredrikson & Co AB

Website

https://www.healthcap.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HealthCap is a Stockholm-based venture capital firm founded in 1996 that invests exclusively in life sciences, financing breakthrough therapies for rare diseases, cancers, and genetic conditions across nine funds. It has backed 131+ portfolio companies, achieved 48 IPOs across 14 markets, and 47 approved pharmaceutical products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Venture Capital

NAICS

Finance and Insurance (52), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Life Sciences Growth Equity (FSANACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Women’s Health & Reproductive Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAN)

Keywords

• Life sciences venture capital
• Biotech venture investing
• Pharmaceutical startup funding
• Medical device investment
• Precision medicine financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund management: HealthCap is a venture capital firm that has raised nine funds since 1996 and invests in life science companies, generating returns through capital appreciation driven by portfolio company IPOs, trade sales, and approved products. Revenue is realized primarily at exit events (IPO or M&A), with recurring management activity across the fund lifecycle.
2. Investment exits (IPO and trade sale returns): HealthCap has taken more than 45 companies public (48 IPOs across fourteen markets per homepage) and completed numerous trade sales (e.g., Actelion to J&J, Algeta to Bayer, Wilson Therapeutics to Alexion, Fusion Pharmaceuticals to AstraZeneca for ~$2.4B, Jerini to Shire, CoreValve to Medtronic), generating capital gains from these successful exits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HealthCap is a European life sciences venture capital firm that raises successive funds (HealthCap I through IX) and invests equity capital into multi-stage biotech, pharma, medtech, and digital health companies developing breakthrough therapies for rare diseases, cancers, and genetic diseases. HealthCap partners take board seats in portfolio companies, co-found ventures from academic research, and support companies from inception through IPO or trade sale exit. The firm has financed more than 130 portfolio companies and supported 34 approved pharmaceutical products and 50 approved medical devices since 1996.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HealthCap IX: HealthCap's ninth and current venture capital fund, which promotes environmental and social characteristics in accordance with Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Products and services

• HealthCap Life Science Venture Capital Funds (HealthCap I–IX)
• HealthCap IX Fund (SFDR Article 8)

Quantifiable outcome

• 131 portfolio companies financed
• +5 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC)core — industry coalition leadershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Founding member of the European Life Sciences Coalition launched in 2026 to strengthen Europe's life sciences investment ecosystem by mobilizing private and public funding. Coalition members collectively manage over €24 billion in assets and include Forbion, HealthCap, Novo Holdings, Omega Funds, Sofinnova Partners, Cooley, and Covington & Burling. The coalition aims to address structural barriers limiting Europe's ability to finance and scale life sciences innovations and to reverse the trend of European biotechs listing abroad (66 of 67 EU-based biotech IPOs in the past six years occurred outside the EU).

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forbion: European life sciences venture capital firm investing in multi-stage biotech and medtech companies. Direct peer given overlapping fund size, similar European geographic base, and co-membership in the European Life Sciences Coalition.
• Sofinnova Partners: Paris-based European life sciences venture capital firm with a multi-decade track record of biotech investing. Direct peer given similar strategy of backing breakthrough therapies across clinical stages and co-membership in the European Life Sciences Coalition.
• Novo Holdings (Novo Ventures): Danish-owned investment firm with a major life sciences venture arm. Direct peer given overlapping portfolio companies (Hemab Therapeutics co-investor), similar late-stage European biotech focus, and ELSC co-membership.
• Omega Funds: Boston- and London-based life sciences investment firm investing across public and private biotech. Direct peer given shared focus on breakthrough therapeutics and ELSC co-membership.
• EQT Life Sciences (formerly LSP): European life sciences venture capital firm that invests across early- and growth-stage healthcare. Direct peer given comparable fund size, multi-stage strategy, and European base.
• Kurma Partners: Paris-based European healthcare and life sciences venture capital firm. Direct peer given similar investment stages and focus on European biotech breakthrough therapies.
• Atlas Venture: US- and UK-based early-stage life sciences venture capital firm building biotech companies from inception. Direct peer given co-founding/company-creation model that overlaps with HealthCap's approach with Tribune, Mahzi, and others.
• SR One (GSK): Transatlantic life sciences venture capital firm investing in biotech and healthcare companies. Direct peer given similar multi-stage biotech investing thesis with European and US exposure.
• Andera Partners (Life Sciences): Paris-based venture and growth capital firm with a dedicated Life Sciences practice. Direct peer given shared European biotech focus and stage-agnostic life sciences investing.

Regional players

• Lundbeckfonden Ventures: Copenhagen-based life sciences investment arm of the Lundbeck Foundation, focused on European biotech. Regional peer given Nordic geographic proximity and similar biotech-stage investing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/healthcap
• Xx.com/HealthCapVC

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles27 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments134 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HealthCap