Novalis LifeSciences

What Novalis LifeSciences does

Novalis LifeSciences LLC is the direct investment vehicle of Novalis Capital Partners LLC, a boutique investment and advisory firm founded in 2017 by former Bayer AG and Thermo Fisher Scientific CEO Marijn E. Dekkers. Operating from Portsmouth, NH with an additional office in Boston, MA, the firm deploys venture capital and private equity capital across three funds totaling $500M in assets under management into companies in life science tools, diagnostics, and biopharma therapeutics. The current portfolio of approximately 15 companies includes Flywheel (medical imaging AI), Mercy BioAnalytics (liquid biopsy), BlueWhale Bio (cell therapy manufacturing), Airna (RNA editing), Ori Biotech (cell and gene therapy manufacturing), Telesis Bio, and Sherlock Biosciences, with notable historical exits including Cerevel Therapeutics (acquired by AbbVie in August 2024), Decipher Biosciences (acquired by Veracyte in March 2021), Celsee (acquired by Bio-Rad in April 2020), Ginkgo Bioworks (IPO September 2021), and Quanterix (IPO 2017).

The firm's core products are two service lines operated under a shared brand: (1) Novalis LifeSciences, providing fund management for the three venture capital and private equity vehicles (Fund I of $85M in August 2019, Fund II of $300M in December 2021, and a third fund contributing the balance to $500M total), and (2) Novalis Advisory, offering strategic advisory and investment banking services including business organization consultation, financial consultation, business management consultation, and executive leadership coaching. Revenue is generated through management fees on assets under management (subscription/recurring), transaction-based carried interest on successful portfolio exits, and advisory fees.

Novalis's go-to-market is relationship-driven rather than marketing-led, with a 7-person team relying on the extensive industry networks of its senior personnel. Chairman Marijn Dekkers (former CEO of Bayer AG and Thermo Fisher Scientific, former Chairman of Unilever), Partner Paul Meister (former Chairman of Thermo Fisher Scientific), Managing Director Devin Leake (former CSO at CATALOG, prior roles at Ginkgo Bioworks and Thermo Fisher), and Senior Advisor Greg Herrema (20-year Thermo Fisher SVP) provide operating-experienced credibility that the firm uses to source deals and add value to portfolio companies. Co-investments with corporate venture arms (NVentures, Danaher Ventures, Hologic, Bruker Scientific, Labcorp) and specialist VCs (Sozo Ventures, 8VC, Van Herk Investments) extend the firm's distribution into both strategic validation and commercial pathways.

Name

Novalis LifeSciences

Legal name

Novalis LifeSciences LLC

Website

https://novalislifesciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Novalis LifeSciences LLC is the venture capital and private equity arm of Novalis Capital Partners, a boutique life science investment and advisory firm founded in 2017 by former Bayer AG and Thermo Fisher Scientific CEO Marijn Dekkers, managing $500M across three funds invested in life science tools, diagnostics, and biopharma therapeutics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Science Venture Capital & Private Equity

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Life science investing
• Private equity funds
• Biotech financing
• Investment advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Hampton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Novalis generates revenue through management fees charged on the assets under management across its three funds totaling $500M. These fees provide recurring revenue based on the size of assets under management.
2. Carried Interest (Performance Fees): As a venture capital and private equity fund manager, Novalis earns carried interest on investment returns from successful portfolio company exits. Successful exits documented include Cerevel Therapeutics (acquired by AbbVie), Decipher Biosciences (acquired by Veracyte), and Celsee (acquired by Bio-Rad).
3. Advisory Services: Novalis Advisory offers strategic advisory and investment banking services including business organization and operation consultation, financial consultation, business management consultation, and executive leadership development training and coaching.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Novalis LifeSciences is the direct investment vehicle of Novalis Capital Partners, managing $500M in assets across three venture capital and private equity funds that deploy capital to companies in life science tools, diagnostics, and biopharma therapeutics. Its sister offering, Novalis Advisory, provides strategic advisory, investment banking, and executive coaching services. The firm is a boutique investment and advisory firm exclusively serving the Life Science industry, founded in 2017 by former Bayer AG and Thermo Fisher Scientific CEO Marijn E. Dekkers.

Product overview

Novalis Capital Partners operates as a boutique investment and advisory firm for the Life Science industry with two distinct service lines: (1) Novalis LifeSciences, the direct investment vehicle providing venture capital and private equity fund management across three funds with $500M in assets under management, and (2) Novalis Advisory, offering strategic advisory and investment banking services. The firm focuses on financing visionary Life Science entrepreneurs in the life science tools, diagnostics, and biopharma therapeutics sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Novalis LifeSciences (Direct Investment Vehicle) Venture capital and private equity fund management services for institutional limited partners, deploying capital to companies in the life science tools, diagnostics, and biopharma therapeutics sectors. Manages $500M across three funds with a portfolio of 15 active companies and documented successful exits including Cerevel Therapeutics (acquired by AbbVie), Decipher Biosciences (acquired by Veracyte), Celsee (acquired by Bio-Rad), Ginkgo Bioworks, and Quanterix. Target customers are founders and management teams of life science companies seeking capital combined with operating-expert guidance.
• Novalis Advisory Strategic advisory and investment banking services for life science companies, including business organization and operations consultation, financial consultation, business management consultation, and training and coaching in executive and leadership development. The offering is delivered by the same team of senior life science operating executives who staff the investment funds, allowing clients to access operator expertise without taking equity capital. Target customers are life science company leadership teams seeking strategic and executive coaching.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple successful exits with portfolio companies acquired by major acquirers (AbbVie, Veracyte, Bio-Rad) or gone public (Ginkgo Bioworks, Quanterix)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• OrbiMed Advisors: OrbiMed is one of the largest healthcare-focused investment firms globally with multi-billion AUM across venture, growth, and credit strategies. It is comparable to Novalis as a sector-specialist investor in life sciences but at vastly greater scale and product breadth.
• Baker Bros. Advisors: Baker Bros. is a large, biotech-focused investment manager with a long track record of concentrated positions in life sciences equities and venture. It overlaps with Novalis in life sciences focus but operates at a much larger AUM scale.
• Deerfield Management: Deerfield is a healthcare investment manager covering venture, growth, and public equities across life sciences. It is comparable to Novalis as a healthcare-specialist but with significantly broader strategies and larger AUM.

Direct peers

• Versant Ventures: Versant is a healthcare-dedicated venture firm that builds and backs biotech, medtech, and diagnostics companies across stages. It directly mirrors Novalis's vertical focus on life sciences and similar early-to-growth stage investment approach.
• ARCH Venture Partners: ARCH is a long-standing science-driven venture firm investing in early-stage biotech, genomics, and platform life science companies. It is a direct comparable to Novalis given its life science tools and therapeutics orientation.
• 5AM Ventures: 5AM is a boutique life science venture firm with a similar size and stage focus to Novalis, investing in early-stage biotech, platform technologies, and therapeutics startups. Comparability is strong on fund size, sector focus, and operating-partner model.
• Sofinnova Investments: Sofinnova is a healthcare and life sciences specialist with venture and growth strategies and deep European roots. Like Novalis, it concentrates on therapeutics and platform life science companies with active operating involvement.
• Atlas Venture: Atlas Venture is an early-stage life science venture firm building biotech companies from inception. Like Novalis, it emphasizes life sciences operating expertise and venture creation in therapeutics and platform technologies.
• SR One (GSK): SR One is the venture arm of GSK, focused on biopharma and life science investments. It is comparable to Novalis in life science sector focus and venture-stage investment, with strategic LP backing from a major pharmaceutical company.
• Longitude Capital: Longitude Capital is a healthcare and life sciences growth equity firm investing in commercial-stage companies. It is comparable to Novalis given its healthcare specialization and growth-stage orientation, though Longitude leans later-stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novalis-lifesciences-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments25 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Novalis LifeSciences