Andera Partners has joined the European Life Sciences Coalition (ELSC), an initiative dedicated to strengthening the European life sciences sector. The ELSC, founded in February 2026 in Brussels, unites leading venture capital investors as well as other ecosystem players. The objective is to mobilise more capital for this strategically important sector and to improve policy frameworks at a European level, which can reduce investment barriers.
Europe possesses a strong scientific foundation and a long entrepreneurial tradition. Despite these potentials, innovative companies face difficulties in acquiring capital and growing within Europe. Statistics show that Europe accounts for only 7% of the global venture capital market in the life sciences sector, while the United States claims 63%. This is also evidenced by the fact that 66 out of 67 European biotech companies that ventured to go public in the last six years did so outside Europe.
ELSC Focus and Andera Partners' Commitment
The ELSC focuses on two complementary areas of action: firstly, to raise awareness among institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies, to initiate a stronger allocation to venture capital for the life sciences. Secondly, the initiative collaborates with European decision-makers to improve the availability of public capital. Andera Life Sciences, the specialised team at Andera Partners, brings long-standing expertise to this field. With seven editions of the BioDiscovery fund, almost 115 companies have been supported since its inception.
Andera Life Sciences, with teams in Paris and Munich, currently supports 37 companies in early and clinical development phases. The portfolio companies have produced numerous medicines and medical devices that are used in clinical practice. Over the past two years, four significant exits in various European countries have been completed with a potential total value of approximately US$7.8 billion. These transactions include acquisitions such as Tubulis by Gilead and ImCheck Therapeutics by Ipsen, which highlight Andera Life Sciences' ability to develop European companies into global market leaders.
In parallel with the acquisitions, other portfolio companies went public, raised further capital on Nasdaq, or achieved important clinical milestones. Andera Partners' membership in the ELSC will strengthen the coalition's continental dimension, particularly the Franco-German axis, supported by its operational presence in Paris and Munich. Olivier Litzka, Partner at Andera Life Sciences, emphasised that it is possible in Europe to support and further develop world-class medical innovations. According to Sander Slooweg, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Forbion and Chair of Invest Europe for 2026–2027, Andera Partners' entry strengthens the ELSC as a pan-European voice for mobilising capital for the life sciences, a sector that is gaining increasing strategic importance in the geopolitical environment and deserves more attention from policymakers and institutional investors.
