Hovione Capital

What is Hovione Capital?

Hovione Capital, also referred to as Bionova Capital, is a healthcare-specialized venture capital firm whose headquarters are located in Lisbon, Portugal.

They focus on investing in early-stage life science startups across Europe.

Since its inception in 2015 and until 2024, Hovione Capital has been active in identifying and financing innovative companies in industries such as BioTech, HealthTech (& Fitness), and Medical Devices (& Hospital Services), leveraging their expertise in equity investment. During this period, they have secured two profitable exits, which include one of the most notable biotech deals in Europe, namely the CellmAbs transaction. In 2023, Bionova Capital's team initiated Biovance Capital Partners, an independent venture capital company.

With the successful fundraising for Biovance Capital Fund I in 2024, that was set to invest up to 60 million euros, the Bionova team fully transitioned to Biovance Capital Partners. Bionova Capital ceased making new investments and shifted its focus to managing its existing portfolio.

Despite this transition, Hovione Capital maintains an active role in the oversight and support of its portfolio companies. Some of the latest developments include the acquisition of technology from one of their portfolio companies, CellmAbs, by BioNTech in early 2024, as well as an investment round for another portfolio company, Delox, accumulating 750,000 euros in 2024.