Novo Holdings
Novo Holdings is the holding and investment company of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations. They are among the largest life sciences investors globally, investing across venture, growth equity, principal investments, and public equities in healthcare.
Website
https://www.novoholdings.dkLocation
Hellerup, Denmark
Founded
1999
AUM
$150B+
Investment Range
$10M - $500M+
Portfolio Companies
13
Focus
biotech-focused
Fund Stages
seed, series-a, series-b, series-c, growth
Investment Thesis
Novo Holdings invests in life sciences companies with breakthrough potential across all stages, from seed to public markets. As a long-term investor backed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, they can provide patient capital and strategic support to companies developing transformative therapies and technologies.
Team
Partners / Managing Directors (Health & Bio Focus)
- Kasim Kutay - CEO
- Søren Møller - Managing Partner, Novo Seeds
- Lars Kongsbak - Senior Partner
Other Key Team Members
- Christian Kjølhede Møller - Investment Partner
- Large global investment team across stages
Focus Areas
- Therapeutics (all modalities)
- Life science tools
- Healthcare technology
- Diagnostics
- Drug discovery
- Cell and gene therapy
Notable Investments
- Booster Therapeutics - Co-led $15M seed (2024)
- Obsidian Therapeutics - Cell and gene therapy
- AvenCell Therapeutics - CAR-T cell therapies
- Asceneuron - $100M Series C (2024, Alzheimer's)
- Oxford Nanopore - £50M investment (2024)
- Catalent - Acquired ($16.5B, 2024)
- MedGenome - $50M investment (2022)
- Sangon Biotech - $290M strategic financing (2023)
Notable Exits
- Novo Nordisk - Major shareholder (diabetes, obesity)
- Novozymes - Major shareholder (now Novonesis)
- Multiple IPOs and M&A exits annually
Sources
- https://www.novoholdings.dk
- https://www.novoholdings.dk/team
- Novo Nordisk Foundation annual reports
- PitchBook
Portfolio Companies
| Name | Location | Founded | Categories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster Therapeutics | Copenhagen, Denmark | 2024 | biotechtherapeutics+3 |
| Obsidian Therapeutics | Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA | 2015 | biotechcell-therapy+2 |
| AvenCell Therapeutics | Berlin, Germany | 2019 | biotechcell-therapy+3 |
| Convergent Therapeutics | New York, New York, USA | 2021 | therapeuticsbiotech+3 |
| Myricx Bio | London, United Kingdom | 2019 | therapeuticsbiotech+3 |
| Asceneuron | Lausanne, Switzerland | 2012 | biotechneuroscience+3 |
| MedGenome | Bangalore, India & Foster City, California, USA | 2013 | genomics-sequencingdiagnostics+3 |
| Sangon Biotech | Shanghai, China | 2001 | genomics-sequencingbiotech+2 |
| Oxford Nanopore Technologies | Oxford, United Kingdom | 2005 | genomics-sequencingbiotech+2 |
| Kivu Biosciences | Boston, Massachusetts, USA | 2021 | biotechtherapeutics+2 |
| SiteOne Therapeutics | Bozeman, Montana, USA | 2014 | biotechtherapeutics+3 |
| ArriVent BioPharma | Irvine, California, USA | 2021 | biotechoncology+3 |
| Zenas BioPharma | Waltham, Massachusetts, USA | 2021 | biotechtherapeutics+2 |