Novalis Biotech

Novalis relies on its academic and regional network in Belgium and the Benelux life-sciences cluster, supplemented by a publicly accessible pitch submission channel on its website. Co-founder Wim Van Criekinge's background in bioinformatics provides direct relationships with university spin-outs and research institutes. The firm's advisory board — which includes specialists such as Michael Hengartner — widens its top-of-funnel reach into European health-tech ecosystems.

On its own website Novalis characterizes itself as an early-stage private equity/venture capital fund, and the disclosed portfolio structure points to direct investments into operating companies. There is no public evidence of fund-of-funds activity or LP commitments to external managers. The firm's pitch submission form explicitly requests company presentations, reinforcing a direct-deal posture.

Novalis operates across seed, start-up, and growth stages, with a stated focus on early-stage life-sciences companies. The firm looks for post-concept validation where bioinformatics and IT integration can catalyze clinical or diagnostic utility. Its capital-light preference means it tends to avoid preclinical therapeutic plays that require large-scale development spending.

Novalis does not publish an explicit exclusion list, but its investment thesis strongly filters out traditional drug-development biotechs. By concentrating on capital-light platform technologies and informatics-driven life sciences, the firm implicitly avoids high-burn therapeutic discovery. No heavy-medtech manufacturing or hospital-infrastructure plays appear in its known portfolio.

Investment decisions are led by co-founders Wim Van Criekinge and Jan Van den Berghe, who both hold Managing Director roles. Fund Manager Kjell Mortier and Investment Manager Jaroslav Belotserkovsky execute the day-to-day pipeline, while the supervisory board — chaired by Kathleen Van den Berghe — provides governance oversight rather than deal-level approval.

Novalis has not publicly disclosed a formal co-investment policy. Given its small team and early-stage focus, the firm likely acts as lead or co-lead in its rounds rather than passive participant alongside larger general partners. Direct outreach to the firm would be needed to confirm syndication preferences.

There is no publicly available information indicating that Novalis operates a philanthropic foundation or donor-advised fund parallel to its venture capital activities. The firm appears structured purely as a for-profit investment manager, with no visible blending of mission-related or charitable capital on its website.