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Thuja Capital
Thuja Capital, founded by Harrold van Barlingen in 2006, runs a seed-to-Series A fund strategy focused on European academic life sciences spin-outs.
Thuja Capital
Thuja Capital was founded in 2006 by Harrold van Barlingen, a former LUMC technology transfer officer and life sciences venture investor who structured the firm around the gap between European academic innovation and early-stage venture funding. The firm's name, taken from the genus of resilient trees, signals a thesis built on long-duration capital and scientific patience. It manages a series of dedicated life sciences and health technology funds, with its predecessor entity, BioGeneration Ventures, having seeded its investment approach before the Thuja brand was formalized. The firm targets pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds across therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health — a deliberately broad mandate within a single-sector focus. Its active strategy relies on proprietary scouting across Benelux, Germany, and the broader DACH region, often acting as the lead or co-lead investor in first institutional rounds. Publicly disclosed portfolio companies include Hansa Biopharma, a Swedish immunology company that completed a Nasdaq Stockholm IPO, and NorthSea Therapeutics, a Dutch biotech developing therapies for metabolic diseases. The firm also participates in drug discovery platforms emerging from the Netherlands' dense academic ecosystem, including translational spin-outs from UMC Utrecht. Thuja Capital operates from Utrecht, with its latest fund, Thuja Capital Fund IV, reaching a €100 million final close in September 2023 (per the firm, September 2023), bringing total assets under management across its family of funds to over €300 million. The partnership is anchored by van Barlingen alongside Dr. Michel Briejer, who joined the firm from Galapagos NV and brings drug-hunting expertise to the investment team. Its limited partners include the European Investment Fund, Dutch pension funds, and family offices seeking concentrated exposure to European health-tech venture. What differentiates Thuja structurally is its genesis within a university tech-transfer culture, which gives its investment process the rigor of translational science evaluation rather than pure financial screening. Most deals are sourced from academic medical centers years before competing venture firms become aware of the science, creating an information asymmetry that favors its concentrated fund model. The firm does not operate a multi-asset or family-office structure — it is a single-sector, single-geography fund manager purpose-built for academic life sciences.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2006
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Netherlands
City
Utrecht
Corporate office
Utrecht, Netherlands
Principals
Harrold van Barlingen
Managing Partner & Founder
Michel Briejer
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Thuja Capital?
Investment decisions are led by Managing Partner and founder Harrold van Barlingen and Partner Dr. Michel Briejer. Van Barlingen established the firm after a career in academic technology transfer and early-stage life sciences investing. Briejer brings operational biotech experience from his previous role at Galapagos NV, complementing the scientific sourcing expertise on the partnership.
How does Thuja Capital source its deal flow?
Thuja sources primarily through deep ties with academic medical centers across Benelux, Germany, and the DACH region, including KU Leuven, UMC Utrecht, and Charité in Berlin. Its partners maintain relationships with technology transfer offices that give them early visibility into spin-out formation. This academic-first sourcing model means it often reviews opportunities before they are broadly marketed to other venture firms.
Is Thuja Capital a single family office or a venture firm?
Thuja Capital operates as a dedicated venture capital fund manager, not a family office. It manages a series of closed-end limited partnership funds focused exclusively on life sciences and health technology. Its limited partners include institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund and Dutch pension funds.
What investment stages does Thuja Capital typically target?
The firm targets pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds, typically writing first institutional checks into academic spin-outs. Its mandate covers therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health, with a geographic focus on Northern and Central Europe. Thuja acts as lead or co-lead investor in most of its initial commitments.
Does Thuja Capital co-invest alongside other European venture firms?
Yes, Thuja frequently co-invests alongside specialized European life sciences investors including Forbion, Gilde Healthcare, and LSP. Its syndicate partners reflect its position within the deep and collaborative Benelux health-tech venture ecosystem. The firm typically leads or co-leads its rounds, maintaining a concentrated portfolio of approximately 15-20 active companies per fund.
What is Thuja Capital's most recent fund activity?
Thuja Capital held the final close of its fourth fund, Thuja Capital Fund IV, in September 2023 at €100 million, bringing aggregate assets across its fund family to over €300 million. Fund IV continues the same seed-to-Series A life sciences mandate as its predecessor vehicles. Leading up to Fund IV, the firm had secured commitments from the European Investment Fund and a cadre of institutional Dutch investors.
How is Thuja Capital related to BioGeneration Ventures?
BioGeneration Ventures is the predecessor entity to Thuja Capital, with Harrold van Barlingen having been a founding partner of BGV before establishing the Thuja brand in 2006. While both firms operate in the European life sciences venture space, Thuja was formalized as an independent management company with its own fund family. The two entities maintain separate partnership structures and fund strategies, though they share some historical DNA.
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