Digital health marketers David Buller and Laurent van Lerberghe announced the launch of KELES. This new investment firm focuses on the digitalization of health growth in Europe, with the aim of closing the gap between innovation, international expansion and global impact.
KELES will be investing in European growth-stage companies that have proven profitability and have reached a scale-up inflection point. The size of this fund is 250m, and the investment tickets will be from 8M-€30M.
The two players of the company are David Buller, co-founder of UK digital health fund Ascension Life Fund and exited the health business, and Laurent van Lerberghe, pharma C-suite executive turned investor in digital health*. *Their strong return on investment, business-building track record and extensive network position KELES to achieve unique dealflow, realize global expertise and generate strong returns in the global market.
The KELES team, who spent the last year testing and validating their investment portfolio with European businesses and entrepreneurs, will have bases in Paris, London, Brussels and Luxembourg. The fund KELES SCsp., SICAV – RAIF was established in Luxembourg. They are currently raising funds and are on track to start closing in Q1 of 2025.
Following its initial closure, KELES is designed to return a high-quality solution that addresses some of the most pressing problems facing health and society.
David Buller, managing partner of KELES, said: “around the world, health systems are under great pressure due to aging, staff shortages, the increasing burden of chronic diseases and the increasing complexity of care. Now more than ever, new solutions are needed to ensure that systems and providers can deliver effective, high quality for a growing number of patients. I have spent decades at the forefront of technology-driven investment solutions to these challenges, and it is clear that we have reached a point of sale in the market to unlock the necessary growth.” *
The digital health sector offers unparalleled opportunities for social impact and value creation, due to the large number of pharmaceutical and health needs, different payers, international and regional opportunities, and different exit options.
While Europe is overflowing with innovation, access to the capital needed for healthcare companies to scale up and succeed globally remains scarce. KELES is committed to addressing this gap, investing in proven solutions for research and development (R&D), diagnostics, and patient care.
“We will back technologies that will promote AI in useful ways, and that will accelerate the discovery of drugs and deliver simple diagnostics. We will find technologies that will create new care, that are solving the root causes of inefficiencies in health care, and that will improve the results of patients and people. We have tested our investment thesis and we are ready to open KELES and to fill a huge funding gap in the European investment landscape,” adds Laurent van Lerberghe, founder and managing partner of KELES.
With Laurent’s background in pharma and techbio in Europe, the US and Asia, as well as David’s experience in investing with a track record of strong returns, the fund is uniquely positioned to provide capital and guidance to help these companies succeed.
Through the Ascension Life Fund, David has invested in digital health startups in the UK. The portfolio is delivering strong performance, and Aparito, one of its techbio investments, was recently acquired by Eli Lilly. David has also made a large number of deep tech and AI investments in the UK and US, with market leading returns, giving him an inside view on the most promising and value creating technologies.
Laurent van Lerberghe, former Chief Strategy Officer at Sanofi and Commercial VP at Abbott, has led the launch, investment, and strategic partnership agreements across multiple continents, developing deep expertise in healthcare, R&D, AI and digital health.
KELES will give portfolio companies access to a large network of international advisors, partners, and industry insiders from pharma, healthcare, venture capital, and startups, ensuring market access, product-market fit, and scalability.
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