The European VC (EUVC)
E649 | Mariette Roesink, Curie Capital: Backing Life Sciences, Unicorns & Zero Bankruptcies
The European VC (EUVC)
•November 11, 2025•26 min
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The European VC (EUVC)•Nov 11, 2025
Key Takeaways
- •Curie Capital backs European life‑science startups, targeting strategic M&A exits.
- •Fund managers are also LPs, investing two‑thirds of assets themselves.
- •Portfolio achieved two unicorn exits, zero bankruptcies across 25 investments.
- •Early‑stage biotech focus, pharma partners join early due diligence.
- •Western Europe’s 6x valuation gap versus US fuels high returns.
Pulse Analysis
Curie Capital, founded seven years ago by Mariette Roesink and Han de Groot, positions itself as a specialist European life‑science venture fund that blends high financial returns with patient impact. The firm’s third vehicle targets a €100 million mandate, but the partners already have committed roughly two‑thirds of the capital through their family offices, demonstrating strong skin‑in‑the‑game. With 13 years of investment experience, the team has delivered two unicorn exits and maintained a zero‑bankruptcy record across more than 25 portfolio companies, a rare achievement for an emerging manager.
The fund’s thesis centers on early‑stage biotech and med‑tech ventures that can attract strategic buyers long before a public listing. Curie Capital’s analysts involve pharma and med‑tech strategics in non‑confidential due‑diligence, securing early buy‑in and smoothing the path to M&A. Portfolio highlights include Citro, now raising €85 million from Forbion, Novartis Ventures and J&J, and Target Biotherapeutics, which is preparing Phase II trials for a novel stroke‑treatment drug. By backing companies at the seed stage and staying active through later rounds, Curie has generated multiple exits, including the €3 billion SV Health‑iBio deal, while preserving capital efficiency.
Europe’s life‑science hub offers a compelling valuation arbitrage: early‑stage companies are priced roughly six times lower than comparable U.S. peers, yet exits often occur to multinational pharma and med‑tech groups that value European innovation at premium multiples. This gap, combined with strong public‑sector research output, generous grant programs, and a collaborative network spanning the Netherlands, Denmark and beyond, creates a fertile environment for venture investors. Curie Capital leverages this ecosystem, meets ESG standards such as SDRF 6‑9, and promises LPs a portfolio that delivers both societal impact and attractive risk‑adjusted returns.
Episode Description
Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, your trusted inside track on the people, deals, and dynamics shaping European venture.
This week, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Mariette Roesink, Co‑Founder of Curie Capital. Named after Marie Curie, the fund backs breakthrough life science technologies with a mission to both deliver outsized returns and transform patient outcomes.
Mariette and her co-founder Han de Groot have already been part of two unicorn exits, raised €200M across their portfolio in a single year, and — most strikingly — can point to zero bankruptcies across 25 investments. As family office-backed GPs, they also invest significant personal capital alongside LPs.
They dive into Curie’s approach, the unique dynamics of European biotech, why Western Europe is a life science powerhouse, and how to make life science VC anything but “binary.”
Whether you’re an LP curious about the sector, a GP sharpening your pitch, or a founder in healthtech — this conversation is packed with insights.
Here’s what’s covered:
01:00 | Why Curie Capital is named after Marie Curie
03:00 | High financial returns + patient impact: the dual promise of biotech
05:00 | Why GPs investing their own family money matters
07:00 | Raising €200M in “harsh” markets — portfolio highlights
09:30 | The billion-dollar impact story of Acerta Pharma
12:00 | Building specialist networks & engaging strategics early
14:00 | TargED Biotherapeutics: developing a breakthrough stroke therapy
17:00 | Zero bankruptcies — besides capital Curie helps the
young ventures with their network to support raising next rounds
and partnering
20:00 | The Curie Capital team — science, business, and hands-on support
21:30 | Why Western Europe is a life sciences powerhouse
23:30 | The 6.1x valuation gap between EU & US early-stage biotech
25:00 | The truth about life science holding periods & exits
27:00 | Educating LPs: why life science VC isn’t as binary as many think
Show Notes
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