BGV announces the close of the FIRST II fund to accelerate Dutch life science spinouts in chronic diseases

Managed by BGV, FIRST II is a dedicated pre-seed fund supporting academic researchers, with an expanded focus on chronic diseases. It aims to strengthen the early-stage life sciences ecosystem in the Netherlands by supporting the formation of high-quality academic spin-outs.

The fund is backed by a strong consortium of public and private partners, including the Dutch Heart Foundation in collaboration with the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA), the Dutch Kidney Foundation, Stichting mr. Roelsefonds, and regional development agencies Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), InnovationQuarter and Oost NL. FIRST II also benefits from support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science through the Thematic Tech Transfer (TTT) programme.

For RegMed XB, the launch of FIRST II represents an important step in strengthening the academic research into entrepreneurial impact. The fund complements the recently awarded TTT programme, a collaboration between DCVA, BGV, and RegMed XB which supports researchers in developing their innovations into viable ventures addressing chronic diseases.

Building on the success of the original FIRST fund, which supported companies such as TargED Biopharmaceuticals and River BioMedics, FIRST II continues to address the critical gap between early scientific discovery and seed-stage investment. With a strong focus on chronic diseases, the fund aims to accelerate the translation of scientific breakthroughs into companies capable of delivering innovative solutions for patients.

By combining pre-seed capital with hands-on venture creation support, FIRST II helps researchers establish strong founding teams, mature promising technologies and position new ventures for follow-on investment.