Angelini Industries, a multi-sector Italian industrial group which operates in 21 countries with 5,800 employees, has announced the launch of Angelini Ventures, a global corporate venture capital initiative, with a €300 million capital commitment. Angelini Ventures will build and invest in early-stage companies that develop innovative ideas and solutions in biotechnology, digital health and life sciences.

The launch of Angelini Ventures is part of Angelini Industries’ strategy for driving innovation. Angelini Ventures brings together existing and new capabilities to identify, invest in, and deploy solutions to disrupt traditional healthcare models.

Angelini Ventures will invest across Europe, North America, and Israel with a focus on brain health and consumer segments such as women, children and the elderly. The company is headquartered in Rome with a global team located in multiple innovation hubs.

We have put a lot of work into the development of Angelini Ventures whose mission will be to invest at international level in high-potential ideas, opportunities and projects that use technology to transform the future of the global health system. Thanks to our specific skills and expertise, our ambition is to not only further develop our business but also, and above all, to give voice and life to solutions that have a positive impact on patients and communities, said Sergio Marullo di Condojanni, Chief Executive Officer of Angelini Industries.

I am incredibly proud to establish Angelini Ventures as a key pillar of healthcare innovation for Angelini Industries. We are building a robust infrastructure to develop and invest in new ideas, partnerships, and technologies” — said Paolo Di Giorgio, Chief Executive Officer of Angelini Ventures – “Through Angelini Ventures, entrepreneurs will partner with subject matter experts and healthcare leaders who deeply understand the challenges of the healthcare industry and the evolving needs of patients and consumers.

Angelini Ventures has already made global investments of €60 million.  The current investment portfolio includes Argobio, a Paris-based biotech venture studio; Angelini Lumira Biosciences Fund, a North American fund that invests in early-stage companies; and Pretzel Therapeutics, a Boston-based leading mitochondrial therapeutics company.

The Angelini Ventures team is intentionally spread across Europe, Asia and the US to provide global perspective and capabilities. The team is composed of the following founding members:

  • Paolo Di Giorgio, CEO and Managing Director, based in Rome. Paolo is an experienced pharmaceutical and investment executive with more than 20 years of global experience in Angelini Pharma, Novartis, and Merck.  He earned a PhD from Harvard University and an MBA from IE Business School, Madrid. Prior to founding Angelini Ventures, Paolo was the Head of External Innovation R&D at Angelini Pharma and led novel neuroscience drug discovery programs at Novartis.
  • Elia Stupka, Managing Director, based in Rome and Singapore. Prior to Angelini Ventures, Elia was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Life Sciences business unit at Health Catalyst, a leading provider of data and analytics to healthcare organizations. Elia’s experience also includes a role as Senior Director Data Science & Bioinformatics for the Dana-Farber Cancer institute, one of the world’s leading research cancer organizations.
  • Gabriela Manrique, Partner, based in Boston. Prior to joining Angelini Ventures, Gabriela worked as Chief Financial Officer of O’Reilly Media and VP of Finance and Administration at Toast. Gabriela started her career at McKinsey and later worked at F-Prime, where she supported global portfolio companies in various finance and talent leadership roles.
  • Thomas Thestrup, Investment Director, based in Copenhagen. Prior to joining Angelini Ventures, Thomas worked for Lundbeck as Director of Corporate Business Development and Strategy and at UCB Pharma as Director of Global Business Development.  Thomas was a co-founder of Jymmin, a German health-tech company creating cutting-edge music-feedback training and rehabilitation technology.
  • Filippo Piazza, Investment Associate, based in Milan. Prior to joining Angelini Ventures, Filippo worked at TIM Ventures, TIM’s corporate venturing arm, where he supported new investments, portfolio management, and corporate business development.

An advisory board of senior executives has been assembled to help guide the strategic direction of Angelini Ventures and is comprised of the following industry leaders:

  • Lorenzo Tallarigo, non-executive Chairman of Oxford Biomedica and Board Member of Angelini Industries
  • Mark Muth, former Director of Unilever Ventures and Director at PwC
  • Jessica Federer, Partner Boston Millennia Partners and former Chief Digital Officer for the Bayer AG group
  • Mathias Evers, Chief Business Officer Evotec and former McKinsey Senior Partner

For more information, visit angeliniventures.com.