Private insurers set up new venture capital fund for…

Berlin – Private health insurance companies (PKV) are setting up a new venture capital fund. It is expected to invest more than 100 million euros in digital start-ups in the healthcare sector.

After the PKV Association launched the “Heal Capital” fund four years ago, its activities are now to be continued with “Heal Capital 2”. According to the PKV Association, “Heal Capital” now has a volume of more than 100 million euros and is currently supporting 18 European start-ups in the areas of diagnostics, therapy and infrastructure.

More than 20 private health insurance companies are involved in “Heal Capital”. “They share the goal of improving medical care for everyone,” explained association director Florian Reuther yesterday at the presentation of the fund in Berlin. The innovations supported would not only benefit privately insured patients.

The portfolio of “Heal Capital” currently includes the Berlin dermatology start-up Formel Skin, the digitally integrated family doctor chain Avi Medical and the AI ​​symptom checker Infermedica. “As the portfolio is almost completely full, it was time to set up another fund,” explained Eckhardt Weber, founding managing director of “Heal Capital”.

Another special feature of the fund is the combination of financial investments and the provision of know-how on access to medical care and reimbursement, explained Reuther.

“Private health insurance is thus underlining its claim to be the driving force of innovation in the German health system,” said the association’s chairman, Thomas Brahm. “With success: In the field of digital health, ‘Heal Capital’ is now one of the largest venture capital funds in Europe.”

At the end of the current investment period in the fourth quarter of 2024, the follow-up fund is expected to reach a volume of well over 100 million euros. In addition, the circle of companies involved will be expanded. In addition to the private health insurance companies, other investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), the Medice Health Family and a Swiss insurance company will join.

“Our goal is to make the private health insurance fund the fund of the health industry,” announced Reuther. He received support for this from the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). “There is no lack of public investment,” explained Katja Hessel, Parliamentary State Secretary in the BMF. In fact, the quotas for public investment are higher in this country than in the USA, for example.

The weak point in Germany is due to the private capital market, there is a lack of a capital market culture and therefore also a lack of available venture capital, including risk capital. “Heal Capital 1 was already a great success for the further development of our venture capital ecosystem, but we need more of it,” emphasized Hessel. © lau/aerzteblatt.de