Supporting the innovators of today for the patient benefit of tomorrow

CARMA FUND I is an early-stage investment fund for advancing the translation of Life Science and Healthcare assets. The fund started off with a First Closing of over €47M in June 2022. It is base in Munich and Frankfurt am Main.

About

CARMA FUND I is a venture capital and transfer fund to advance Life Science and Healthcare technologies. We invest into competitive early-stage companies and projects, being uniquely positioned due to exclusive academic access, cross-sector expertise, risk-mitigated value creation and a strong European syndication network. We started in 2022 with €56M under management and have invested into 19 portfolio companies today. CARMA FUND I is based in Munich and Frankfurt am Main with team members also in Hamburg and Leipzig.

Our approach

Approach

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CARMA FUND I is uniquely suited for early-stage companies and projects from the Life Science space due to an extra-long term, flexible investment modalities and its close relationships with leading technology transfer offices and industry partners.

Starting to develop new products and services for the patients’ well-being and medical advancements comes with unique challenges and opportunities. Biotech/Healthcare is a specialist business and as its innovators have often struggled to rope in reliant streams of outside capital necessary for quick and efficient development towards market entry.

CARMA FUND I believes in supporting these projects to bring out their full potential. CARMA FUND I welcomes investment opportunities and applications for funding from all across Europe.

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Our Partners

Portfolio

Therapeutics

Oncology

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Dimericon Therapeutics: AML, a new class of molecules

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Akribion: G-dase, targeted cell death, head & neck cancer

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KUPANDO: TLR4/7 agonist - solid tumor treatment

Immunology

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TECregen: Thymus regeneration

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Allogenetics: Solid organ transplantation

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Salvina: TNF-alpha antagonist

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WMT: Anti-inflammation

Neurology

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elkedonia: Novel anti-depressives

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Exciva: Agitation treatment for Alzheimers Disease

Respiratory

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O11 Biomedical: Hypercapnia treatment for COPD patients

MedTech / Digital Health

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ACORAI: Non-invasive intracardiac pressure monitoring

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CereGate: Computer-brain-interface-based Parkinson’s therapy

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inContAlert: Non-invasive bladder measurement

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Symphera: Automated laparoscopic surgery device

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Aignostics: Fully automated AI-Histology

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Epignostix: Brain-, sarcoma-, melanoma-classifier

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Thryve: Clinical data integration platform

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Team

Dr. Martin Raditsch

Managing Partner

Martin is a founder of CARMA FUND Management GmbH and initiated the fund during his time as managing director of the technology transfer firm Innovectis GmbH. At CARMA FUND, he plays a central role in investment decisions, leads the investment team and oversees the funds general management. With a background in molecular biology, Martin earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research. He has founded and led several technology driven companies as CEO, served as President of ASTP, and held executive roles in technology transfer offices as well as department head position at BASF.

Christian Leikert

Managing Partner

Christian is a founder of CARMA FUND Management GmbH and played a key role in closing CARMA FUND I. As managing partner, he is responsible for investment decisions and the overall management of the fund. An economist by training, Christian studied at LMU Munich. He brings extensive experience in venture capital, having served as CEO of Future Capital, Partner at Creathor Venture, and as a board member in various companies.

Dr. Thomas Hanke

Venture Partner

Dr. Thomas Hanke is an immunobiologist and drug discovery expert with more than 25 years of experience across academia, biotech and pharmaceutical R&D. He has held senior roles at Evotec and has been championing early-stage therapeutic innovation, academic partnerships, technology transfer and company-building in the life sciences sector. His work focuses on identifying breakthrough science, shaping partnering and investment opportunities and translating therapeutic platforms into competitive product candidates. He holds or has recently held board/advisory roles in biotech companies including Tubulis, Dark Blue Therapeutics and Argobio.

Dr. Claus Schulte

Senior Investment Manager

Claus is a member of the founding team of CARMA FUND Management GmbH and played an important role in launching the fund. He is responsible for managing deal flow activities and supporting the Managing Partners in the fund´s operations. A biologist by training, Claus holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK. He previously held various business development roles in the biotech industry, led a licensing department, and was actively involved in founding new companies.

Martin Müller

Senior Investment Manager

Martin joined the team in October 2023. He now plays a central role in managing the fund´s deal flow activities and supports the Managing Partners in daily operations. With a background in medicine, Martin conducted cardiac imaging research at the Leipzig Heart Center and Harvard Medical School. He began his career in radiology residency before transitioning into the business side of healthcare. His previous roles include strategy consulting, private equity advisory, and working at Philips Ventures – the corporate venture capital arm of Philips.

Opportunities we invest in

We routinely invest into Pre-Seed, Seed and Series opportunities. We are agnostic to therapeutic areas and formats. We cover all Life Science sectors. Our initial ticket size typically starts at € 0.25M

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THERAPEUTICS

A highly successful therapeutics industry has emerged in Europe, with experienced entrepreneurs and world-leading scientists. We see ourselves as an active partner in advancing the development and provide crucial support in ultimately bringing these products to the market.

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DIAGNOSTICS

Diagnostics are at the forefront of personalized medicine and as such of great interest to us. They enable earlier detection of diseases, better patient stratification, and more targeted therapeutic interventions

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MEDTECH

Innovative medical devices are transforming how care is delivered—ranging from surgical tools and imaging systems to smart implants and monitoring devices, increasingly integrating hardware with software. We invest in teams building solutions that improve treatment precision, clinical workflows, and patient outcomes, addressing patient needs.

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DIGITAL HEALTH

With the advent of digitaltechnologies in the healthcare sector, a new breed of companies is developing: Digital in nature but tackling medical needs that have so far been addressed by pharma, medtech and medical services.

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Platforms and tools

We are open to all areas from the Life Science and Healthcare. This can include for example R&D tools, platform technologies, improvements to the healthcare system or other technologies.

Contact

Munich

Address

Herzogstr. 64
80803 Munich
Germany

Email

info@carma-fund.com

hr@carma-fund.com

Visit us

Frankfurt

Address

Altenhöferallee 3
60438 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

Email

info@carma-fund.com

hr@carma-fund.com

Visit us

Supporting the innovators of today for the patient benefit of tomorrow

About

Approach

Our Partners

Portfolio

Therapeutics

Oncology

Immunology

Neurology

Respiratory

MedTech / Digital Health

Team

Dr. Martin Raditsch

Christian Leikert

Dr. Thomas Hanke

Dr. Claus Schulte

Martin Müller

Name

Opportunities we invest in

THERAPEUTICS

DIAGNOSTICS

MEDTECH

DIGITAL HEALTH

Platforms and tools

Contact

Munich

Address

Email

Frankfurt

Address

Email