Novartis venture fund starts to pay off

Novartis chief, Daniel Vassella, says the Basel group's venture fund, which encourages new business projects, has helped create or preserve some 650 jobs since being founded three years ago. The figure includes 420 jobs last year alone.

The Novartis life sciences group in Basel says its venture fund, which encourages new business projects, has helped create or preserve some 650 jobs since being founded three years ago. The figure includes 420 jobs last year alone.

Novartis said that in 1999, the fund had helped 20 companies, bringing to 66 the total number of enterprises supported. By the end of 1999, the fund had allocated SFr79 million.

“Since its inception, the Novartis Venture Fund has been instrumental in helping to establish new companies,” says Daniel Vassella, chairman and CEO of Novartis.

“Each of these companies – whether they are entities that emerged from Novartis itself or from the scientific field in which we operate – is contributing to the climate of innovation and entrepreneurial endeavour. Both play a crucial part in economic growth and scientific progress,” he added.

The president of the fund, Francois L’Eplattenier, says most of the companies supported are developing according to plan, with some even growing faster than expected.

For the first time, cash flowed back into the fund when it sold at a profit its holding in a company which merged with another. This money will be ploughed back into launching more new companies.

Through the fund, Novartis concentrates its efforts on supporting start-up companies in the life sciences and new technologies.