The Amsterdam UMC Drug Repurposing Fund focuses on spin-offs arising from research at Amsterdam UMC. With the fund, Amsterdam UMC Ventures wants to support repurposing projects that are otherwise unable to develop beyond academic research. There is special attention for socially responsible pricing, so that the repurposed drugs can be made available and affordable to all patients.

Amsterdam UMC Vice-dean of valorisation Prof. Dr. Arjen Brussaard announced the launch on September 22, 2026, during the RARE-NL event “Drug repurposing with a purpose” at Amsterdam UMC.

Professor Brussaard on the new fund: “A good idea shouldn’t go to waste just because it doesn’t fit the classic investment model. With this fund, we’re driving the development of new applications for existing medicines toward patients. That fits how we view valorisation: for us, societal impact and investment readiness go hand in hand.”

The financing gap in drug repurposing

In drug repurposing, an existing drug is developed for a new application in a different condition. Because much is already known about the drug, development can in some cases be faster, cheaper and with fewer uncertainties than with the development of a completely new drug. Nevertheless, many of these developments often remain stuck in the academic research phase. For regular biotech investors and pharmaceutical companies, the commercial prospects are not always attractive enough to invest early in development. As a result, promising projects can also remain stuck between academic research and further development towards the patient.

The new fund wants to make financing available precisely in that phase. Where possible, the companies are steered towards socially responsible pricing. The relatively limited development costs of repurposing offer excellent opportunities for this.

Fund profile

The total fund size of the Amsterdam UMC Drug Repurposing Fund is EUR 4 million. This total amount will be invested over a period of 7 years. The goal is to invest in approximately 9 different Amsterdam UMC spin-offs during this period. Initial investments will be around EUR 350k per spin-off, with room for follow-on investments in the most successful companies. Although these are relatively small amounts for drug development, these investments make a big difference for drug repurposing projects in the early phase. In addition, it is expected that the investments from the Amsterdam UMC Drug Repurposing Fund will stimulate additional co-investments from other parties with an interest in drug repurposing.

The fund builds on previous investments by Amsterdam UMC Ventures Holding in this type of company, including GuanaRep B.V. (repurposing of the high blood pressure drug Guanabenz for the rare brain disease Vanishing White Matter) and Pepper Therapeutics B.V. (repurposing of the diabetes drug phenformin for pancreatic cancer, in collaboration with Erasmus MC).

About the launch

Prof. Dr. Arjen Brussaard announced the launch during the RARE-NL event “Drug repurposing with a purpose: routes to sustainable patient access”, on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at Amsterdam UMC. This meeting focused on how promising repurposing projects can not only be advanced scientifically, but ultimately also become sustainably available to patients. This event was organized by RARE-NL in collaboration with Medicine for Society.

The fund is open for investments in Amsterdam UMC spin-offs only, companies without an Amsterdam UMC connection are unfortunately not eligible. For more information, please contact our investment manager Marc Roelofs: mroelofs@aav.nl