Aleks Engel has joined the bioindustrials division of Novo Holdings, an investment arm of Denmark-based pharmaceutical conglomerate Novo Nordisk.
Engel’s stint at Novo Holdings began in 2014 when he joined as a director of principal investments. He was promoted to partner at the corporate’s life science investment group, Novo Seeds, four years later.
In his partner role, Engel simultaneously led the company’s $165m fund, Repair Impact Fund, for five years which invests in antimicrobial-resistant treatment developers.
His additional position within the bioindustrials team will enable the corporation to develop green industrial processes that can produce cost-effective products across various sectors, including healthcare.
“Bioindustrials can be simply defined as the use of nature (plants, microorganisms and enzymes) to produce products for the modern industrial society,” Engel said in a LinkedIn post. ” It is an industrial paradigm based on the expectation that renewable plant-derived carbohydrates, lipids, waste gasses and other compounds can displace a significant fraction of petroleum and other fossil fuels that are currently the raw material and energy basis of modern industrial societies.”
Founded in 1999, Novo Holdings is known for its life sciences investments. The group has nearly 120 active portfolio companies including Amolyt Pharma, Evotec and MedGenome.
Engel added: ”Novo Holdings is a major investor in two of the most successful industrial biotechnology-focused companies in the world, Novozymes and Chr Hansen, which are now merging. In addition, we have since 2017 invested in 20-plus disruptive companies creating sustainable bio-solutions.”