Switzerland-headquartered biotechnology and chemicals supplier Lonza Group has formed a corporate venturing fund in partnership with US-based venture capital firm Prolog Ventures.
Prolog Lonza Consumer Fund will invest in North America-based consumer healthcare technology developers working on products that can improve or maintain the health of people and their pets or companion animals.
In particular, the fund will target areas such as personal and home care, medical food, dietary supplements, and functional food and beverages. It will be managed by Prolog Ventures and will look to back two to three startups in the “mid-single-digit million-dollar range” each year.
Sven Abend, chief operating officer of Lonza’s Specialty Ingredients division, said: “This investment demonstrates Lonza’s commitment to innovating along the value chain and to creating additional value for our customers with new technologies and integrated solutions.”
In addition to the formation of the fund, Rob Rosenberg has joined Prolog Ventures as a partner. He had previously spent two years as senior vice-president of business and corporate development at vision-testing technology developer EyeNetra.