HERAN’s name is a nod to its origins: it combines the first letters of former Biocartis CEO Herman Verrelst and co-founder Annie Vereecken, who built her profile as a serial investor in biotech and medtech after selling her lab company Medhold.
A cornerstone commitment for Fund II comes from the European Investment Fund (EIF), which is backing the vehicle with €20 million. Flemish investment company PMV is also increasing its participation versus the first fund, committing €10 million. Other backers include entrepreneurs and management teams from HERAN’s Fund I portfolio, alongside institutional partners such as BNP Paribas Fortis, Finance&Invest Brussels, and KU Leuven Research & Development.
“Technology should support clinicians and researchers — not overload them.” – Katleen Vandersmissen
“The next efficiency leap in healthcare will not come from simply generating more data, but from better insights. Technology should support clinicians and researchers — not overload them,” Managing Partner Katleen Vandersmissen said in the fund announcement.
Stellar Track Record From Fund I
HERAN’s first fund closed at €75.5 million and made 15 investments across Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The firm reports four exits to date: BlueBee, PharmaFluidics, UgenTec, and most recently icometrix.
The icometrix exit is particularly emblematic of HERAN’s thesis around “enabling technologies” for clinical and R&D workflows. The Leuven-based company applies artificial intelligence to analyze brain scans, helping clinicians quantify and track neurological disease progression — including in Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis — to inform diagnosis and treatment decisions. In September 2025, icometrix was acquired by US medtech giant GE HealthCare, giving the scale-up a global platform and underscoring ongoing appetite for validated, clinically embedded AI tools.
Early-Stage, Pan-European Scope
Fund II will again target seed and Series A companies spanning software, hardware, and services, with a focus on solutions that can be implemented in real-world healthcare settings. HERAN says it will continue to support founders hands-on, from product-market fit and clinical validation through to international growth.
“Healthtech is not a sprint — it’s a marathon.” – Herman Verrelst
The partner team has expanded, with Raf Roelands promoted to Partner after working with the firm since Fund I, and Mercedes Tuin joining in late 2025 from Dutch development investor BOM. Founding Partner Herman Verrelst framed the category’s long timelines: “Healthtech is not a sprint — it’s a marathon. We want to support companies throughout that entire journey: from promising technology to tangible impact for businesses and patients alike.”
Alongside the fundraising news, HERAN has already made a first investment from Fund II in Spain-based Pharmacelera, which applies computational approaches to accelerate drug discovery — an early signal of the fund’s continued ambition to scout healthtech value creation well beyond Belgium’s borders.
Header Image: Team HERAN (© Studiovision)
