Startups
KU Leuven
Oude Markt13,3000Leuven,Belgium · LRD: Waaistraat6,3000Leuven,Belgium · CD3: GastonGeenslaan2,3001Leuven,Belgium
KU Leuven is the Belgian nonprofit research university and institutional investor legally named Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, enterprise0419.052.173 and LEI5299001MN2MYAHLGXD65. Its legal office confirms a private-law sui-generis legal personality, registered seat OudeMarkt13,Leuven, and statutory higher-education,research and public-service missions. The institution has a historical Leuven-university tradition commemorated by its600thanniversary in2025; the current legal personality dates from publication of its constituting deed in1970. Foundingyear is therefore left unspecified instead of conflating historic academic foundation and current legal entity. KU Leuven Research&Development(LRD) is its internal technology-transfer unit, not a separate inferred investment firm. It supports research contracts, patents/licensing, spin-off creation and investment. Current public governance is the2025–2029 policy team led by rector SeverineVermeire; stale LucSels biographies do not establish current rectorship. Managing director WimDesmet is distinct from LRD executive director KoenraadDebackere; PaulVanDun leads LRD central management and RudiCuyvers heads Spin-off&Innovation. Institutional AI research includes Leuven.AI, while the LeuvenBrainInstitute coordinates neuroscience. The Centre for Drug Design and Discovery(CD3), formed by LRD and the EuropeanInvestmentFund in2006, combines drug-discovery facilities, scientific expertise and investment in academic projects, spin-offs and biotechnology businesses, including neuroscience. CD3 privacy directs data-controller matters to KU Leuven and Biohaven SEC filings identify KatholiekeUniversiteitLeuven as the counterparty for CD3-developed drug-discovery licences. These support one institution-level profile with explicitly scoped CD3/LRD roles; no separate incorporated CD3 manager or transaction subscriber legal vehicle is asserted without registry proof. CD3 Labs/CISTIM operating-laboratory identities are not automatically merged into the university. CD3 public named leadership includes three management members, five investment-committee members and three external scientific advisers. Such committee/adviser affiliations are distinct from university employment and this scoped directory is not the full university or lab workforce. Primary historical capital comprises EUR8M initialCD3 capital in2006, EUR16M incremental capital in2010 (EUR24M aggregate), EUR60M third fund closed in2016, and EUR70.5M fourth fund closure announced October19,2023. EUR154.5M is their cumulative capital, not another raise; a university page updated December2024 describes the same fourth-fund close. LRD,EIF and GemmaFrisiusFund provided capital for CD3IV; individual commitment allocations and exact paid draws are unpublished. These managed/platform-capital facts are described here rather than misclassified as equity fundraising by the nonprofit university. StructuredInvestmentFund records require an InvestmentFirm owner; the university retains its correct institutional Company type and no false investment-firm duplicate is created merely to bypass that constraint. GemmaFrisiusFund is a separately incorporated university/bank seed-capital joint venture and its checks are not duplicated under KU Leuven. The exact institution is independently named alongside GFF in reMYND financing; EndLyz publicly names KU Leuven/CD3 backing without a disclosed ticket or financing-event allocation. Licensing partnerships and clinical collaborations are not assumed to be cash equity subscriptions.
Team
 Anna-Karin TidénCD3 Scientific Advisory Board Member (external adviser affiliation) |
 Arnaud MarchandCD3 Executive Director Medicinal Chemistry |
 Diana TorgersenCD3 Investment Committee Member (external committee affiliation) |
 Dirk HermansVice Rector of the Humanities and Social Sciences Group |
 Evelyne TerrynVice Rector of KU Leuven Kulak |
Giada PellegrinCD3 Investment Committee Member (external committee affiliation) |
 Isabelle HuysVice Rector of Research Policy |
 Jörg HüserCD3 Scientific Advisory Board Member (external adviser affiliation) |
 Keith BlundyCD3 Investment Committee Member (external committee affiliation) |
 Koenraad DebackereLRD Executive Director |
 Margriet Van BaelVice Rector of Education Policy |
 Martin PageCD3 Scientific Advisory Board Member (external adviser affiliation) |
 Patrick CallaertsVice Rector of the Biomedical Sciences Group |
 Patrick ChaltinCD3 Managing Director (university drug-discovery and investment platform) |
 Paul Van DunLRD General Manager; CD3 Investment Committee Member |
 Robert JamesCD3 Investment Committee Member (external committee affiliation) |
 Rudi CuyversLRD Head of Spin-off and Innovation |
 Severine VermeireRector of KU Leuven |
 Stefaan AllemeerschCD3 Executive Director Business Development |
 Stefaan VaesVice Rector of the Science, Engineering and Technology Group |
 Tom Van PuyenbroeckVice Rector of Student Affairs and Diversity Policy |
 Wim DesmetManaging Director of KU Leuven |
