M Ventures
Eduard van Beinumstraat 26, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, 1077 CZ, The Netherlands
Overview
Merck Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck. Its mandate is to invest in innovative technologies and products with the potential to significantly impact Merck‘s core business areas. From its headquarters in Amsterdam and offices in the US and Israel we invest globally in transformational ideas driven by great entrepreneurs. Merck Ventures takes an active role in its portfolio companies and teams up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation towards commercial success. Merck Ventures has a significant focus on early-stage investing and company creation including the creation of spin-offs to leverage Merck‘s science and technology base.
- Total investments
- 129
- Lead investments
- 43
- Investments · 12mo
- 13
- Active investors
- 14
Sector focus
- Biotechnology
- Life Science
- Pharmaceutical
- Semiconductor
- Venture Capital
Investment portfolio
- Remepy
Led · Series A · Aug 2026
Remepy develops Hybrid Drugs that integrate prescription medicines with personalized, AI-driven therapeutic apps to combine pharmacology with adaptive physical, cognitive, and behavioral interventions. The company partners with pharmaceutical firms to co-develop these drug–software combination products and recently announced a strategic collaboration with Merck KGaA. Remepy’s lead program, Hybridopa for Parkinson’s disease, produced encouraging Phase IIa results supported by peer‑reviewed publications and is being prepared for a global Phase III trial expected to begin in Q4 2026. The Series A financing and existing investor base have brought total capital raised to $62 million, providing funds to expand the company’s pipeline, platform, and pharmaceutical partnerships. Remepy positions its approach within emerging FDA frameworks for drug‑software combination products and aims to create new IP and lifecycle-management opportunities for partner drugs.
- Cyllene Therapeutics
Led · Series C · Jul 2026
Cyllene Therapeutics (formerly EG 427) develops targeted neurotherapeutics using its proprietary HERMES non-replicating HSV-1 vector platform. Its lead candidate, EG110A, is a DNA medicine being developed for multiple severe bladder diseases, including neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) related to spinal cord injury. Ongoing studies have shown substantial and sustained reductions in urinary incontinence episodes for at least nine months post-treatment in patients with spinal cord injury–related NDO. The company plans a Phase 2b/3 study of EG110A in 2027 and intends to expand into overactive bladder and other neurological indications such as pain and migraine. Cyllene recently completed a €33 million Series C financing to fund these clinical and platform-expansion efforts. The company highlights its position as a leader in non-replicating HSV-1 vector technology in neurology.
- Future Fertility
Participated · Series A · Apr 2026
Future Fertility applies AI to fertility care, producing objective egg quality reports and building additional tools for the IVF journey. The company reported that more than 20,000 patients received a Future Fertility report last year. Leadership says the product gives patients objective insights to inform decisions with clinicians. The Series A raise of $4 million is intended to expand the company's reach to more countries and clinics and to fund development of more offerings across the IVF pathway. Founder Christy Prada is publicly associated with the company and framed the financing as validation for the work of the team and partners.
- Storm Therapeutics
Participated · Series C · Apr 2026
STORM Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech headquartered in Cambridge, UK, led by CEO Jerry McMahon. Its lead candidate, STC-15, is an oral small-molecule inhibitor of METTL3 and is described as the first RNA‑modifying enzyme inhibitor to enter human clinical trials. STC-15 is currently being assessed as a monotherapy in a Phase 2 study for selected sarcoma indications, and the company has reported dosing the first patient in that study. In April 2026 STORM raised $56M in a Series C to support advancement of STC-15 and to enhance the Phase 2 program. The company’s core focus is developing therapies that target RNA modifications to reprogram malignant cells.
- Lightcast Discovery
Participated · Equity · Apr 2026
Lightcast develops the Envisia platform, a benchtop system that captures functional single-cell data using proprietary light-controlled picoliter droplet manipulation to interrogate tens of thousands of droplets with speed and precision. The platform enables sequential single-cell functional screening and is being applied to antibody discovery, cell-cell interaction studies, immunology, oncology, cell therapy, and cell line development. Lightcast has run an early access program with leading pharmaceutical and academic institutions to validate performance and optimize workflows. The company plans a full commercial release of Envisia in 2026, and the recent financing is intended to support assay portfolio expansion, manufacturing and software readiness, and broader commercial rollout. Lightcast was founded in 2019 and is based in Cambridge, UK.