Investment Team

Patrick Krol, Portfolio Manager

Patrick has been an investor in public biotech companies for over 30 years. He started as Managing & General Partner at Aescap Venture in 2005. When research showed that investing in listed biotech companies results in better returns on than investing in private companies, in 2013 he decided to make the move to listed with Aescap. After a two-year run-in period (2014-2015), during which he achieved 130% returns, he launched the Aescap Life Sciences fund in 2016. Followed in 2022 by a second biotech investment fund, Aescap Genetics.

Patrick acted as a board director of 10 biotech and medical diagnostics companies and today is on the board of Sairopa B.V. From 1995 to 2004 Patrick was Managing Director of Firm United Healthcare B.V., a consultancy company that provided market research, strategy and communication advice to the biotech/life sciences industry. During the 9 years Patrick led the company, it became a market leader on the European continent and advised over 35 public pharma and biotech companies on how to successfully market products and grow sales. He currently applies his expertise to successfully select and guide Aescap’s investments.

Patrick studied physiotherapy, followed by business administration. Later in his career he completed an executive MBA from LMS.

Michaël Mellink, Board Advisor

Michaël joined Aescap as Investment Partner in 2021. He worked in senior commercial and management positions at big pharma Eli Lilly before he became the General Manager for the Benelux operations at Cephalon, a U.S. biopharmaceutical company. In this position he also had responsibilities in the European business development team.

He was a Senior Partner of the global life sciences practice at one of the global leading executive search firms in the biotech sector, Odgers Berndtson. He advised clients on board- and senior-level appointments for pharma, biotech, medtech and service companies and worked across international markets and a broad range of companies in the industry. Michaël holds a Bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy and has studied orthopaedic medicine.

Paolo del Bufalo, Investment Manager

Paolo obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at La Sapienza University of Rome after which he completed two Master tracks at Leiden University, one in Chemical Biology Research and one in Science Based Business. Throughout his academic research career he focused on supramolecular chemistry and photochemistry for applications in medicinal chemistry. During his business studies, he learned to combine his scientific background with business aspects, with a focus on value investing. Paolo joined Aescap as an Analyst in 2018.

Pien Kiliaan, Analyst

Pien studied College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Utrecht University. During her studies, she performed academic research on allergies and followed a minor in entrepreneurship. Following her Bachelor, she completed her Master with a double major in Business and Research of her master Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University. As part of the Research program she conducted research at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, where she focused on aging in atherosclerosis. Additionally, she investigated a new drug entity in Alzheimer’s Disease at the Harvard Medical School affiliated Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases in Boston. She combines her immunology knowledge with research on business topics within the biotech industry.

Alba Montoro, Analyst

Alba received a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. As part of the program, she specialized in Biomedical Sciences and participated in a research project at the Severo Ochoa Centre for Molecular Biology. She analysed the link between the development of Alzheimer’ disease and type II diabetes mellitus. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alba joined Biogen Center to assist in the implementation of a molecular diagnostic protocol for the disease. Afterwards, Alba got het Master’s degree in Science and Business Management from Utrecht University. She completed a research internship at the UMCU exploring the development of a Car-NK cell therapy for children with brain tumor and conducted research for her thesis on price and reimbursement of medicines in Europe. Alba joined Aescap as an investment analyst in 2024.

Rafi Dinani, Analyst

Rafi completed her Masters in Translational Medicine at the University of Barcelona. She went on to complete a PhD in cardiovascular science. During her PhD, she developed a platform to analyze the function of heart muscle cells derived from human stem cells. This platform is used to investigate the effects of genetic mutations on cell functionality and to assess the potential impact of medicines for cardiomyopathy patients. Her research has resulted in several publications. Rafi has also trained in private equity and venture capital investing and financial modelling. At Aescap, Rafi combines her scientific knowledge, passion for medicine development, and financial expertise.

Suzette Pinto, Analyst

Suzette holds a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Mumbai University (India). As part of her Master of Science in Biology and Business Studies at Leiden University she interned at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), where she contributed to a project investigating the role of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors in macrophage migration in zebrafish. In addition to this, she has worked for two years for the insurance approval teams at two clinics in Kuwait. 

José Geurten, Head of Investor Relations

José Geurten joined as Head of Investor Relations in April 2023. She has substantial experience in the Asset Management industry and has been working in investor relations for a long time. José worked for 4,5 years at Fidelity International and 3,5 at BMO Global Asset Management (now Columbia Threadneedle Investments). Before that, she worked in the financial industry at Rabobank and InsingerGilissen. She also has a wealth of experience in consulting, tourism, and IT

Bo Jesper Hansen, Portfolio Advisor

Bo Jesper, M.D., Ph.D. was the Executive Chairman of the Board of SOBI AB (Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB) until 2016 and was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Board in 2022. SOBI is a biotech company listed on the Swedish stock exchange and had a market capitalization of around € 6 billion as the end of 2022. He is Chairman of Karolinska Development AB and also Chairman of the biotech company Orphazyme ApS. Bo Jesper served as CEO and President to the Board of Swedish Orphan International (1998-2010) until the merger with Biovitrum, forming Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. He then became the company’s executive chairman. He also was non-executive Director of Gambro until its acquisition by Baxter, as well as of Zymenex, until its acquisition by Chiesi. Bo Jesper was the Executive Chairman of Ablynx until its acquisition by Sanofi, as well as of Topotarget and in this role led the merger with BioAlliance forming OnXeo. He founded Scandinavian Medical Research during which he served as Medical Advisor for the multinationals Synthélabo, Pfizer, Pharmacia and Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical. He has also been a board member with the companies TopoTarget A/S, CMC AB, MipSalus Aps, Kontrast AB, Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A, Novagali Pharma S.A. and Vivolution A/S.

Bo Jesper has an extensive knowledge within clinical study design, regulatory, pharmacovigilance, and business development. He has an M.D. in Urology and a PhD from the University of Copenhagen. Patrick and Bo Jesper first met in 2012 as members of the supervisory board of biotech company Orphazyme S.p.A.

Gert Hoogland, Portfolio Advisor

Gert, M.D., MBA (INSEAD) is a pharmaceutical executive with deep operational experience. He began his career in 1982 as Medical Advisor to Organon NV in Oss, The Netherlands, followed by CEO positions for Schering AG in New Zealand and South Africa. He then founded Pharmaplan Pty Ltd in Johannesburg, which became the leading specialty pharma distributor in Africa representing biotech companies like Biogen, Bracco, Recordati, Ipsen, Genzyme and Shire. After the sale of this company to the Canadian Specialty Pharma company Paladin Inc. Gert relocated to Zurich to start HealthCrest AG, a healthcare investment and consulting company. He has initiated investments in many private and public healthcare companies, geographically encompassing Europe, India, China, the US and Africa and is Board Member of many of these portfolio companies. Patrick and Gert first met in 2013 as investors in i-Optics BV.