Paula Olazábal joined Ysios Capital in 2008 when the firm was founded, bringing a background in M&A and investment banking rather than science, and has since grown into the firm's Head of ESG, helping Ysios become a founding member of a life sciences VC consortium building a standardized ESG questionnaire for biotech companies. She also led the firm to become the first life science VC in the world—and first VC in Spain—to earn Diversity VC Standard Level 1 in 2021, serving first as D&I Officer and later joining the board of Level20's Spanish chapter to support women in investing.
About their Fund
Ysios Capital is Spain's largest life sciences venture capital firm, with ties to Spain's science leadership through cofounder Cristina Garmendia, who left the firm to serve as Spain's Minister of Science and Innovation before returning as a partner, and it has moved beyond typical venture investing into company creation through its InceptionBio vehicle, which builds biotech companies from early tech-transfer projects with a strong focus on Spain. The firm focuses on hard science areas like gene therapy, oncology, orphan CNS disease, calcification disorders, and regenerative cardiovascular implants, has backed deals such as Sanifit's acquisition by Vifor Pharma and U.S.-based Kala Pharmaceuticals, and produced three NASDAQ IPOs in 2021 alongside its oversubscribed €216M third fund.
















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