René Kuijten is a partner at EQT Life Sciences (EQT LS), one of Europe's largest investors in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. EQT LS manages over 3.5 billion euros in assets and invests in companies focused on developing new medicines for both common and rare diseases. Kuijten holds overall responsibility for the firm's general strategy and fundraising.
Kuijten studied medicine at Utrecht University and completed an internship with pediatric oncologist Tom Voute at the Emma Children's Hospital. For his doctoral research, he focused on pediatric brain tumors, a project he partially conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. There, he researched the origins of childhood brain tumors, which resulted in publications in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and Cancer Research. After his studies, René Kuijten chose a different path, joining McKinsey & Company and earning an MBA at INSEAD.
At McKinsey, Kuijten focused on the healthcare sector and worked on various strategic projects, including the merger of the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital and the AZU, as well as projects for Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross. He was also involved in the integration of Sandoz and Ciba into Novartis in Basel. After eight years, he decided to shift his focus to venture capital.
Through a former colleague, René Kuijten came into contact with Martijn Kleijwegt of LSP (Life Sciences Partners), a venture capital firm that invests in biotech startups. He joined LSP in 2001 and Kuijten played a key role in the company's growth into a leading player in biotech investments. In 2020, Kuijten helped launch the world's first dementia fund, which raised €273 million in a short period. This fund finances ten to fifteen innovative projects focused on neurodegeneration, early diagnostics, and dementia treatment. According to Kuijten, dementia requires a personalized approach similar to cancer, where subtypes must be identified and treated individually. In 2022, LSP merged with EQT to become EQT Life Sciences. This enabled the firm to raise larger funds and make broader investments. EQT LS now manages over 3.5 billion euros across twelve funds and has offices in Amsterdam, Munich, and Boston.
In addition to his work for EQT LS, René Kuijten is committed to various initiatives in the life sciences. He was a co-founder of the Oncode Institute, which aims to bridge the gap between academic research and biotech startups, with a focus on oncology. This institute, which receives 75 million euros annually from research institutions, the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF), and the government, was opened by Queen Máxima in 2018. In 2022, the Oncode Accelerator was launched, a public-private initiative with 325 million euros in funding from the National Growth Fund, aimed at accelerating the development of new cancer therapies. Furthermore, René Kuijten is involved in the Advisory Board of Health~Holland and the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, and he is a fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering.