Werner Lanthaler applies calculated precision to biotech investment. The former Evotec chief, who transformed a 200-person operation into a 5,000-employee enterprise with £800 million in annual revenue, now leverages his industry expertise at Wlanholding to identify the next generation of breakthrough companies.
Unlike traditional investors pursuing quick returns in an industry where development cycles span decades, Lanthaler employs a methodical framework that addresses biotech’s inherent uncertainty by focusing on fundamentals that indicate long-term potential.
According to Wlanholding, the company concentrates on “high-tech, life science, and sustainability” sectors, which Lanthaler considers “the most important and exciting topics of our time.” This focus reflects his professional background and strategic vision for identifying transformative technologies.
The Investment Calculus
What distinguishes Werner Lanthaler from conventional biotech investors is his structured analysis of potential investments. At Wlanholding, he targets early-stage companies – from seed rounds through Series B – providing capital alongside strategic guidance to help translate scientific innovation into market impact.
“It still takes 14 years to bring a drug from discovery to the market, and the average failure rate at phase one entry is still well over 50 percent,” Lanthaler noted at a recent healthspan conference in Riyadh. This sobering reality shapes his rigorous approach to investment selection.
For life science investments, his evaluation extends beyond standard financial metrics. Drawing from his operational experience, Lanthaler examines scientific foundations, technological differentiation, addressable market size, and competitive positioning within the therapeutic landscape.
Proxygen exemplifies this approach in practice. The company, where Lanthaler serves as Chairman, has developed a molecular glue degraders platform with applications across multiple disease areas. Rather than focusing on a single compound, the technology enables new therapeutic approaches for targets previously considered “undruggable.”
Similarly, Solgate’s focus on the solute carrier protein family—comprising approximately 450 proteins crucial for cellular transport—represents Lanthaler’s interest in platform technologies that can generate multiple therapeutic candidates from a core technological foundation.
Preferring platform technologies to single-asset companies reflects a sophisticated risk management strategy. Platform companies can pursue multiple therapeutic pathways simultaneously, so success does not depend on a single compound surviving the notoriously challenging drug development process. For experienced investors like Lanthaler, this diversification provides more sustainable growth potential than traditional drug development approaches.
From Experience to Investment Strategy
Having led Evotech’s technological innovation initiatives, including drug discovery with induced pluripotent stem cells and omics-driven research, Lanthaler brings a scientific approach to investment decisions. His approach involves comprehensive due diligence, balancing scientific potential with commercial viability.
Lanthaler has recently expanded this approach to data-centric investment, joining Elucidata’s leadership as an Independent Board Member in February 2025. “Elucidata is on a strong growth trajectory, enabling biopharma R&D organizations to fully realize the potential of AI,” Lanthaler stated regarding the appointment. This move reflects his recognition of data quality as a critical factor in life science innovation.
The focus on data integrity stems from Lanthaler’s assessment of industry challenges: “The valley of death starts when you know that 67 percent of the data that is published out there cannot effectively be reproduced for drug discovery and drug development purposes,” he observed at a recent industry conference. “You have to eradicate that mistake at the beginning, because otherwise, everything that happens 14 years down the line will lead to failure.”
This methodology enables Wlanholding to navigate the inherent risks of the biotech industry. Instead of relying solely on management presentations or market projections, Lanthaler carries out comprehensive assessments of technology readiness before investing.
Wlanholding’s investment philosophy emphasizes long-term value creation over short-term returns. This patient capital approach supports companies through the inevitable challenges of technological development and market entry, particularly important in life sciences where development timelines typically extend over many years.
Building European Innovators with Global Potential
Werner Lanthaler’s background includes successfully positioning European companies on the global stage. During his time at Evotec, he led the company’s NASDAQ listing in 2021 and established partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Cerabyte illustrates this approach in practice. The company’s sustainable data storage solutions based on ceramic nanostructures address the environmental impact of growing data storage requirements. By providing strategic support beyond funding, Lanthaler helps companies like Cerabyte scale their innovations internationally.
This global perspective shapes Wlanholding’s portfolio construction, which balances therapeutic innovations with technologies supporting healthcare infrastructure. The approach recognizes that addressing major healthcare challenges requires not only new treatments but also sustainable systems for delivering them.
The European focus also reflects strategic opportunity. While American biotech continues to attract substantial capital, Europe’s scientific ecosystem offers world-class research that often lacks corresponding commercialization. By addressing this gap, Wlanholding creates value while supporting European innovation.
Lanthaler’s experience navigating both European and American business environments proves particularly valuable for companies with global ambitions. Before leading Evotec, he served as CFO at Intercell AG (now Valneva), where he played a crucial role in the company’s IPO and the global launch of a Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine. This track record with multiple successful companies gives him credibility when advising portfolio companies on international expansion strategies.
Diversification as Risk Management
Lanthaler emphasizes portfolio diversity as essential to managing high-risk investments. “No one is omniscient enough to foresee every outcome. If you can’t fund a broad enough portfolio to hedge against some failures, it becomes incredibly stressful. Failures will happen,” he noted in a recent interview.
This perspective informs not only his approach to building Wlanholding’s portfolio but also his recommendations for capital allocation. “Those seemingly small initial investments of €250,000 or $250,000 can turn into a €2 to 3 million commitment if you follow on through Series B,” Lanthaler observed, highlighting the importance of maintaining sufficient capital reserves to support promising ventures through multiple financing rounds.
His recent investments reflect this diversification strategy. In May 2025, Wlanholding led a USD 3 million seed financing round in aTENSION.life, a high-tech life science startup developing precision diagnostics for hypertension. As part of this investment, Lanthaler was appointed Chairman of the company’s Supervisory Board, where he will guide the newly announced management team.
This follows his March 2025 appointment as Chair of the newly established Supervisory Board at FairJourney Biologics, a global leader in antibody discovery and development. These governance roles complement his existing board positions at companies including Proxygen, AC Immune, and Cerabyte, creating a diverse portfolio that spans multiple therapeutic approaches and technologies.
The Founder-Investor Partnership
Werner Lanthaler takes an active role with portfolio companies beyond providing capital. His collaboration extends to board participation, including his recent appointments at aTENSION.life and FairJourney Biologics. This involvement allows him to provide strategic guidance on business development, regulatory strategy, and organizational scaling.
“I only invest in companies that have scientifically ‘first-in-class’ or ‘best-in-class’ insights or a management team whose track record and personality I trust,” Lanthaler explained in a recent interview. “I need privileged access to scientific or team insights that let me lead an investment rather than just following others.”
Lanthaler’s global network, developed during his career at Evotec, Intercell AG, and earlier at McKinsey & Company, represents a significant advantage for portfolio companies. Access to pharmaceutical industry leaders, academic researchers, and regulatory experts helps accelerate development timelines and enhance competitive positioning.
For Werner Lanthaler, investment success depends on selecting both promising technologies and exceptional teams. His approach favors management groups that combine scientific excellence with business acumen—capable of navigating the complex path from laboratory discovery to market impact.
A Multi-Sector Approach
While life sciences form a core focus area, Lanthaler’s investment approach extends to sustainability and high-tech. Portfolio companies like Planet Pure and Cyment demonstrate this broader perspective, addressing environmental challenges through innovative technologies.
Planet Pure develops truly organic cleaning products that achieve 100% natural ingredients and 100% biodegradability while using 100% recycled plastic for packaging. This commitment to comprehensive sustainability illustrates Lanthaler’s interest in companies pursuing environmental responsibility throughout their operations rather than focusing on isolated improvements.
Similarly, Cyment addresses environmental impact in the construction industry by developing sustainable building materials with significantly lower carbon footprints than conventional alternatives. The company’s approach combines environmental benefits with economic advantages, creating concrete mixture additives that save valuable raw materials while reducing harmful carbon emissions throughout the product lifecycle.
This cross-sector approach reflects Lanthaler’s belief that innovations addressing global challenges offer significant market opportunities and provide substantial societal benefits. By investing across complementary sectors, Wlanholding builds a diverse portfolio with growth potential while maintaining thematic coherence.
Through his distinctive selection methodology, Werner Lanthaler is helping to shape Europe’s innovation landscape. He focuses on technologies with potential to deliver both financial returns and meaningful contributions to global challenges. While other investors might chase trends or quick exits, Lanthaler’s experience-driven approach at Wlanholding builds companies designed for sustainable growth in industries where patience and precision determine long-term success.
