German chemical and pharmaceutical producer Merck has increased its venture capital funding under its renamed Merck Ventures umbrella. At the same time, the total investment capital of the fund has been doubled to €300 million against the €150 million the previous biopharma venture fund, created in 2009, had at its disposal.

Like the biopharma fund before it, the new Merck Venture fund will be managed by a global team headed by Roel Bulthuis. Going forward, four dedicated investment teams will focus on projects in the three Merck business segments of Healthcare, Life Science and Performance Materials, in addition to the fourth focus of new businesses.

The investments of Merck Ventures will be aligned with the strategic interests of the company, though formally separated by a “Chinese wall,” which will serve to prevent conflicts of interest, said Bulthuis.

Merck said its investment teams “come with significant domain expertise and will provide a tailored investment approach across industries. Each team will have the capacity to engage in seed-stage company creation and early-stage syndicated investments, along with spin-off creation and funding.

New CEO, Stefan Oschmann, said the fund will be open to investing in new businesses, “as we scout continuously for innovative ideas, for example in the area of digitalization.”