Apollo Health Ventures

Alexandra Bause co-founded Apollo Health Ventures in 2017 with Nils and Ole and serves as a Venture Partner. She works within Apollo's Venture Lab, identifying company-building opportunities through relationships with research institutes and researchers in the aging field. She previously worked in BCG's healthcare practice on biopharma strategy, market assessment, and asset diligence, holds a PhD from Harvard Medical School focused on molecular mechanisms of cellular aging, and is a trained pharmacist.

Serial entrepreneur and company builder with a focus on health and biotech. He founded several businesses, sold five (including Finanzcheck to Scout Group) and took HomeToGo public via Germany's first SPAC IPO, and co-founded Apollo Health Ventures in 2017, a longevity-focused VC fund and company builder.

Ole Mensching co-founded Apollo Health Ventures in 2017, bringing over a decade of investment and operational experience. He supports portfolio companies with executive hiring, strategic HR, and team building, and occasionally serves as interim CEO. He previously co-founded CareerTeam, a headhunting agency operating in four countries, and joined TruVenturo as a partner in 2011 after completing a PhD at the University of Cologne and UC Berkeley.

Partner with over a decade of experience in life sciences venture building, venture capital, banking, and consulting. He leads TruVenturo's neurotechnology push and is building a fund investment program of 15+ technology and life sciences investments. Formerly a consultant at Deutsche Bank.

Antoine Boulanger joined Apollo Health Ventures as a Partner in 2025. He was previously a Principal at Forbion, where he sourced and managed biotech and therapeutics investments, and he began his career in life sciences equity research and venture capital, including due diligence work at BDC's Healthcare Venture Fund in Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from Laval University, with published research in muscle physiology and neuromuscular disease.

Marianne Mertens is a Partner at Apollo Health Ventures, which she joined in 2021, focusing on the life sciences sector. She has over a decade of experience across venture investing, strategy consulting, and research, having previously worked as a Principal at Wellington Partners and an Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), and earlier as a management consultant for pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biotechnology from RWTH Aachen University and The Scripps Research Institute, and conducted PhD research on molecular imaging of cardiac regenerative medicines.

Steven Leunert has been a Partner and CFO at Apollo Health Ventures since 2018, where he oversees operations and legal affairs for the firm and its portfolio companies and advises on deal structures. He previously worked in the corporate/M&A practice of German law firm Hengeler Mueller, building experience in the biotech and healthcare industry, and is a qualified lawyer in both Germany and New York. He studied law at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, earned a PhD in law there, and completed an LLM at Boston University School of Law as a Fulbright and German National Academic Foundation scholar.

Justus Klocke is an entrepreneur and angel investor who founded startups and completed multiple exits before establishing AI4Good, a non-profit focused on artificial intelligence applications for expanding access. His work centers on digital inclusion, equitable health, and responsible AI deployment.

Anne Marije van Harten joined Apollo Health Ventures as an investment director in 2024. Trained as a molecular cell biologist with a focus on targeted therapies in oncology, she previously worked as an investment analyst at Forbion, where she covered biotech companies developing therapeutics for inflammatory, fibrotic, and oncological diseases. She earned BSc and MSc degrees in biomedical sciences and oncology from VU University Amsterdam, completed a PhD at Amsterdam UMC and VU University, and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University.

Has supported over $1.5bn in biotech/pharma investments and transactions spanning research, development, clinical trial design, and personalized medicine and biomarkers.

Brings over 20 years of pharma R&D experience, having led research and development at companies including Jerini and Oryzon Genomics in epigenetic-based therapeutics.

Jan Adams has a background in venture investing, company building, strategy consulting, and life sciences research. He previously led commercial activities at the Merck KGaA Innovation Center and served as a Managing Director at EMBL Ventures, a seed and early-stage firm affiliated with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. He is a trained biochemist with an MSc from Tübingen University, a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Cambridge, and a dual MBA from ESSEC and Mannheim University.

Dr. Jeanne Bolger is a medical doctor with 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience and over 20 years in licensing, M&A, business development, and venture capital investment. She currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at Quibim and has held board positions at more than a dozen venture-backed life sciences companies, including roles chairing boards and audit and remuneration committees. Her investment and advisory experience spans oncology, neurology, immunology, gene therapy, digital health, and other therapeutic areas, with involvement in Series Seed through Series C financings and portfolio exits.

Dr. Jens Eckstein is a board member at Vandria SA with over 20 years of venture capital experience focused on early-stage biopharmaceutical companies and technology transfer. He has founded or co-founded multiple life science and healthcare IT companies, bringing 10 years of operational and research management experience in drug discovery and biotechnology. Eckstein is a Kauffman Fellow who mentors life science entrepreneurs and created the OneStart business plan competition.

Recruits talent for Apollo and its portfolio companies; holds degrees in biotechnology and biomedical sciences.

Rob Scott served as Chief Medical Officer at AbbVie and currently holds the position of Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D at ABIONYX Pharma, where the company is developing a sepsis therapy. He brings nearly four decades of executive leadership experience across drug discovery, development, strategic lifecycle planning, and medical affairs at major pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and maintains board and advisory positions at multiple biotech, venture capital, and private equity firms.

Pascale Eede is an Associate at Apollo Health Ventures, where she supports internal venture creation and external investment opportunities using her background in early-stage drug discovery. A molecular biologist focused on neurodegeneration, she earned a PhD on neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease at the Charité Berlin and previously worked in the translational neuroscience department at the CRO Evotec. She holds a BSc from the University of Liverpool and an MSc from King's College London.