Therapeutics

Ascenta Capital is a New York-based venture capital firm founded in 2023 by Evan Rachlin, MD, and Lorence Kim, MD, two former Moderna executives who played pivotal roles in the company's transformation from a startup to a global vaccine leader. Rachlin served as Moderna's CFO from 2014 to 2020, raising $4 billion in capital and overseeing a 24-candidate development pipeline, while Kim was Head of Strategy at Moderna and later a Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures. The firm closed its inaugural vehicle, Ascenta Capital Fund I, L.P., at $325 million in October 2025, making it one of the largest debut biotech VC funds raised by a newly formed manager. The fund is domiciled in Delaware and backed by a diverse institutional investor base spanning family offices, multi-family offices, endowments, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals. Ascenta Capital Fund I pursues a focused thesis centered on development-stage, multi-medicine biotechnology companies conducting Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials. The fund deploys $15–30 million per investment, leading or co-leading syndicates into platform biotech companies with multiple drug candidates simultaneously in clinical development. The firm is deliberately therapeutic-area agnostic, prioritizing companies with asymmetric upside through multi-asset platforms rather than single-program startups. Beyond capital, Ascenta provides strategic guidance, drug development expertise, and connections derived from its team's cumulative experience across globally successful biopharmaceutical companies — including Merck, Vertex, and Flagship Pioneering — and top-tier financial institutions. As of the fund's final close, Ascenta Capital had deployed over $100 million across six portfolio companies: ADARx Pharmaceuticals (RNA therapeutics), Iambic Therapeutics (AI-driven oncology), Odyssey Therapeutics (oncology and immunology), Cardurion Pharma (cardiovascular disease), OrsoBio (metabolic diseases), and Alpha9 Oncology. These companies are collectively active in 14 clinical trials and advancing more than 40 pipeline programs. The firm's 14-person team — comprising eight investment professionals and three executive advisors — has collectively contributed to more than 30 FDA-approved medicines, providing the fund with deep operational credibility across drug development, regulatory strategy, and commercial execution.

Atlas Venture Fund XIV is a US$450 million early-stage venture capital fund launched by Atlas Venture, one of the leading life sciences VC firms based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The fund completed its final close in December 2024 after an oversubscribed fundraising process that general partner Bruce Booth described as 'the smoothest, most efficient, and most oversubscribed fundraise' in the firm's 20-year history of biotech investing — noting the fund could have been raised at several multiples of its target. Fund XIV is led by general partners Kevin Bitterman, Bruce Booth, Michael Gladstone, David Grayzel, and Jason Rhodes, and was backed by a 'marquee group of long-term institutional investors.' The fund maintains an identical size to its predecessor, Fund XIII (US$450 million, closed February 2022), a deliberate choice rooted in the firm's capital discipline philosophy. Atlas Venture employs a distinctive 'seed-led venture creation model,' where the firm actively co-creates most portfolio companies rather than accepting unsolicited pitches. The partnership builds biotech companies based on scientific discoveries and technologies, typically securing 50-70% initial ownership stakes before dilution through subsequent financing rounds. Fund XIV targets seed and Series A investments in early-stage biotech companies across disease areas, treatment modalities, and business models, with a typical portfolio construction of 20-25 deals per vintage. The fund's capital-constrained approach reflects what Booth has termed the 'VC Math Problem' — larger funds face mathematical constraints in delivering targeted 3x+ net returns given realistic exit value distributions and ownership percentages at later stages. Atlas Venture manages approximately US$3 billion in total assets across all funds and has operated from a single Cambridge, Massachusetts office since its founding. Fund XIII demonstrated strong early performance with portfolio exits including the acquisition of the Nimbus Tyk2 program, Versanis Bio, Aiolos Bio, and Mariana Oncology, while also launching 16 new biotech businesses since 2022. The broader Atlas portfolio currently includes approximately 50 active clinical trials, reflecting deep scientific engagement across portfolio companies. Fund XIV's close came immediately before Atlas's September 2025 announcement of Opportunity Fund III (US$400 million), the two funds together constituting Atlas's dual-fund model for early-stage creation and later-stage follow-on capital.

Atlas Venture Opportunity Fund III is a US$400 million dedicated follow-on vehicle that complements Atlas Venture's flagship early-stage Fund XIV, completing its oversubscribed final close in September 2025. The fund was established to provide continuous capital support to existing Atlas portfolio companies as they advance through financing rounds beyond the seed and Series A stages where the flagship fund first invests, enabling Atlas to maintain meaningful ownership through key clinical milestones and regulatory events. General partners Kevin Bitterman, Bruce Booth, Michael Gladstone, and Jason Rhodes lead the fund, with Jean-François Formela and David Grayzel continuing as longtime partners. The fundraise came on the heels of Atlas's US$450 million Fund XIV (closed December 2024), reflecting the firm's structured dual-fund model for deploying early-stage creation capital alongside dedicated growth follow-on capacity. Unlike the flagship fund, Opportunity Fund III is not designed to make new investments outside the existing Atlas portfolio. Instead, it targets select later-stage private and public financings of existing portfolio companies — a hybrid strategy spanning late-stage private rounds (Series B, C, D) through public market follow-on investments in portfolio companies that have completed IPOs. This integrated approach enables Atlas to maintain concentrated ownership in its highest-conviction companies during their most capital-intensive phases of clinical development, regulatory review, and early commercialization. The fund also underscores Atlas's stated commitment to hands-on involvement beyond capital, providing strategic guidance and operational support alongside each financing. Known LPs in earlier Atlas funds include institutional investors such as New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Rutgers University. The Opportunity Fund series builds on Atlas Venture's more than 30-year track record in biotech venture capital, translating scientific discoveries into breakthrough therapies. Its predecessor vehicles (Opportunity Fund I and II) were deployed alongside earlier flagship funds to maintain concentrated positions in the firm's most promising portfolio companies through critical development phases. The broader Atlas portfolio managed approximately 50 active clinical trials as of late 2024, providing Opportunity Fund III with a well-populated pipeline of follow-on investment candidates across therapeutic areas and development stages. The fund's September 2025 close — nine months after Fund XIV — follows the firm's established pattern of raising opportunity vehicles in tight sequence with flagship closes to ensure continuous capital availability across the dual-fund model.

Deerfield Healthcare Innovations Fund III is the third installment in Deerfield Management's series of venture capital funds dedicated to advancing healthcare. Launched in May 2025, the fund has secured over $600 million in commitments, aiming to invest in promising therapeutics, improvements to healthcare delivery, and paradigm-shifting technologies, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. The fund's strategy leverages Deerfield's collaborations with 29 leading research institutions and nine industry partners. Through its in-house ecosystem, including specialized teams like Deerfield Discovery and Development (3DC) and Deerfield Intelligence, the firm identifies and advances innovative products, services, and technologies. These efforts are often in partnership with Deerfield-founded entities such as Deerfield Catalyst and Genscience. Operating from its twelve-story healthcare innovation campus, Cure, in New York City, Deerfield provides state-of-the-art research laboratories and convening spaces to support health innovators. Consistent with its long-standing practice, a portion of the profits from Healthcare Innovations Fund III not allocated to the fund's limited partners will be donated to the Deerfield Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving the health of children worldwide.

Forbion Growth Fund III is a late-stage life sciences growth fund managed by Forbion, a specialist European venture capital firm headquartered in Naarden, the Netherlands, with offices in Munich, Germany and Boston, United States. The fund targets later-stage biopharmaceutical companies developing novel therapies in areas of high medical need, focusing on European and North American clinical-stage assets with significant near-term catalysts. The fund is part of Forbion's Growth strategy, which provides private growth capital to clinical-stage biopharma companies, crossover financing to companies preparing for public listings, and opportunistic capital to undervalued public biopharmaceutical companies. Forbion typically leads investment rounds and secures board representation to support portfolio companies through key clinical and regulatory milestones. Therapeutic areas of focus include oncology, rare diseases, immunology, and cardiovascular and metabolic conditions. Forbion has built a substantial track record in European life sciences growth equity, with total assets under management exceeding €5 billion following the close of its latest fund vehicles. The Growth franchise, of which this fund is a part, has backed European biopharma companies including Gyroscope Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis), and has attracted institutional investors spanning Dutch pension advisors, global asset managers, pharma strategic investors, and international fund-of-funds. Forbion's in-house scientific expertise and deep European academic network underpin its ability to identify and support best-in-class clinical-stage therapeutic assets.

Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II is a €600 million life sciences growth fund managed by Forbion, the Netherlands-based specialist venture capital firm headquartered in Naarden with offices in Munich and Boston. The fund reached its hard cap and completed its final close in April 2023 as part of a simultaneous €1.35 billion raise alongside Forbion Ventures Fund VI. New institutional investors joining the fund included Amundi and Legal & General Capital, complementing existing backers Dutch pension funds PME and PMT, Pantheon Ventures, and Eli Lilly and Company. The fund focuses on later-stage European biopharmaceutical companies developing novel therapies in areas of significant unmet medical need, with selective exposure to North American crossover opportunities. Forbion leads investments of up to €70 million per company, taking board seats and providing active support through clinical milestones and liquidity events. Primary investment areas span oncology, rare diseases, immunology, and other clinical-stage therapeutic categories. As of its final close in April 2023, the fund had already made four portfolio investments, demonstrating rapid capital deployment aligned with Forbion's established deal pipeline. Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II is the second vehicle in the Growth Opportunities franchise, following Fund I (€360 million, 2021). The strategy reflects Forbion's systematic approach to late-stage biopharma investing, leveraging scientific expertise, an extensive network in European academic institutions, and privileged access to global crossover investors. The institutional LP base spanning pan-European asset managers, strategic pharma investors, fund-of-funds, and pension allocators underscores strong demand for European life sciences growth equity.

Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund III is a €1.2 billion late-stage life sciences growth fund managed by Forbion, one of Europe's leading specialist venture capital firms, headquartered in Naarden, the Netherlands, with additional offices in Munich, Germany and Boston, United States. The fund reached its hard cap in October 2024, marking Forbion's largest single fundraise and pushing the firm's total assets under management beyond €5 billion across more than 128 historical investments and a team of over 30 investment professionals. The fund backs later-stage biopharmaceutical companies in Europe and North America that are advancing novel therapies in areas of high medical need. Forbion deploys three integrated strategies: providing private growth capital to clinical-stage biopharma companies, offering crossover financing to companies approaching public listings, and deploying capital opportunistically into undervalued public biopharma assets. Investment sizes reach up to €70 million per company, with Forbion typically leading rounds and taking board representation. Therapeutic areas include oncology, rare diseases, immunology, neurology, and cardiovascular and metabolic conditions. The fund targets a portfolio of approximately 15 companies. Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund III builds on Fund I (€360M, April 2021) and Fund II (€600M, April 2023), both of which achieved their hard caps. Prior portfolio companies have included Gyroscope Therapeutics, acquired by Novartis. Institutional investors include Dutch pension advisor MN. The fund's thesis reflects Forbion's conviction that Europe's clinical-stage biopharma ecosystem, combined with access to global crossover markets, offers differentiated risk-adjusted returns for sophisticated life sciences investors.

Forbion Ventures Fund VI is a €750 million early-stage life sciences fund managed by Forbion, the Netherlands-based specialist venture capital firm headquartered in Naarden with offices in Munich and Boston. The fund closed at its hard cap in April 2023 as part of a simultaneous €1.35 billion raise alongside Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II, the largest combined close in Forbion's history at that time. Returning investors scaled their commitments and were joined by new institutional allocators including the Scott Trust Endowment, Pictet Alternative Advisors, Loyola University of Chicago, and Dutch pension funds PME and PMT. Forbion Ventures Fund VI is designed to build a diversified portfolio of innovative therapeutics-focused biotech companies, spanning both existing companies and newly created ventures co-founded by Forbion around assets sourced from pharmaceutical companies or academic institutions. This company-building approach—where Forbion actively contributes to the formation and early governance of portfolio companies—distinguishes the Ventures strategy from conventional early-stage VC. The fund targets approximately 15 companies across oncology, rare diseases, immunology, and high-impact therapeutic areas, primarily in Europe with selective North American exposure. The fund continues the lineage of Forbion's flagship early-stage program, which has built a portfolio of over 40 companies including Beacon Therapeutics, Azafaros, AIRNA, Amphista Therapeutics, AM-Pharma, CatalYm, and Citryll. Predecessor vehicles have produced multiple successful exits and IPOs, establishing Forbion as one of Europe's most active and respected early-stage life sciences venture investors. The fund's company-building thesis positions it at the intersection of scientific innovation and commercial biotech development.

Forbion Ventures Fund VII is an early-stage life sciences venture capital fund managed by Forbion, the leading European biopharma-focused investment firm headquartered in Naarden, Netherlands, with offices in Munich and Boston. Closing in October 2024 at €890 million — making it one of the largest European life sciences VC funds of its vintage — Fund VII is the seventh iteration of Forbion's flagship ventures strategy, which has been operating since the firm's spinout from ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences in 2006. Forbion manages approximately €5 billion in assets across eleven funds. Forbion Ventures Fund VII targets early-stage and emerging biotech companies, investing from pre-clinical through early clinical development stages (Seed, Series A and Series B), including the creation of NewCos built around validated drug targets from pharmaceutical companies and experienced management teams. The fund applies Forbion's differentiated company-building approach to address high unmet medical needs across oncology, central nervous system disorders, immunology and inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, ophthalmology, respiratory diseases, rare and genetic disorders, and nephrology. The expected portfolio comprises approximately 15 biotech companies across Europe and North America. The fund was raised from a strong institutional LP base, including MN, the Dutch pension asset management firm that committed €210 million combined across Fund VII and Forbion's Growth Opportunities Fund III on behalf of the Dutch pension funds PMT, PME, and MITT. The European Investment Fund has been a historical Forbion LP. With more than two decades of biopharma-focused investment, Forbion brings sector-specific scientific diligence, deep industry relationships, and a consistent track record in creating and scaling therapeutics companies from inception through late-stage development and public markets.

Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund I C.V. is a late-stage life sciences growth equity fund managed by Forbion, the leading European biopharma investment firm. The fund closed its final round in April 2021 at €360 million — significantly above its original target of €250 million and at the hard cap — with a first close of €185 million in July 2020. Structured as a Dutch commanditaire vennootschap (limited partnership), it represents Forbion's dedicated growth strategy vehicle, designed to complement the firm's early-stage ventures franchise. The fund pursues three distinct investment approaches within the European biopharma ecosystem: providing private growth capital to established clinical-stage biotechs with Phase II and Phase III assets; offering pre-IPO crossover capital to companies approaching a near-term public listing; and deploying targeted capital into temporarily undervalued publicly-listed biotech companies. Each investment is sized up to approximately €35 million, with a target portfolio of 10 to 12 companies. The fund's focus on late-stage therapeutic development with well-defined clinical catalysts is designed to offer a shorter capital deployment and return cycle than traditional early-stage VC vehicles, while still benefiting from Forbion's deep scientific diligence and sector expertise. Early portfolio investments included SynOx Therapeutics (Ireland), New Amsterdam Pharma (Netherlands), and Gyroscope Therapeutics (UK) — the last of which was acquired by Novartis, marking the fund's first significant exit. The fund attracted a diverse institutional LP base including Pantheon, Eli Lilly and Company, the Belgian Growth Fund, New Waves Investments, Wealth Management Partners, KfW Capital (the German government development bank), and the European Investment Fund via the European Recovery Programme (ERP). Together, these LPs represent a broad cross-section of strategic pharma investors, government development institutions, and asset managers, underscoring the fund's credibility as a growth-stage biopharma vehicle in the European market.

Foresite Capital Fund V, L.P. is a multi-stage healthcare and life sciences venture capital fund managed by Foresite Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm founded in 2011 by Dr. Jim Tananbaum. Closing in February 2021 at $775 million — above its initial target — Fund V represents the fifth flagship vehicle in Foresite's franchise, which collectively manages approximately $4 billion in assets across the full continuum of healthcare innovation. The fund's strategy spans the entire development arc of healthcare companies, from early incubation and seed-stage biotech to late-stage clinical companies and public equity. Fund V focuses on precision medicine, therapeutics, genomics and life science infrastructure, including the data science and automation tools that underpin modern drug discovery. Foresite applies deep scientific diligence alongside capital markets expertise, given the firm's unique position investing through IPO and into the public markets — a hybrid approach that distinguishes it from purely private-market VC funds. Portfolio investments from Fund V include 10x Genomics, Element Biosciences, Relay Therapeutics, Lyell Immunopharma, and Inscripta. Foresite Capital Fund V was seeded by a diverse base of institutional investors including university endowments, public and private pension funds, insurance companies, foundations, corporate investors, and prominent family offices worldwide. By the date of the final close, the firm's track record encompassed more than 47 IPO events and 28 M&A exits. The fund is domiciled in Delaware and was registered with the SEC under CIK 1822711.

Foresite Capital Opportunity Fund V, L.P. is a dedicated follow-on investment vehicle managed by Foresite Capital, the San Francisco-based multi-stage healthcare venture capital firm. Closed concurrently with Foresite Capital Fund V in February 2021 at $193.75 million, the Opportunity Fund represents a targeted co-investment sleeve designed to make concentrated, higher-conviction incremental positions in the highest-quality companies in Fund V's portfolio as they approach IPO and beyond. The Opportunity Fund's strategy is complementary to the flagship Fund V: rather than building a new portfolio from scratch, it selectively adds capital to existing portfolio companies at critical inflection points — typically late-stage clinical milestones, pre-IPO financings, or crossover rounds — where Foresite's scientific and capital-markets diligence has already been performed. This structure allows LPs to concentrate exposure to Foresite's highest-conviction holdings while maintaining liquidity flexibility, a key advantage in the healthcare sector where development timelines and go-public windows can be uncertain. Target sectors mirror the flagship fund: precision medicine, therapeutics, genomics, digital health, and life science data infrastructure. Together, Foresite Capital Fund V and the Opportunity Fund V raised a combined $968.75 million (reported publicly as approximately $969 million), reflecting strong demand from a global LP base including public pension funds, university endowments, foundations, and family offices. The Arizona State Retirement System was among the LPs confirmed in public disclosures. The fund is structured as a Delaware limited partnership and registered with the SEC under CIK 1792205.

Mérieux Innovation 2 (MI2) is the second-generation venture capital fund managed by Mérieux Equity Partners, focused on advancing innovation in the healthcare sector. Building on the success of its predecessor, MI2 is designed to support early-stage companies with high-impact solutions across diagnostics, medical devices, and pharmaceutical services. The fund targets platform-based business models with validated proof of concept, offering scalability and long-term growth potential. MI2 combines capital investment with strategic guidance and access to a robust healthcare ecosystem, helping portfolio companies accelerate development and go-to-market strategies. MI2 has received the prestigious Tibi label, highlighting its commitment to driving technological innovation within France and the broader European healthcare landscape. It aims to generate strong returns while contributing meaningfully to patient care and clinical outcomes. The fund’s first investment is a €6 million commitment to DeepUll, a Spanish diagnostics company developing rapid sepsis detection technology. This aligns with MI2’s goal of supporting transformative platforms that address critical medical needs.