venBio Overiew: Helping Biotechs Secure Funding

venBio Overview

Innovation is an essential factor when it comes to combating critical social problems in an efficient and sustainable way. It has an even more significant role in solving health and disease issues. Innovative technological advancements are a must in today’s world to enhance the lives of billions of people. It is one of the only ways to provide the world with affordable yet effective medical solutions.

However, creating such revolutionary technology and healthcare solutions requires a robust source of funding with a dedicated, expert team of scientists and medical professionals. This is where venture capital firms like venBio come into play and provide the necessary support.

venBio Partners, LLC. seeks to invest in early and late-stage biotechnology, life sciences, biopharmaceutical, pharma, healthcare, and other therapeutic companies. It was founded by Corey Goodman, Robert Adelman, and Kurt von Emster in 2011, and is currently headquartered in San Francisco. In this article, we will cover venBio’s investment interests, its leading team and partners, and portfolio companies.

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Transforming Biotech & Pharmaceuticals with venBio

venBio provides financial and expert support to organizations seeking to alleviate the suffering of billions through innovative approaches and fulfilling unmet medical needs. It invests in companies working on bringing revolutionary healthcare solutions. The company consults a range of experts before making its investment decisions. Their Limited Partners include both strategic partners (including large biotech and pharmaceutical firms) and qualified financial investors.

venBio is committed to investing in transformative life science and biotech companies of various stages, including early-stage and late-stage companies, academic startups, and spinouts. The firm ensures that its companies fulfill all requirements of potential acquisition partnerships from the beginning. Among these are IP, CMC, and clinical trial details, such as indication, endpoints, powering, trial design, and regulatory issues. The venBio team enables companies to make a more significant impact, which leads to lasting relationships with key stakeholders.

venBio Team & Partners

VenBio’s successful investments are a result of incorporating the expertise of all employees, including those inside, behind, and associated with the venture firm.

The entire venBio team is involved in making decisions for fundraising and investment in the companies. Here are just a few of their key players:

  • Robert Adelman, MD: He is one of the founders of the venBio venture. He serves as Managing Partner of the company and invested venBio’s Venture Capital Fund I into Aragon Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Johnson and Johnson) and Seragon Pharmaceutical (acquired by Genentech/Roche).
  • Corey Goodman, PhD: As Managing Partner, he oversees the company’s operations. He is a member of the Board of NFlection and Checkmate companies.  
  • Aaron Royston, MD, MBA: He is one of the Managing Partners of venBio. Since his joining, he has launched many startups, including Menlo Therapeutics (IPO 2018), Harmony Biosciences (IPO 2020), and Apellis Pharmaceuticals (IPO 2017).
  • Richard Gaster, MD, PhD: He is one of the founding managing partners of the venBio firm. He benefits the company from his past experiences as a life science investor and physician. He was involved in forming and launching Pliant Therapeutics from Third Rock Ventures.
  • Yvonne Yamanaka, PhD: She is a Principal at venBio and assists in the company’s operations using her expertise in biological engineering and life science company creation.

For more information on venBio, please visit www.venbio.com.

venBio’s Portfolio Companies

venBio raises funds and invests in early- or late-stage pharma, biotech, and life science companies. Below is a description of a few companies that earned venBio’s capital funds.

Labrys Biologics

This is a biotechnology company committed to creating treatments for chronic migraine using a pipeline of LBR-101, an anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody therapeutics. In 2014, Labrys Biologics was acquired by Teva for approximately $825 million.

Aragon Pharmaceuticals

An early-stage pharmaceutical company focused on providing novel treatments for hormone-driven cancers, specifically breast and prostate cancer, using its androgen receptor antagonist program. In 2013, it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson for $650 million.

Seragon Pharmaceuticals

A research-based pharmaceutical company committed to advancing medical and biotech innovations to develop innovative solutions that improve human and animal health and personalize health care. In 2014, it was acquired by Roche for a deal of $1.7 billion.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company working to develop novel treatments that can be applied to people suffering from a myriad of severe diseases.

Turning Point Therapeutics

A pharmaceutical company focused on developing precision therapies and treatments for patients with cancer. They utilize their oncology and drug development leadership to develop differentiated cancer drug candidates rapidly.

Precision Biosciences

This is a biotech company dedicated to developing a new class of medicines by using its novel ARCUS genome editing technology to treat life-threatening genetic diseases and cancer.

Akero Therapeutics

A clinical-stage cardio-metabolic biotechnology company focused on developing transformational treatments for people with serious metabolic diseases, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a liver disease.

Harmony Biosciences

A commercial-stage pharmaceutical company committed to providing novel solutions and treatment options by utilizing pitolisant’s unique mechanism of action for people suffering from rare neurological disorders.

Venture-Backed Labs Can Thrive with Leasing

venBio is a venture capital firm focused on investing in innovative life science, biotech, and pharma companies. Attracting investors like venBio first requires a lot of effort on the ground floor—or, your lab.

To make groundbreaking discoveries, labs need a cutting-edge setup equipped with advanced equipment and high-quality reagents and chemicals. However, outfitting your lab space can be extremely expensive. You may not have enough funding to acquire everything you need at once.

Fortunately, Excedr has a comprehensive and customized leasing program, allowing you to equip your lab with all the high-quality equipment it needs.

We have a range of equipment that can be acquired on lease, including life science and biotech equipment, clinical equipment, and analytical instruments.

Our leasing program helps you save your time and money, which you can re-invest in creating an expert team and acquiring high-quality reagents to facilitate your breakthrough experiments.

Don’t have the budget to purchase lab equipment outright? Consider leasing through Excedr to save your lab time and money. Browse your leasing options today!

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