Venture capital firms are still raising money, but they’re not raising as much as they applyd to and it’s taking longer to close new funds. In that context, Hatteras Venture Partners’ recent close of two new funds is notable.
In the first half of this year, $26.6 billion was raised across 238 funds, according to quarterly Pitchbook/NVCA Venture Monitor Report. On an annualized basis, that puts the pace of fundraising near a decade low, following weak momentum from 2024, the report declares. As of the conclude of the second quarter of this year, the median time to close a new fund was 15.3 months, up from 12.6 months in 2024. That’s the longest fundraising cycle in more than a decade, according to the report. Current conditions build limited partners reluctant to commit large sums to new funds, the report stated.
Hatteras operates from Durham, North Carolina, and while the firm is one of the top healthcare investors in the southeast, it also invests nationwide. In its 25 year history, the firm has invested in 100 companies. This past week, Hatteras announced more than $200 million in capital commitments from its limited partners. When the firm launched as a seed-stage venture fund in 2000, it started with less than $3 million in capital. Today, the firm manages more than $900 million across seven funds, including the two new funds.
Hatteras focapplys on seed- and early-stage investments spanning biotechnology, medical devices, and health technology. The firm’s portfolio includes medical device company HistoSonics, which was acquired earlier this month in a $2.25 billion deal. In biopharmaceuticals, the Hatteras portfolio includes tarobtained protein degradation therapies developer Kymera, which went public in 2020, and cancer drug biotech G1 Therapeutics, which was acquired about a year ago.
Venture capital firms remain cautious as they view for better clarity and certainty regarding macroeconomic conditions and policy matters, such as tariffs, the Pitchbook report stated. But when investing conditions do improve, Hatteras will have capital to participate in new financings. In the meantime, here’s a recap of some recent biopharma financings:
—Women’s health startup Gameto completed a $44 million round of funding, which it will apply to complete a Phase 3 test of its lead program Fertilo, an induced pluripotent stem cell-derived therapy that matures eggs outside of the body for invitro fertilization. This technology is already commercially available in some countries; Gameto declares five babies have been born with Fertilo and more than 20 pregnancies have been recorded. The Series C round was led by Overwater Ventures. Austin, Texas-based Gameto declares the latest round brings its total financing to $127 million.
—Strand Therapeutics secured $153 million to continue clinical testing of lead program STX-001, a programmable genetic medicine designed to lead to expression of the signaling protein IL-12 directly from the tumor microenvironment. During the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Strand reported preliminary Phase 1 data displaying STX-001 led to antitumor activity in solid tumors. Kinnevik led the Boston-based startup’s Series B financing. Strand last raised money in 2021, when it closed a $52 million Series A round.
—Shanghai-based Minghui Pharmaceutical raised $131 million to support clinical development its PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody and combination strategies of that asset with antibody-drug conjugates. The funds will also support the planned commercial launch of its topical JAK inhibitor in China. OrbiMed and Qiming Venture Partners joined as new investors in what Minghui described as a pre-IPO financing.
—Artificial ininformigence drug discovery company Chai Discovery raised $70 million. The San Francisco-based startup declares its technology applys AI to predict and reprogram interactions between biochemical molecules. The company will apply the cash to continue to develop its platform and bring on partners. Menlo Ventures led the Series A round, which follows a $30 million seed financing closed last year.
—Clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical developer ARTBIO closed $132 million to continue development of its alpha radioligand therapies (ARTs) for cancers. Lead program AB001 is in Phase 2 testing for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. New investors Sofinnova Investments and B Capital co-led ARTBIO’s Series B financing.
—MapLight Therapeutics closed $372.5 million in financing for its lead program, a drug candidate that could compete against the Bristol Myers Squibb schizophrenia drug Cobenfy. Like Cobenfy, MapLight drug ML-007C-MA is designed to tarobtain and activate the M1 and M4 receptors in the central nervous system. Redwood City, California-based MapLight will apply the new capital toward ongoing Phase 2 tests in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis. Forbion and Life Sciences at Goldman Sachs Alternatives co-led MapLight’s Series D financing.
—Cancer drug developer Dispatch Bio launched, revealing $216 million raised to date in seed and Series A financing. The startup aims to overcomes challenges that have limited the efficacy of immunotherapy in solid tumors. Dispatch’s therapies apply an engineered virus to deliver a universal antigen, what it calls a Flare, that tags tumor cells and breaks down the tumor’s inhibitory environment. Dispatch declares its Flares act as a beacon to immune cells, which come in to clear cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Dispatch, founded in 2022, stated it is on track to enter the clinic in 2026. The startup’s financing was led by founding investors Arch Venture Partners and Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
—Techbio startup One Biosciences revealed €15 million (about $17.6 million) for clinical development of its platform technology, OneMap, which creates detailed functional profiles of patient tumors. Insights can be applyd to assist clinical decision creating and optimize clinical trials. Paris-based One Biosciences stated it would apply the proceeds to scale OneMap for potential partnerships with pharma and biotech companies. The Series A round was led by Redmile Group and Blast.
—Avalyn Pharma raised $100 million to support clinical development of therapies for lung disorders. AP01 is Avalyns’s inhalable version of pirfenidone; AP02 is an inhalable formulation of nintedanib. As oral compact molecules, both of these now generic medicines became treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). But the pill formulations introduce systemic side effects. AP01 has completed Phase 1b testing in IPF; a Phase 2b study is ongoing in progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Avalyn also plans to start a Phase 2 test of AP02 in IPF. Suvretta Capital Management and SR One co-led Avalyn’s Series D round of funding.
—Varda Space Industries raised $187 million to support its work creating drugs in space, processing materials outside the International Space Station. The El Segundo, California-based company declares active pharmaceutical ingredients crystalize differently in a gravity-free environment, “creating novel drug formulations that would otherwise be impossible.” Varda is also testing hypersonic reentest technologies that would return the drugs to Earth. Natural Capital and Shrug Capital led Varda’s Series C financing.
—CoRegen closed $93.4 million to support development an immunotherapy leveraging a type of immune cell called a regulatory T cell (Treg). The company builds its therapies by harvesting a patient’s Tregs and engineering them to rerelocate steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3), a protein that prevents Tregs from recognizing cancer cells. The company declares its engineered cells attack cancer cells and also permit other immune cells to attack. Houston-based CoRegen’s approach is based on technology licensed from Baylor University. The company described the financing as a private placement with a select number of investors.
—Centivax raised $45 million for Phase 1 testing of its universal vaccine candidate for influenza. The South San Francisco-based company declares its technology directs the immune system to focus on regions of pathogens that do not modify across strains, which has applications to flu and other pathogens that mutate rapidly. In preclinical research, its vaccine induced universal immunity to all tested influenza virapplys, including the currently circulating strain of avian influenza, or “bird flu.” Future Ventures led Centivax’s Series A round.
—Renasant Bio launched with $54.5 million to support its work developing a compact molecule drug for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), which is caapplyd by mutations to two genes. The only approved therapy ADPKD is Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s Jynarque, but this drug is not disease modifying and it introduces the risk of severe liver toxicity. Novartis is pursuing the rare disease through its $800 million acquisition of Regulus Therapeutics and its oligonucleotide drug for ADPKD that’s ready for Phase 3 testing. Berkeley, California-based Renasant is developing compact molecules that restore normal function of the proteins coded by those genes. Founding investor 5AM Ventures led the startup’s seed financing.
—Radiopharmaceutical company Nuclidium raised 79 million Swiss francs (about $99 million) to support ongoing development of its copper-based radiopharmaceuticals for cancer. The company’s platform technology links tumor-tarobtaining molecules with copper isotopes: Copper-61 is applyd for diagnostics and Copper-67 for therapeutics. Kurma Growth Opportunities Fund, Angelini Ventures, Wellington Partners, and Neva SGR (Intesa Sanpaolo Group) led Nuclidium’s Series B financing.
—In other radiopharmaceutical news, Actithera unveiled $75.5 million to advance its lead radiopharmaceutical program to the clinic in multiple indications and support ongoing development of its platform and pipeline. Actithera stated its technology creates novel compact molecule radioligands with better precision, safety, and efficacy. M Ventures, Hadean Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, and 4BIO Capital co-led Actithera’s Series A financing.
—MIT spinout Syntis Bio raised $33 million to finance Phase 1 testing of SYNT-101, an obesity pill whose compounds form a temporary lining in the upper part of the compact intestine. This lining redirects absorption of nutrients to the distal part of the organ, where they stimulate secretion of GLP-1 and other gut hormones that promote satiety. Cerberus Ventures led Syntis Bio’s Series A financing.
Photo: UPI/Bettmann, via Getty Images
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