VC company Hatteras raises $200 million for two new funds in a tough climate raising climate
Venture capital firms are still raising funds, but their raising funds are not as they used to be, and it will take longer to close new funds. In this case, the recent closure of Hatteras Venture Partners in two new funds is noteworthy.
According to the quarterly Pitchbook/NVCA Venture Monitor report, $26.6 billion was raised in 238 funds in the first half of this year. Once a year, after weaker momentum in 2024, this has brought the pace of fundraising activities for nearly a decade, the report said. As of the end of the second quarter of this year, the median time for settlement of new funds was 15.3 months, up from 12.6 months in 2024. This is the longest fundraising cycle in more than a decade. The report said current conditions have made limited partners reluctant to pay large sums to the new funds.
Hatteras operates from Durham, North Carolina, and while the company is one of the top healthcare investors in the Southeast, it also invests nationwide. Over its 25-year history, the company has invested in 100 companies. Over the past week, Hatteras announced its limited partners’ capital commitments of more than $200 million. When the company was founded in 2000 as a seed-stage venture capital, the company had less than $3 million in capital. Today, the company manages more than $900 million in seven funds, including two new funds.
Hatteras focuses on seed and early stage investments across biotechnology, medical equipment and sanitation technologies. The company's portfolio includes a portfolio of medical equipment companies, which acquired earlier this month for $2.25 billion. In Biopharmaceuticals, the Hatteras product portfolio includes Kymera, a developer of targeted protein degradation therapy, which was published in 2020, and G1 Therapeictics, a cancer drug biotechnology obtained about a year ago.
PitchBook reports that venture capital firms remain cautious as they seek better clarity and certainty to understand macroeconomic conditions and policy matters, such as tariffs. However, when investment conditions do improve, Hatteras will have funds to participate in the new financing. Meanwhile, here are some recent reviews of biopharmaceutical financing:
– Women's Health Startup Gameto completed $44 million in funding, which will be used to complete Phase 3 tests of its lead program Fertilo, an induced pluripotent stem cell-derived therapy that uses eggs outside the body for in vitro fertilization. The technology is already commercially available in some countries. Gameto said five babies were born in Fertilo and recorded more than 20 pregnancy sessions. Series C is invested by water ventures. Austin, Texas-based Gameto said the latest round raised its total financing to $127 million.
– Strand Therapeutics received $153 million to continue clinical testing of lead program STX-001, a programmable genetic medicine designed to express the signaling protein IL-12 directly from the tumor microenvironment. During the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Strand reported preliminary 1 data showing that STX-001 leads to antitumor activity in solid tumors. Kinnevik leads Series B financing for the Boston-based startup. Strand raised a fundraising in 2021 when it concluded a $52 million Series A round.
– Shanghai-based Minghui Pharmaceutical raised $131 million to support the clinical development of its PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody and the asset-in-pharmaceutical conjugate combination strategy. The funds will also support its planned commercial launch of local JAK inhibitors in China. Orbimed and Qiming Venture Partners became new investors, what Minghui calls IPO financing.
– Source Intelligence Discovery raised $70 million. The San Francisco-based startup says its technology uses AI to predict and reprogram interactions between biochemical molecules. The company will use cash to continue developing its platform and contact partners. Menlo Ventures led the Series A, a round of funding that cost $30 million seed financing last year.
– Clinical-stage radiation pharmaceutical developer Artbio closed at $132 million to continue developing its Alpha Radioligand Therapy (ARTS) for cancer. Lead Program AB001 is testing for metastatic cast-cut prostate cancer in Phase 2. Artbio Series B Financing Co-led by new investors Sofinnova Investments and B Capital.
– Maplight Therapeutics raised $372.5 million in funding for its lead program, a drug candidate that can compete with Bristol Myers Squibb schizophrenia drug Cobenfy. Like Cobenfy, Maplight Drug ML-007C-MA is designed to target and activate M1 and M4 receptors in the central nervous system. Red Wood, California-based MAPLIGHT will use new capital to conduct ongoing Phase 2 testing for schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease psychosis. Goldman Sachs Alternatives Forbeon and Life Sciences co-led Maplight's Series D financing.
– Official drug developer Dispatch Bio launched its launch, showing that it has raised $216 million to date in seed and Series A financing. The startup aims to overcome the challenge of limiting the efficacy of immunotherapy in solid tumors. Dispatch's therapy uses engineered viruses to provide a universal antigen, called flares, label tumor cells and break down tumor inhibitory environments. Dispatch says its flares act as a beacon for immune cells, and these beacons clear out cancer cells while avoiding healthy tissue. Dispatch, founded in 2022, said the company entered the clinic in 2026. The startup’s financing was led by founding investors Arch Venture Partners and the Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy.
– Techbio Startup One Biosciences shows that OneMap, the clinical development of its platform technology, revealed 15 million euros (about $17.6 million), which creates a detailed functional overview of patient tumors. Insights can be used to assist clinical decision-making and optimize clinical trials. Paris-based Biosciences said it will use the proceeds to expand its potential partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Series A is led by Redmile Group and Blast.
– Avalyn Pharma raised $100 million to support the clinical development of lung disease therapy. AP01 is a respirable version of Avalyns' pirfenidone; AP02 is an inhalation formula for Nintedanib. As oral small molecules, both general drugs are now the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). But pill preparations can introduce systemic side effects. AP01 has completed the Phase 1B test in IPF; the Phase 2B study is undergoing progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Avalyn also plans to launch the second phase of AP02 test in IPF. Avalyn's Series D funding, co-led by Suvretta Capital Management and SR One.
– Varda Space Industries raised $187 million to support its efforts to manufacture drugs in space and to process materials outside the International Space Station. The EL Segundo, California-based company said active drug ingredients crystallize differently in a gravity-free environment, “creating new drug preparations that would otherwise be impossible.” Varda is also testing high blood pressure reentry technology that will return the drug to Earth. Natural Capital and Shrugged Capital led Varda's Series C financing.
– Core closed at $93.4 million to support the development of an immunotherapy that utilizes an immune cell called regulatory T cells (TREGs). The company performed the therapy by collecting patients' Tregs and engineering them to remove steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3), a protein that prevents Treg from recognizing cancer cells. The company said its engineered cells attack cancer cells and also allow other immune cells to attack. The Houston-based Coregen method is based on Baylor University’s licensed technology. The company describes financing as a private placement with select investors.
– Centivax raised $45 million for phase 1 testing of its universal vaccine candidates for the flu vaccine. The southern San Francisco-based company said its technology guides the immune system to focus on pathogens that do not change strains, which have applications for influenza and other rapidly mutated pathogens. In preclinical studies, its vaccines can cause general immunity to all tested influenza viruses, including the currently circulating avian flu or “bird flu”. Future Ventures leads the Centivax series.
– Renasant Bio launched for $54.5 million to support its development of small-molecular drugs for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), which is caused by mutations in two genes. The only approved therapy ADPKD is Otsuka Pharmaceutical's Jynarque, but the drug is not a disease-changing risk, it introduces serious hepatotoxicity. Novartis is pursuing rare diseases with its $800 million acquisition of Regulus Therapeutics and its oligonucleotide drug for ADPKD, which is ready for phase 3 testing. The Berkeley, California-based kidney is developing small molecules that restore the normal function of proteins encoded by these genes. Founding investor business led the startup’s seed financing at 5 a.m.
– Ammunition company Nuclidium has raised 79 million Swiss francs (about $99 million) to support the ongoing development of its copper-based cancer. The company's platform technology links the molecules that target tumors to copper isotopes: copper 61 is used for diagnosis and copper-67 is used for treatment. Kurma Growth Opportunity Fund, Angelini Ventures, Wellington Partners and Neva Sgr (Intesa Sanpaolo Group) lead Nuclidium’s Series B financing.
– In other radiopharmaceutical news, Actithera announced $75.5 million to push its major radiopharmaceutical program to clinics with multiple signs and support the continued development of its platform and pipeline. Actithera says its technology creates new small-molecule radiation with better accuracy, safety and efficacy. Actithera Series Financing Co-led by M Ventures, Hadean Ventures, Sofinnova Partners and 4Bio Capital.
– MIT's spinning Santis Bio raised $33 million to fund Phase 1 testing of Synt-101, an obesity pill whose compounds form temporary linings on the upper part of the small intestine. This lining redirects the absorption of nutrients to the distal end of the organ, where they stimulate the secretion of GLP-1 and other intestinal hormones that promote satiety. Cerberus Ventures leads Santis Bio's Series A financing.
Photo: UPI/Bettmann, via Getty Images
