Venture capital fund Jupiter Bioventures is taking off with $70 million for a portfolio of cancer-adjacent biotech startups, or what Jupiter has dubbed its system of “moons.”
The company’s founders, Mission BioCapital and the Mayo Clinic, are joined by an investor galaxy that includes Alexandria Venture Investments and Bioventure Partners, among others, according to a Nov. 19 release. The $70 million will be shuttled across eight to 10 companies developing cancer therapeutics or working in other disease spaces that benefit from cancer biology insights.
The San Francisco-based company was formed by biotech entrepreneurs Nathaniel David, Ph.D., and Norman Sharpless, M.D.—both of whom go by Ned.
David has previously co-founded a slew of biotechs, such as Takeda’s Syrrx, Allergan’s Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Achaogen and Unity Biotechnology. As for Sharpless, he formerly served as director of the National Cancer Institute and as acting commissioner of the FDA, plus as a director of the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-founder of G1 Therapeutics (acquired by Pharmacosmos).
Now, the two Neds have come together to form a “science-first” model built to deliver higher returns on invested capital compared to conventional venture funds. The VC will assess potential “moons,” later deploying a team and a small seed amount to snag intellectual property and experimentally validate the core science. The moons that shine the brightest will receive additional funds from both Jupiter and non-Jupiter investors, all in efforts to become freestanding, high-value biotechs with enough money to run proof-of-concept clinical trials.
“We love bold science, but we hate risk,” David said in the release. “By experimentally confirming the science first, we kill bad projects early, so we can focus on the winners.”