With an inaugural $350 million fund, Cure Ventures launched Tuesday to support early-stage companies with cutting-edge curative technologies and help them de-risk their science
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With an inaugural $350 million fund, Cure Ventures launched Tuesday to support early-stage companies with cutting-edge curative technologies and help them de-risk their science.
Cure’s investment strategy leverages a funding model with smaller seed rounds, Richard Lim, managing partner co-founder of Cure Ventures, told Fierce Biotech. A low initial investment minimizes the financial risk, which, in turn, helps startups de-risk their technologies and allows them to validate their approach before moving forward to the clinic.
Initially, Cure is looking to run some 20 seed rounds; 12 to 15 companies will move forward and receive Series A support from the venture capital firm, according to Fierce.
Cure plans to co-lead a Series B funding round for its most promising portfolio companies and follow them through to their exits.
The new venture fund will also embed investment managers into its companies, potentially even at the C-suite level. These Cure operators will work with company founders and help ensure sound decision-making. Cure’s investment strategy will also embrace genetic validation to maximize the chances of a drug candidate’s success.
“Biopharma venture capital is an enterprise in risk management that demands rigor, diligence and patience,” Lim said in a statement. He added that Cure’s approach to this is to collaborate closely with company management and founders.
U.S.- and internationally-based investors supported Cure’s inaugural fundraising round, including family offices, sovereign wealth funds, foundations and endowments, hospital and health systems, and public pension funds.
Led by Industry Veterans
Joining Lim are two other co-founders, David Fallace and Lou Tartaglia, who each bring decades of scientific, corporate and investing experience to Cure.
Lim was previously at Omega Funds and has served on the Boards of Nuvation Bio, Gossamer Bio and Replimmune.
Meanwhile, Fallace was previously an advisor to the biotech venture capital fund Polaris Partners. Concurrently, he also worked as an Expert-in-Resident at Harvard’s Office of Technology Development.
Cure’s third founder, Tartaglia, was most recently the head of 5AM Venture’s internal company-formation initiative. He oversaw the creation of Entrada Therapeutics and subsequently served as its interim CEO. He was also a Partner at Third Rock Ventures where he served as chief scientific officer of portfolio companies Editas, Rhythm and Agios.
