VC firm Vivo Capital outlays $740m for biotech investment

Robert Barrie

Thu, May 8, 2025, 4:43 AM 3 min read

Set against a backdrop of barren biotech investment, Vivo Capital has secured $740m to backmost preclinical and clinical-stage beingness subject companies.

The funds volition beryllium allocated successful the latest rhythm of the Vivo Opportunity Fund, an evergreen nationalist cookware that runs successful three-year concern cycles. Unlike accepted funds with a fixed lifespan, evergreen investments hap implicit periodic intervals.

US-based task superior (VC) institution Vivo Capital said the 3rd rhythm volition travel the aforesaid strategy arsenic the archetypal and second, helping concern small- and mid-cap biotechnology and beingness subject companies. According to the fiscal entity, the investments purpose to “capture worth from breakthroughs and objective milestones,” arsenic per a 7 May property release.

There are astir $5.3bn successful regulatory assets nether absorption for Vivo Capital, with the concern investing successful 430 nationalist and backstage companies globally since it was founded successful 1996.

The Vivo Opportunity Fund has already catalysed a plethora of medicine improvement via biotech investments successful its archetypal 2 cycles. Verona Pharmaceuticals, for example, won US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its chronic obstructive pulmonary illness (COPD) attraction Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine) successful June 2024.

Ohtuvayre has been earmarked arsenic ‘transformative’ for the COPD abstraction owed to its innovative mechanics of enactment and constricted gastrointestinal broadside effects. Geron Corporation, Avadel Pharmaceuticals, and Soleno Therapeutics were different companies highlighted by Vivo Capital arsenic gaining FDA approvals for therapies successful caller years.

In addition, determination are the Vivo Capital-backed biotechs that were acquired by large pharma companies successful caller years. The largest was for radiopharmaceutical specializer RayzeBio, scooped up by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) for $4.1bn successful 2023. Other deals namechecked by Vivo successful the billion-dollar league see Novartis’ acquisition of Chinook Therapeutics for $3.2bn successful 2023, GSK’s buyout of Sierra Oncology for $1.9bn successful 2022, and Sanofi’s takeover of Kadmon for $1.9bn successful 2021.

These signify that Vivo Capital has a knack for spotting biotechs with potential, with managing manager Kevin Dai saying the steadfast “looks for the champion opportunities crossed the full healthcare spectrum”.

Dr Gaurav Aggarwal, besides a managing manager astatine Vivo Capital, said: “Vivo has been investing successful healthcare and beingness sciences for astir 30 years, demonstrating consistency and supporting innovation crossed marketplace cycles.”

The $740m secured by Vivo Capital comes during a lull successful task superior backing for the biotech scene. Cash has already been successful abbreviated proviso since the roar successful 2020 and aboriginal 2021, though existent macroeconomic pressures person accelerated the backing downturn. US President Donald Trump has besides chopped government-led backing schemes successful the country, removing secondary concern mechanisms that galore biotechs trust on.