Avalon BioVentures
Venture capitalSan Diego · Pre-Seed–Series A · 17 people tracked
Investment thesis
Avalon BioVentures backs innovative, early-stage life science companies, deliberately pursuing white-space, first-in-class opportunities that other investors often consider too early. The firm embraces scientific risk and prefers to be first into a space. Through its ABV Accelerator, it provides portfolio companies with hands-on scientific, operational, and financial resources from company formation through exit, aiming to compress development timelines and improve capital efficiency. Drawing on a 35+ year track record of financing and leading early-stage biotech companies, the team offers strategic guidance and operational support with the goal of rapidly advancing potentially life-changing therapies to patients in need.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 17 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Avalon BioVentures went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 14 of 25 portfolio companiesBiotech ×12Healthtech ×7Deep Tech ×2Medical Devices ×2Digital Health ×1Enterprise Software ×1SaaS ×1
HQs:United States×14
Investments · 25 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 22024 · 12023 · 12021 · 12020 · 12016 · 32014 · 110 dated
Arialys Therapeutics develops precision medicines designed to block pathogenic autoantibodies that target brain receptors such as the NMDA receptor, aiming to treat neuropsychiatric disorders driven by autoimmune disease.
BiotechHealthtechLa Jolla, US
Peter Flynn, Ph.D.(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJay Lichter, Ph.D.(Director)Brian Slingsby, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.(Director)Ed Hurwitz(Director)inAshish Xavier, Ph.D.(Director)Tighe Reardon(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsCatalys PacificMPM BioImpact
Valora Therapeutics is a biotech company developing antibody-lectin chimera (AbLec) therapeutics that target cell-surface glycans for immuno-oncology and immunotherapy applications.
BiotechHealthtechLa Jolla, US
Miguel Garcia-Guzman(Co-Founder, CEO & Director)Carolyn Bertozzi(Scientific Co-Founder)Jessica Stark(Scientific Co-Founder)James Lee(VP, Business Development)in
BoardStefan Heller(Director)Sanford Madigan(Director)in
AristaMD is a technology-enabled clinical services provider that connects primary care physicians with board-certified specialists through eConsults to improve access to specialty care and reduce costs.
Digital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechSaaSSan Diego, US
Keith Pinter(Chief Executive Officer)inJulia Jezmir(President and Chief Medical Officer)inBrooke LeVasseur(Executive Officer, Director)inDouglas Downs(Executive Officer, Director)Rebecca Cofinas(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJohn Kuelper(Director)in
Board seatJay B. Lichter· per SEC Form D · $1.4M raise · filed Mar 2016
Co-investorsAscension Ventures.406 VenturesCobalt VenturesMemorialCare Innovation FundOptum VenturesAvalon Ventures Management, Llc
BiotechLa Jolla, US
Court Turner(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardTighe Reardon(Executive Officer, Director)Jay Lichter(Director)in
Board seatJay B. Lichter· per SEC Form D · $5.1M raise · filed Nov 2016
BiotechLa Jolla, US
Morana Jovan-Embiricos(Director)Anthony Rosenberg(Director)Neil W. Gibson, Ph.D.(Executive Officer, Director)Owen Hughes(Director)
Board seatJay B. Lichter· per SEC Form D · $10M raise · filed Mar 2022
Enlaza Therapeutics develops covalent protein therapeutics using its War-Lock technology, which incorporates proprietary unnatural amino acids into protein drugs so they form irreversible covalent bonds with disease-related targets.
BiotechDeep TechSan Diego, US
Sergio Duron(Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer)inSanford Madigan(Co-Founder, President & Chief Business Officer)inAnaleah Heidt(Chief Scientific Officer)in
BoardMarcos Milla(Director)Jay Lichter(Director)Tighe Reardon(Executive Officer)
Board seatJay B. Lichter· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsFrazier Life SciencesLightspeed Venture PartnersSamsara BioCapitalPappas CapitalPfizer Venture InvestmentsOrbiMed
Clinical-stage biotech using its RAPID chemoproteomics platform to drug challenging targets; acquired by Otsuka in 2024.
Boston, US
Board seatKevin Kinsella· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBain Capital Life SciencesPfizer Venture InvestmentsRA Capital
Clinical-stage biotech expanding the genetic alphabet with synthetic nucleotides; acquired by Sanofi for $2.5B in 2020.
BiotechLa Jolla, US
Floyd Romesberg(Director)Douglas Downs(Executive Officer)
BoardJay Lichter(Director)Court Turner(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatJay B. Lichter· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBoutique Venture PartnersCorrelation VenturesOUP (Osage University Partners)RA CapitalvenBio PartnersMedicxi+1 more
Co-investorsLifeX VenturesSanderling Ventures
HealthtechLa Jolla, US
Ahmet Tutuncu, M.D., Ph.D.(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardTighe Reardon(Executive Officer)Heather Preston, M.D.(Director)Jay B. Lichter, Ph.D.(Director)Sanford Madigan, Ph.D.(Director)John Stuart Patton, Ph.D.(Director)
Co-investorsAlexandriaCorrelation Ventures
Pet therapeutics company developing innovative treatments for dogs and cats; acquired by Elanco Animal Health in 2019.
Developed selective small-molecule TRPML1 agonists for lysosomal storage diseases; acquired by Merck for up to $576M in 2019.
Developed selective small-molecule TRPML1 agonists for lysosomal storage diseases; acquired by Merck for up to $576M in 2019.
AeroRx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing nebulized fixed-dose combination therapies (LABA/LAMA and triple LABA/LAMA/ICS) for moderate-to-severe COPD patients who are underserved by inhalers.
BiotechHealthtech
Ahmet Tutuncu(CEO and Co-founder)in
Kyntra Bio (formerly FibroGen) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for oncology and rare diseases, including serious and life-threatening conditions.
BiotechHealthtechSan Francisco, US
Thomas B. Neff(Executive Officer, Director)Frank H. Valone(Executive Officer)K. Peony Yu(Executive Officer)Pat Cotroneo(Executive Officer)
BoardRory B. Riggs(Director)Kalevi Kurkijarvi(Director)
Co-investorsRidgeback CapitalScientia VenturesMaverick Ventures
Fortis Therapeutics develops therapeutic treatments based on technology licensed from UCSF, with a focus on oncology and other disease areas.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesSan Diego, US
Marc Nasoff(Chief Scientific Officer)
BoardJay B. Lichter(Ph.D.)
Co-investorsVivo CapitalLilly Asia VenturesOsage University PartnersOUP (Osage University Partners)
Clinical-stage company developing tumor-activated immunotherapies using platform masking technology.
Co-investorsRA Capital
Janux Therapeutics develops precision-engineered bispecific immunotherapies, including tumor-activated T cell engagers (TRACTr), designed to modulate T cells to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
BiotechMedical DevicesLa Jolla, US
David Campbell, Ph.D.(Executive Officer, Director)Tighe Reardon(Executive Officer)
BoardJay Lichter, Ph.D.(Director)Jake Simson, Ph.D.(Director)Peter Thompson, M.D.(Director)Stefan Heller(Director)
Co-investorsOrbiMedSamsara BioCapital
Developing therapeutic antibodies capable of entering cells and binding intracellular targets.
Phosphatase-focused immunotherapy drug discovery company; acquired by Boehringer-Ingelheim for up to $1.3B in 2024.
BiotechLa Jolla, US
Stefan Heller(Director)Sanford J. Madigan, Ph.D.(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardTighe Reardon(Executive Officer, Director)Jay Lichter, Ph.D.(Director)
Developed a first-in-class monoclonal antibody for multiple cancers; acquired by Cullinan Therapeutics in 2022.
Biotech addressing PROTAC delivery challenges using in situ carriers to deliver degraders to solid tumors.
Clinical-stage company developing broad-spectrum antibiotics from natural product scaffolds; partnered with Genentech.
Developed treatments for celiac disease; founded by Avalon Ventures and GSK, acquired by GSK in 2019.
Jnana Therapeutics operates a chemoproteomics-based drug discovery platform called RAPID to identify small molecule medicines targeting protein binding sites across multiple target classes.
BiotechDeep Tech
Co-investorsPfizer Venture Investments
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Exits · 9
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioJnana Therapeuticsacq. by OtsukaSynthorxacq. by SanofiActimisacq. by Boehringer IngelheimAratana Therapeuticsacq. by Elanco Animal HealthCalportaacq. by MerckCalporta Therapeuticsacq. by MerckNerio Therapeuticsacq. by Boehringer IngelheimPDI Therapeuticsacq. by Cullinan TherapeuticsSitari Pharmaceuticalsacq. by GSK
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
AeroRx Therapeutics · tandfonline.com · Feb 14, 2026
Arialys · fiercebiotech.com · Jun 20, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Avalon BioVentures made?
- Avalon BioVentures has 24 tracked investments, 9 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Avalon BioVentures invest at?
- Avalon BioVentures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does Avalon BioVentures focus on?
- Avalon BioVentures focuses on Biotech, Healthtech, Medical Devices.
- Where is Avalon BioVentures located?
- Avalon BioVentures is headquartered in San Diego, US.
- Does Avalon BioVentures lead rounds?
- Yes, Avalon BioVentures leads investment rounds.
- Who does Avalon BioVentures co-invest with?
- Avalon BioVentures most often shares deals with Pfizer Venture Investments, RA Capital, OUP (Osage University Partners), among 36 tracked co-investors.
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