Avalon BioVentures
Venture capitalSan Diego · Pre-Seed–Series A · 17 people tracked
Find your way into Avalon BioVentures
1,086 people in our graph share verified history with the Avalon BioVentures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
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 Sep 15, 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 ×2AI & Machine Learning ×1Digital Health ×1Enterprise Software ×1SaaS ×1
HQs:United States×15
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)inCarolyn Bertozzi(Scientific Co-Founder)Jessica Stark(Scientific Co-Founder)inJames Lee(VP, Business Development)in
BoardStefan Heller(Director)Sanford Madigan(Director)in
Co-investorsCorrelation Ventures
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 VenturesCU Healthcare Innovation FundHomebrewMemorialCare Innovation Fund+2 more
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)inJay Lichter(Director)inTighe Reardon(Executive Officer)
Board seatJay B. Lichter· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsFrazier Life SciencesLightspeed Venture PartnersSamsara BioCapitalPappas CapitalPfizer Venture InvestmentsJ.P. Morgan Asset Management+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
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)inK. Peony Yu(Executive Officer)inPat Cotroneo(Executive Officer)in
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.)in
Co-investorsVivo CapitalLilly Asia VenturesOsage University PartnersOUP (Osage University Partners)
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)inTighe Reardon(Executive Officer)
BoardJay Lichter, Ph.D.(Director)Jake Simson, Ph.D.(Director)Peter Thompson, M.D.(Director)inStefan Heller(Director)
Co-investorsOrbiMedSamsara BioCapital
Jnana has developed RAPID, a next-generation chemoproteomics platform that enables rapid discovery of small molecule drugs targeting previously inaccessible disease targets by identifying novel binding sites on complex proteins.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechAustin, US
Co-investorsPfizer Venture Investments
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
Cellular ApproachesCullinan MicaJnana TherapeuticsSynthorxAratana TherapeuticsCalportaCalporta TherapeuticsJanuxKorsa TherapeuticsNerio TherapeuticsPDI TherapeuticsProtalys TherapeuticsRQx PharmaceuticalsSitari Pharmaceuticals
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
9 acquisitionsJnana 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
Enlaza Therapeutics · cen.acs.org · Sep 30, 2025
Arialys · fiercebiotech.com · Jun 20, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Avalon BioVentures made?
- Avalon BioVentures has 25 tracked investments, 9 of which have exited, 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 19 tracked co-investors.
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