Pivotal Life Sciences
Crossover fundSan Francisco · Seed–Late Stage · 14 people tracked
Also known as Pivotal bioVenture Partners · Pivotal bioVenture Partners CNS · Pivotal bioVenture Partners CNS SLP · PIVOTAL BIOVENTURE PARTNERS INVESTMENT ADVISOR LLC · Pivotal bioVenture Partners SLP
Find your way into Pivotal Life Sciences
1,891 people in our graph share verified history with the Pivotal Life Sciences team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
Pivotal Life Sciences invests across all company stages, with a primary emphasis on 'high impact' therapeutics. The firm targets solutions that address growing unmet medical needs and offer near-curative or otherwise transformative disease-management potential. Its name reflects both its investment approach and the pivotal role it aims to play in the companies it backs.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 15, 2026.
Team · 14 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Pivotal Life Sciences went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 21 of 22 portfolio companiesBiotech ×16Healthtech ×13Medical Devices ×6Digital Health ×3AI & Machine Learning ×2Consumer ×1Data & Infrastructure ×1Deep Tech ×1
HQs:United States×12Azerbaijan×1Switzerland×1China×1
Investments · 22 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 32023 · 22022 · 12021 · 12020 · 32019 · 12018 · 213 dated
BiotechSouth San Francisco, US
Grant E. Pickering(Chief Executive Officer)Ashish Khanna(Executive Officer)Jeff Fairman(Executive Officer)
BoardTracy Saxton(Director)William Newell(Director)Kurt von Emster(Director)in
Board seatRob Hopfner· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsAbingworthCTI Life Sciences Fund L.P.Foresite CapitalFrazier Life SciencesJanus Henderson InvestorsLongitude Capital+4 more
Avalyn Pharma develops inhaled therapies for pulmonary fibrosis, using a nebulization approach that delivers treatment directly to the lungs to reduce the tolerability problems of existing oral therapies.
BiotechHealthtech
Lyn Baranowski(CEO)in
Co-investorsAndera PartnersCatalio Capital Management, LPF-Prime CapitalInVivium CapitalNorwest Venture PartnersRiverVest Venture Partners+9 more
Bolt Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company developing novel immunotherapies that leverage innate immune system mechanisms to treat cancer.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesSan Francisco, US
Dr. Edgar G. Engleman(Founder)
Co-investorsPfizer Venture InvestmentsRA CapitalSamsara BioCapitalSofinnova VenturesVivo CapitalNan Fung Life Sciences+3 more
Rallybio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for severe and rare diseases, with a lead program in RLYB116, a C5 complement inhibitor in clinical development, and a preclinical program in RLYB332, a matriptase-2 antibody for iron overload disorders.
HealthtechFarmington, US
Jeffrey M. Fryer(Executive Officer, Director)Martin W. Mackay(Executive Officer, Director)Stephen Uden(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investors5AM VenturesCanaan Partners
Rallybio is a clinical-stage biotech company developing therapies for people with severe and rare diseases, with a pipeline focused on complement dysregulation and hematology.
BiotechHealthtechNew Haven, US
Stephen Uden(Founder)inMartin W. Mackay(Chairman of the Board of Directors)inJon(Chief Financial Officer)
Co-investors5AM VenturesCanaan PartnersConnecticut InnovationsF-Prime CapitalMitsui Global InvestmentSolasta Ventures
Vaxcyte develops broad-spectrum vaccines to prevent bacterial infections, using a cell-free protein synthesis platform and synthetic chemistry techniques.
BiotechHealthtech
Grant Pickering(Founder)inGrant E. Pickering(Chief Executive Officer and Director)in
Co-investorsBioRock VenturesCTI Life Sciences Fund L.P.Foresite CapitalFrazier Life SciencesLongitude CapitalRA Capital+2 more
Engrail Therapeutics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing precision-targeted therapeutics for neupropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
BiotechDigital HealthMedical DevicesSan Diego, US
Stephen(Co-founder, EVP Research & Development and Chief Development Officer)Paul Cayer(Chief Financial Officer)inVikram(President and Chief Executive Officer)Kimberly(Chief Scientific Officer)Quentin(Chief Technical Officer)
Co-investorsForesite CapitalLongwood FundNorwest Venture PartnersRiverVest Venture PartnersYsios Capitalabrdn plc+4 more
Gracell Biotechnologies develops cell therapy manufacturing platforms and treatments, with a focus on CAR-T cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesSuzhou, CN
Co-investorsLAVLilly Asia VenturesOrbiMedExome Asset ManagementJanus Henderson InvestorsRA Capital+2 more
Plexium is a targeted protein degradation company developing small molecule therapeutics for treating diseases with high unmet medical needs using their proprietary DELTA Discovery platform.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechSan Diego, US
Michael Martin, Ph.D.(Chief Executive Officer, President)Jorge F. DiMartinoinMichael Martin(President, Chief Executive Officer)inStephen Mullennix(Executive Officer)in
BoardSerge Messerlian(Director)inCariad Chester(Director)in
Board seatRob Hopfner· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsCRV (Charles River Ventures)DCVC (Data Collective)M VenturesNeotribe VenturesSoftBank Vision FundTCG Crossover+2 more
Addition Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing therapeutics, led by a scientific and clinical team.
BiotechHealthtechSouth San Francisco, US
Kathleen Collins(Director)inLawrence Kong(Executive Officer)inRon Park(President & CEO)inFrancine Gregoire(Chief Scientific Officer)inPriya Parameswaran(Chief Business Officer)in
BoardJayson Punwani(Director)in
Co-investorsBEVCSR One Capital ManagementAbingworthOsage University Partners
Akouos is a precision genetic medicine company developing therapies for the inner ear to restore, improve, and preserve hearing.
BiotechHealthtechBrookline, US
Emmanuel Simons(Executive Officer, Director)william sewell(Founder)in
BoardEd Mathers(Director)inKush Parmar(Director)in
Co-investors5AM VenturesEcoR1 CapitalNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)RA CapitalSofinnova VenturesCowen Healthcare Investments+1 more
HealthtechSaratoga Springs, US
Daniel T. Pickett III(Executive Officer, Director)Timothy Koehler(Executive Officer)Greg Stephen(Executive Officer)
BoardHolly Benson(Director)Mary Langowski(Director)Peter Dorsman(Director)
Co-investorsClaritas CapitalWhat If VenturesOlive Tree VenturesTakeda VenturesVista Equity Partners
Ark provides a customizable digital platform for venture capital and private equity firms to manage investor communications, performance reporting, and document sharing with their limited partners.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Co-investorsAcies InvestmentsAloft VCAlta PartnersAmity VenturesArtis VenturesAsymmetric Capital Partners+21 more
Arkuda is an independent information platform that provides analysis and reviews of online gaming platforms operating in Azerbaijan, focusing on legal compliance, security protocols, and user protection for gaming platforms like Mostbet.
ConsumerGamingBaku, AZ
Co-investorsAtlas VentureMission BiocapitalPfizer Venture InvestmentsPfizer Ventures
DermBiont develops SM-030, a topical drug candidate targeting melasma, a skin pigmentation disorder, by inhibiting PKC-beta to address the underlying cause of hyperpigmentation.
BiotechDigital HealthMedical DevicesBoston, US
Robert Brucker(Executive Officer)inKarl R. Beutner(Executive Officer, Director)inNichola Eliovits(Executive Officer, Director)inMax Dawson(Executive Officer)in
BoardWilder Ramsey(Director)inJennifer Lee(Director)
Co-investorsCivilization Ventures Management, LlcJoyance PartnersOlive Tree CapitalStart CapitalToba CapitalValia Ventures+1 more
Evommune develops therapies targeting the underlying sources of chronic inflammatory diseases, aiming to provide underserved patient populations with more than symptomatic relief.
BiotechHealthtechPalo Alto, US
Luis Pena(Executive Officer, Director)inJanice Drew(Executive Officer)David Cohen(Director)Gregory Moss(Executive Officer)Eugene Bauer(Executive Officer, Director)Francois Beaubien(Director)
Co-investorsAndera PartnersAvego BioScience CapitalB Capital GroupB4 CapitalBeiersdorf Innovation FundFemHealth Ventures+3 more
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BiotechBoston, US
Axel Bolte(Executive Officer, Director)inReinaldo Diaz(Director)Joseph Schlessinger(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardEdward Mathers(Director)Rob Hopfner(Director)inMartin Edwards(Director)
Co-investorsLongitude CapitalNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Sanofi VenturesSofinnova Ventures
Mosanna is a pharmaceutical company developing a non-invasive nasal spray therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that reactivates the body's natural airway reflex to keep the upper airway open during sleep.
BiotechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
Barbara(Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance leadership)Kevin(Pharmaceutical Development leadership)Pranav(Head of Finance & Operations)Ben(Executive / Board)
BoardDavid White(Sleep Medicine Advisor)
Co-investorsBroadview VenturesNorwest Venture PartnersSupermoon CapitalHTGFInkef
Oculis is a biopharmaceutical company developing pharmaceutical drug products, with a focus on ophthalmic and eye disease treatments.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesBoston, CH
Riad Sherif(Chief Executive Officer)in
Co-investorsBay City CapitalBrunnur Ventures GPVI PartnersBVCF
Windward delivers AI-powered operational intelligence for maritime security and commercial applications, fusing behavioral analytics and multi-sensor data to detect threats and opportunities.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDefense TechTel Aviv
Amiad Daniel(Executive Officer, Director)Matan Peled(Director)in
BoardDov Gatmon(Director)Patrick Poon(Director)Eden Shochat(Director)inThompson Hutton(Director)in
Co-investorsAlephFTV CapitalThompson Hutton, LLCJanus Henderson InvestorsQiming Venture PartnersQuan Capital+3 more
Windward Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing long-acting monoclonal and bispecific antibodies for serious immunological conditions such as asthma, COPD, and dermatological diseases.
BiotechHealthtech
Co-investorsOrbiMedQuan CapitalRA CapitalSanofi VenturesSR One Capital ManagementJanus Henderson Investors+3 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
Inozyme
Exits · 7
6 IPOs · 1 acquisitionsSutroVaxNASDAQ: PCVXAvalyn Pharma IncNASDAQ: AVLNBolt BiotherapeuticsNASDAQ: BOLTRallybio HoldingsNASDAQ: RLYBRallybio, LLCNASDAQ: RLYBVaxcyteNASDAQ: PCVXInozymeacq. by BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesVaxcyte · uk.investing.com · Sep 9, 2026
Evommune · stocktitan.net · Aug 6, 2026
Windward Bio · xtalks.com · May 15, 2026
Windward · medcitynews.com · May 10, 2026
Avalyn Pharma Inc · investing.com · May 1, 2026
Mosanna · vischer.com · Jun 11, 2025
IPO stake values · per SEC filings · 5
Value of this firm's stake in each portfolio company at its IPO price, from the prospectus principal-stockholder table.
| Company | Owned | IPO price | At IPO | Stake value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt Biotherapeutics | 5.5% | $20.00 | Feb 2021 | $37.8M |
| SutroVax | 4.4% | $16.00 | Jun 2020 | $34.1M |
| Vaxcyte | 4.4% | $16.00 | Jun 2020 | $34.1M |
| Rallybio, LLC | 5.4% | $13.00 | Jul 2021 | $22M |
| Rallybio Holdings | 5.4% | $13.00 | Jul 2021 | $22M |
Source: SEC S-1 / 424B prospectus filings. Stake value = shares beneficially owned × the initial public offering price, as disclosed — a market value at IPO, not a return multiple (the firm's original cost is not disclosed).
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Pivotal Life Sciences made?
- Pivotal Life Sciences has 22 tracked investments, 7 of which have exited, including 3 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Pivotal Life Sciences invest at?
- Pivotal Life Sciences invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What sectors does Pivotal Life Sciences focus on?
- Pivotal Life Sciences focuses on Biotech, Digital Health, Healthtech, Medical Devices.
- Where is Pivotal Life Sciences located?
- Pivotal Life Sciences is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Pivotal Life Sciences lead rounds?
- Pivotal Life Sciences typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Pivotal Life Sciences co-invest with?
- Pivotal Life Sciences most often shares deals with Amity Ventures, Artis Ventures, At One Ventures, among 27 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 31
RA Capital is a multi-stage investment firm focused on healthcare, life sciences, and planetary health, investing across public and private markets and creating new companies through its Raven incubation platform.
Sofinnova is an investment firm focused on the life sciences and biotechnology sector, partnering with companies from inception through drug development, regulatory approval, company building, and IPO.
Norwest Venture Partners is an investment firm whose growth equity team backs private, profitable, fast-growing companies, providing capital and hands-on support through its 'invited guest' approach.
F-Prime Capital is an early-stage-focused investment firm backing companies across life sciences, technology, healthtech and services, and crypto.
SR One is a biotechnology-focused venture capital firm that partners with founders to develop innovative science into new medicines.
Longitude Capital is a healthcare venture capital firm that invests in biotechnology, medical technology, and health solutions companies. The firm focuses on companies working to improve clinical outcomes, quality of life, and healthcare delivery efficiency.
Canaan Partners is a venture capital firm with over 30 years of history, backing companies across technology and healthcare sectors through close, hands-on partnerships with founders.
OrbiMed is a global healthcare-focused investment firm providing financing and operational support to companies across biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, and healthcare services.
Abingworth is a life science venture capital firm that backs early-stage biopharma and biotech companies, helping entrepreneurs translate scientific discoveries into new therapeutics.
RiverVest Venture Partners is a life sciences venture capital firm that invests in biotechnology and medical companies, working with entrepreneurs to advance therapeutic and medical innovations.
DCVC (Data Collective) is a deep tech venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs using computational approaches to solve large-scale real-world problems across many industries.
Atlas Venture is a life sciences venture capital firm with three decades of experience investing in and building biotech and medical innovation companies, including startups launched from its own incubator.
▶19 more co-investors
EQT Life SciencesForbionThe Column GroupInkefBVCFSV AngelRevolutionMaveronOperator LPboldstart venturesEarlybird Venture CapitalScalar CapitalDimension CapitalOUP (Osage University Partners)Sofinnova PartnersJohnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDCDomain AssociatesSV Health InvestorsJMI Equity
Firms observed investing alongside Pivotal Life Sciences, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Pivotal Life Sciences's recorded portfolio.
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