Luma, a Life-Sciences Investor, Debuts a $410 Million Fund

Good day: Investments in biomedical startups can take more than a decade to pay off. The structure of the new $410 million venture fund from life-sciences investor Luma Group reflects that and a bit more.

Most venture-capital funds are 10-year limited partnerships, so investors expect their money back, plus profits, in that time frame, though extensions can be granted.

New York-based Luma instead structured its fund, LumaBio I LP, as a 15-year vehicle so it can hold investments longer and, potentially, reap greater paydays by exiting its positions when portfolio companies are more mature and more highly valued. Managing Member Josh Fink and General Partner Themasap Khan founded Luma Group.

Fink said the team put a great deal of thought into the fund structure and decided it should align with the long timelines companies often need to advance new treatments.

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Flare Capital Partners said Sara Hoffman joined the firm as a senior associate. Prior to joining Flare, she led AI strategy initiatives at Harvard Medical School.

Biopharmaceutical investment firm Sofinnova Investments added Merdad Parsey to the investment team as an executive partner. He previously served as executive vice president and chief medical officer of Gilead Sciences.

Precision oncology startup Alterome Therapeutics appointed Johanna Mylet as chief financial officer. She was previously CFO at Poseida Therapeutics.

Cytospire Therapeutics, a startup developing immune cell engager antibodies, appointed Sumeet Ambarkhane as chief medical officer. He most recently served as CMO of Pathios Therapeutics.

Encoded Therapeutics, a South San Francisco, Calif.-based developer of precision genetic medicines for severe neurological disorders, closed a $275 million Series F round from investors including GV and Venrock.

Solstice Oncology, a Boston-based immuno-oncology startup whose lead candidate is undergoing clinical trials as a possible treatment for colon cancer, launched with $225 million in Series A funding. RA Capital Management led the investment, which included contributions from Canaan Partners, Forbion and others.

Forus, a New York-headquartered prescription drug automation platform, landed $150 million in Series C funding at a $3 billion valuation. Bain Capital Ventures led the investment, which included participation from Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Accel, Redpoint Ventures, BoxGroup, Pear and others.

Inspiren, a New York-based provider of AI-powered senior living technology, snagged $70 million in Series C funding at a valuation exceeding $500 million. NewView Capital led the investment, which included additional support from Insight Partners, Primary Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners and others.

Moonwalk Biosciences, a South San Francisco, Calif.-based startup developing RNA interference medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, closed a $70 million Series B round. Alpha Wave Global and YK Bioventures co-led the investment, which included additional support from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Future Ventures.

TwoStep Therapeutics, a San Carlos, Calif.-based startup developing targeted therapies for solid tumors, nabbed $62.5 million in Series A financing from investors including Insight Partners, Medical Excellence Capital, M Ventures and Pfizer Ventures.

Superluminal Medicines, a Boston-based biotechnology startup whose lead program seeks to treat rare genetic forms of obesity and hypothalamic obesity, completed a $60 million Series B round. BVF Partners led the funding, which saw participation from Deep Track Capital, Insight Partners and others.

Cloverleaf Bio, a New Haven, Conn.-headquartered startup developing engineered tRNA-based therapeutics for cancer, was seeded with a $33 million investment led by 4BIO Capital.

System, a San Francisco-based peptide platform connecting patients with licensed clinicians, picked up $20 million in funding from investors including Patron Fund and Will Ventures.

GenHealth.ai, a Boston-headquartered startup building AI agents for medical back office tasks, collected $16.5 million in Series A funding led by Flare Capital Partners.

Ridge Biotechnologies, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based precision medicine startup, added $13 million in new seed funding, bringing the total raised by the company to about $38 million. Investors included Dimension and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Navion Neurosciences, a Charlottesville, Va.-based startup developing precision medicines for neurological diseases, secured $10.8 million in seed financing led by the Angelini Lumira Biosciences Fund.

This newsletter was compiled by Matthew Strozier, Zachary Cole and Brian Gormley.

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The team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Sarah Klearman.

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