Therapeutic Innovations Stand Out to Investors at Triangle Venture Day
Mon, 09/29/2025
Kyle Marshall, NCBiotech
Original article: https://www.ncbiotech.org/news/therapeutic-innovations-stand-out-investors-triangle-venture-day
If you want to know how therapeutic innovation in the Triangle stacks up against other life sciences hubs, just ask an investor who knows the national and global landscape.
Nima Ronaghi, principal at Breakout Ventures, a San Francisco fund that invests in early-stage, science-backed companies, said the Triangle’s maturity as a life sciences hub was evident at a recent Triangle Venture Day event.
“What really stood out to me was how grounded the founders were in both the science and the execution,” he said. “Of course, you’ve got exciting science coming out of world-class research centers. That technical depth is the bedrock of any great biotech, and it’s always been a strength for the Triangle.”
Triangle Venture Day, a private gathering of startups and investors focused on therapeutics, was held earlier this month in Research Triangle Park. Nearly two dozen life sciences startups and academic labs presented their discoveries, milestones and plans to a packed room of potential investors and strategic partners.
Founded in 2022, Triangle Venture Day showcases early-stage companies and innovations spawned from laboratories at Duke University, North Carolina State University, and UNC-Chapel Hill. The event also included North Carolina Biotechnology Center portfolio companies.
Those three institutions, along with NCBiotech, collaborate to bring companies, researchers, venture capital firms and potential corporate partners together for a day of networking and to learn about novel innovations and emerging companies
Scientific and business maturity on display
More than 50 partners and associates from at least a dozen venture capital, private equity and other investment firms took part in this year’s Triangle Venture Day. In addition, representatives from the strategic investment groups of biotech and pharma companies attended.
“The support system in the Triangle, like the universities and the venture groups, is very professional,” said Helen Sun, an associate at Curie.Bio, a global venture capital firm that invests in drug discovery startups across multiple therapeutic areas. “They know what the investors are looking at. They know what pharma is looking at. They’re doing a really great job shaping up the ecosystem.”
Companies that made their pitches agree that the fusion of groundbreaking research and a supportive environment have put the Triangle on the global map for life sciences startups.
“We have a really vibrant industry and entrepreneurship ecosystem here,” said Alessanda Pavesio, CEO and co-founder at Doron Therapeutics, a Series A startup in Chapel Hill that has developed a biologic derived from placental tissue for treatment of osteoarthritis. “Fundraising is hard and lonely. This is a great event for understanding what’s going on in the Triangle for talent and entrepreneurship and to build each other up.”
Advantages of meeting in person
For therapeutics companies that have transitioned out of the lab and onto a commercialization path, Triangle Venture Day is a chance to communicate to potential investors about progress on product development including scientific and clinical validation, while also highlighting the market opportunity and company strategy.
Timm Crowder, whose Raleigh company, Iditarod Bio, is using lung properties to develop treatments for gout and metabolic disorders, spent much of his day talking with potential investors he had encountered previously only through videoconference calls.
“Some of the investors we had only been talking to, and not meeting because they’re at a distance, are actually here,” he said following his presentation. “This [event] draws from a much wider area than the Triangle. It’s always great to get together in person.”
Sun, with Curie.Bio, is getting more opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge of the Triangle’s therapeutic startup scene. She recently moved to the region from San Francisco.
“I think everyone is interested in this region,” she said. “I’m really excited about learning more about this ecosystem. I think we found a lot of interesting ideas here.”
Ronaghi of Breakout Ventures, which was founded by technology investor Peter Thiel’s foundation, added: “I trained at Georgia Tech, and many of us at Breakout were educated and trained in the South. That shared foundation gives us a deep appreciation for how the region combines world-class research with a growing bench of experienced operators. Especially in a tighter funding environment, this kind of thoughtful urgency is exactly what we’re looking for as investors.”
National spotlight
For the universities and NCBiotech, Triangle Venture Day represents one of the year’s biggest opportunities to showcase the region’s innovations on the national stage. Innovation leaders from each organization noted the high level of interest among investors and partners, as well as the quality of the presentations.
“We have now held five venture days in various industry domains in partnership with all of the Triangle Region’s key institutions over the past three years,” said Jeff Welch, director of the Duke New Ventures program in Duke University’s Office of Translation and Commercialization. “This year’s Therapeutics Venture Day has maintained a track record of continuing to bring together ever larger numbers of national and international venture capital and strategic investors with each event to showcase innovative potential startups in the Triangle.
“Especially in a biopharma venture capital environment that has been in decline since 2021, we are gratified that Duke and the broader Triangle’s early-stage biotech innovation machine continues to attract the highest quality investors on the hunt for new medicines to this event – and we are excited by the continuing dialogue toward investment in our presenters’ opportunities that has been catalyzed by Triangle Venture Day,” Welch said.
“We are very proud of the startups and teams that presented at this year’s event. I thought it was especially impressive to see the maturity of our pipeline to have companies returning two years later with key milestones complete and raising significant rounds of investment,” said Tim Martin, interim assistant vice chancellor of new ventures and investments at NC State’s Office of Research Commercialization. “From lab spotlight to Series A, NC State displayed unique and innovative startups who are going to build great companies and deliver therapies that will change patients’ lives. Our collaboration across the Triangle is a cornerstone of the innovation ecosystem unique to North Carolina and we are humbled by the response from the VC community.”
Mireya McKee, director of UNC’s KickStart Venture Services, said, “The Triangle is a hub of therapeutic innovation, and this showcase highlights the region’s strength. With each event we see investor enthusiasm grow for what’s emerging here as we make connections that will drive the next generation of life-science breakthroughs.”
Jason Doherty, senior director of investments in Emerging Company Development at NCBiotech, said that the Triangle Venture Day collaboration between NCBiotech and the university partners continues to be a catalyst for investment activity. That close collaboration is also what enabled the partners to develop a successful Venture Day event.
“The event drew excellent turnout from out-of-town venture capital investors and pharma technology scouts who provided high praise regarding the quality of the event and our region’s investment opportunities,” Doherty said. “Triangle Venture Day has grown to be a powerful platform for evaluating deals and forging new relationships, reinforcing the incredible potential of our region’s biotech startup ecosystem.”
Presenting companies and research labs
*Denotes NCBiotech portfolio companies
Duke New Ventures:
● Fecci/Patel Lab
● Nackley Lab
● Nazare Bio
● Pollara Lab
● Scaglione Lab
● Sipkins Lab
● Surana Lab
NC State Office of Research Commercialization:
● Ancilia Bio
● CerteraBio (Brudno/Pierce Labs)
● Helixomer*
● Intra Therapeutics
● Persistence Therapeutics*
UNC KickStart Venture Services:
● Carey Lab
● Delgen Biosciences (You Lab)
● Freeman Lab
● Nabgen*
● Scherrer Lab
NCBiotech:
● Diorasis Therapeutics*
● Doron Therapeutics
● GeneVentiv Therapeutics*
● Iditarod Bio*
● Junipero Therapeutics
● Tellus Therapeutics*
Sponsors
● Alexandria
● KdT Ventures
● Hatteras Venture Partners
● Breakout Ventures
● Curie.Bio