Vivo Capital Closes Its Public Fund with Commitments of Over $740 Million
Vivo Opportunity Fund is an evergreen fund with three-year investment cycles. The third cycle of Vivo Opportunity Fund will follow the same strategy as its first and second cycles, leveraging Vivo's deep scientific and technical capabilities to invest in small- and mid-cap biotechnology and life sciences companies. The aim of these investments is to capture value from breakthroughs and clinical milestones.
The first two cycles of Vivo Opportunity Fund have successfully invested in companies that went on to announce significant milestones, such as regulatory approvals, or that were subsequently acquired by global pharmaceutical companies. Recent examples include Verona Pharmaceuticals and its Ohtuvayre™ treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (approved by the FDA in 2024), Geron Corporation's drug RYTELO™ for low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (approved by the FDA in 2024), Avadel Pharmaceuticals and its Lumryz™ for narcolepsy (approved by the FDA in 2023) and, most recently, Soleno Therapeutics, which announced in March 2025 that its VYKAT™ XR treatment for Prader-Willi Syndrome has been approved for use by the FDA. This represents the first approved drug to treat the hallmark symptoms of this disease. Vivo-backed companies that were acquired by major pharmaceutical businesses include Sierra Oncology (acquired by GSK for $1.9 billion in 2022), Gracell Therapeutics (acquired by AstraZeneca for $1.2 billion in 2023), RayzeBio, Inc. (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb for $4.1 billion in 2024), Chinook Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis for $3.2 billion in 2023) and Kadmon (acquired by Sanofi for $1.9 billion in 2021).
Kevin Dai, Managing Director at Vivo Capital, said: "As with its predecessors, the third cycle of the Vivo Opportunity Fund brings a venture capital mindset to the public markets, combining our long-term capital with our deep industry knowledge and experience to capture value for our investors. This strategy supports our approach of looking for the best opportunities across the entire healthcare spectrum."
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