Vivo Capital Closes Its Public Fund with Commitments of Over $740 Million

Business Wire

07-05-2025

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vivo Capital ('Vivo' or 'the Firm'), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on healthcare and life sciences, has closed the third cycle of its Vivo Opportunity Fund and its affiliates (the 'Public Fund') with over $740 million in commitments. The Public Fund invests in preclinical and clinical stage life sciences businesses that are developing or commercializing novel therapies for unmet medical needs.
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.'
Dr. Gaurav Aggarwal, Managing Partner at Vivo Capital, said: 'Vivo has been investing in healthcare and life sciences for almost 30 years, demonstrating consistency and supporting innovation across market cycles. We are extremely grateful to the entrepreneurs who enable the innovations we identify and for the support for Vivo Opportunity Fund that has been shown by our existing and new partners alike. We aim to repay this trust and confidence by consistently finding attractive opportunities across the public markets.'
Since its founding in 1996, Vivo's mission has been to find and support the most promising healthcare companies globally to solve impactful healthcare issues. The Public Fund is part of the Firm's wide aperture approach to identifying healthcare opportunities across geographies, stages of development and sub-sectors, and complements the venture capital and growth equity/buyout strategies that comprise Vivo's multi-fund investment platform.
About Vivo Capital
Founded in 1996, Vivo Capital is a leading global healthcare investment firm with a diverse, multi-fund investment platform spanning venture capital, growth equity, buyout, and public equities. The Firm has approximately $5.3 billion in regulatory assets under management and has invested in over 430 public and private companies globally. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with additional offices in Asia, the Vivo team consists of more than 75 multi-disciplinary professionals. Vivo invests broadly in healthcare across multiple sub-sectors, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services, with a focus on the largest healthcare markets globally.