Altitude Life Science Ventures

Altitude Life Science Ventures, founded in 2005, is a Kirkland-based private equity firm specializing in early-stage investments in the United States. Their philosophy centers on focusing on life science markets with strong demand and growth potential, supporting top-tier entrepreneurs to establish robust and sustainable businesses. They build a diversified portfolio in biotechnology, medical devices, and diagnostics, aiming to balance risk and maximize synergies and returns. They invest in companies pursuing significant and expanding market opportunities, with unique technology and competitive advantages, strong management teams, and a clear path to liquidity, adapting to evolving market conditions for optimal investments.

David J. Maki

Co-Founder

Dave Maki

Managing Partner

Kristen Wong

Associate

51 past transactions

BlackThorn Therapeutics

Private Placement in 2019
BlackThorn Therapeutics operator of a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company intended to develop precision medicine for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) based on advances in computational and clinical neuroscience. The company leverages a deep understanding of brain and behavior relationships that seeks to overcome historic challenges in drug discovery and development by targeting dysfunctional brain circuits. Its proprietary computational platform, the company seeks to identify novel targets, small molecule drug candidates and biologically-based patient subgroups most likely to respond to treatment.

Federation Bio

Private Placement in 2020
Federation Bio is pioneering new platforms that target diseases in which the human microbiome can play a curative role. The company's microbial therapy leverages naturally occurring or engineered bacteria along with a diverse community of supportive bacteria to drive engraftment and durable therapeutic responses. This approach has potential in a wide range of human conditions, from metabolic disorders and cholestatic diseases to cancer and autoimmune conditions.

Cero Therapeutics

Private Placement in 2019
CERo Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, researches and develops platforms for cellular immunotherapy. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Ring Therapeutics

Series B in 2021
Ring Therapeutics is a multi-product platform company focused on discovering and developing Anellovector therapeutics to unlock the full potential of gene therapy. Founded by Flagship Pioneering, Ring is pioneering the first redosable and targetable gene therapy platform by harnessing the biology of the human commensal virome. The company is expanding the applications of gene therapy beyond gene replacement, enabling a much wider array of modalities and mechanisms to treat previously inaccessible diseases.

Nuvation Bio

Private Placement in 2019
Nuvation Bio Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapies for oncology. Its portfolio includes various oncology programs with multiple drug development candidates. Nuvation Bio Inc.was formerly known as RePharmation Inc. and changed its name to Nuvation Bio Inc. in April 2019. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in New York, New York with an additional office in San Francisco, California.

Vir

Venture Round in 2017
Vir Biotechnology is a clinical-stage immunology company developing therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. The company brings together cutting-edge innovations with scientific expertise and management. It seeks to take a new approach, using breakthroughs in immune programming to manipulate pathogen-host interactions. Vir Biotechnology also focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. The company four current technology platforms are designed to, either individually or in combination, stimulate and enhance the immune system by exploiting critical observations of natural immune processes. Their vision is that one day, diseases like hepatitis B, influenza A, HIV, and tuberculosis become a thing of the past.

Encoded Therapeutics

Series C in 2019
Encoded Therapeutics is a developer of precision gene therapies intended to provide treatment for a broad range of severe genetic disorders. The company's therapy pipeline addresses devastating genetic and acquired disorders spanning multiple disease pathways including neurocircuitry, metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease, enabling medical practitioners to treat patients and improve their lives.

Omniome

Private Placement in 2018
Omniome engages in developing a proprietary DNA sequencing platform capable of delivering unsurpassed sequencing accuracy. Backed by leading life sciences venture investors and a proven management team, Omniome’s vision is to be the most trusted DNA sequencing platform and leader in clinical sequencing. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Diego, California, United States.

Tessera Therapeutics

Series B in 2021
Tessera Therapeutics is an early-stage life sciences company pioneering Gene Writing, a new biotechnology designed to offer scientists and clinicians the ability to write small and large therapeutic messages into the genome, thereby curing diseases at their source. Gene Writing holds the potential to become a new category in genetic medicine, building upon recent breakthroughs in gene therapy and gene editing while eliminating important limitations in their reach, utilization, and efficacy. Tessera Therapeutics was founded by Flagship Pioneering, a life sciences innovation enterprise that conceives, resources, and develops first-in-category companies to transform human health and sustainability.
Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of Epigenetics, a new field of science which is focused on selective regulators of epigenetic function, which are critical to controlling gene expression.

BlackThorn Therapeutics

Series A in 2016
BlackThorn Therapeutics operator of a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company intended to develop precision medicine for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) based on advances in computational and clinical neuroscience. The company leverages a deep understanding of brain and behavior relationships that seeks to overcome historic challenges in drug discovery and development by targeting dysfunctional brain circuits. Its proprietary computational platform, the company seeks to identify novel targets, small molecule drug candidates and biologically-based patient subgroups most likely to respond to treatment.

BlackThorn Therapeutics

Series B in 2019
BlackThorn Therapeutics operator of a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company intended to develop precision medicine for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) based on advances in computational and clinical neuroscience. The company leverages a deep understanding of brain and behavior relationships that seeks to overcome historic challenges in drug discovery and development by targeting dysfunctional brain circuits. Its proprietary computational platform, the company seeks to identify novel targets, small molecule drug candidates and biologically-based patient subgroups most likely to respond to treatment.

Millendo Therapeutics

Venture Round in 2018
Atterocor, Inc. focuses on research and development of therapeutics for adrenal disease. Atterocor, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Cero Therapeutics

Series A in 2020
CERo Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, researches and develops platforms for cellular immunotherapy. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Arete Therapeutics

Series A in 2007
Arete Therapeutics Inc. is discovering and developing first-in-class small molecule compounds.
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly known as AESTHERx, Inc., was founded in August 2005 and is a privately held biopharmaceutical company located north of Los Angeles in southern California. KYTHERA is focused on science and innovation in aesthetic medicine. This market is expanding rapidly driven by an aging population, increasing discretionary income, and an evolution of patient preference toward restorative and preventative care. The company uses the tools of biotechnology to develop prescription therapeutics for this emerging market.

UNITY Biotechnology

Private Placement in 2018
Unity Biotechnology designs therapeutics that prevent, halt, and reverse various diseases of aging. The company focuses on clearing senescent cells; and designs senolytic medicines. Its medicines target vulnerabilities unique to senescent cells to clear those cells from the human body while leaving normal cells unaffected.

Beam Therapeutics

Series B in 2019
Over half of the genetic errors associated with disease result from a single-letter change in the billions of bases that form the genome. In other cases, certain natural genetic variations in DNA are known to protect against disease. By changing a single letter – to eliminate errors or write in protective changes – in enough cells, base editing may help us prevent, modify, and even cure a wide range of diseases affecting patients’ lives.

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals

Series A in 2016
Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (“sienna”) is a company focused on the discovery, clinical development and commercialization of products in aesthetics and dermatology based on scientific breakthroughs that dramatically improve patient outcomes and physicians’ practice of medicine.

Sana Biotechnology

Private Placement in 2020
Sana Biotechnology focuses on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicine for patients. Recent scientific advances make it possible to reprogram cells in the body or replace damaged cells and tissues, creating a new class of medicines to treat a broad array of diseases. The company is a team of scientists, clinicians and biotechnology veterans focused on creating an enduring company that makes meaningful medicines and will change the approach in treating diseases.

Arete Therapeutics

Series A in 2008
Arete Therapeutics Inc. is discovering and developing first-in-class small molecule compounds.

Neumora Therapeutics

Series B in 2022
Neumora Therapeutics operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering precision medicines for brain diseases through the integration of data science and neuroscience.

Vilya

Series A in 2024
Vilya is a biotechnology company developing a novel class of drugs that precisely target the biology of disease. The company aims to create new medicines to leverage computing to make high throughput screening obsolete and cure diseases.

Effector Therapeutics

Series B in 2015
eFFECTOR Therapeutics is an early stage company focused on the discovery and development of new small molecule cancer therapeutics. eFFECTOR is developing translation regulators to selectively block disregulated translation impacting tumor growth and survival. The company has selected control of mRNA translation as a key point of theerapeutic intervention, providing potency and selectivity while inhibiting growth of cancer cells. eFFECTOR's novel approach provides a real opportunity to bring innovative new medicines to patients in need.

Omniome

Series C in 2020
Omniome engages in developing a proprietary DNA sequencing platform capable of delivering unsurpassed sequencing accuracy. Backed by leading life sciences venture investors and a proven management team, Omniome’s vision is to be the most trusted DNA sequencing platform and leader in clinical sequencing. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Diego, California, United States.

Generate Biomedicines

Series B in 2021
Generate Biomedicines, Inc. develops a platform to invent novel antibodies, peptides, enzymes, receptors, and other therapeutic proteins. It offers Generative Biology, a machine learning based solution that learns from all known proteins in order to encode and apply the fundamental principles of how genetic sequences lead to protein structure and function for creating novel protein sequences with optimized therapeutic potential. Its Generative Biology is applied to all protein modalities and generate novel proteins with desired functions and solutions that interact potently and specifically with therapeutic targets. Generate Biomedicines, Inc. was formerly known as Generate Biologics, Inc. and changed its name to Generate Biomedicines, Inc. in March 2020. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly known as AESTHERx, Inc., was founded in August 2005 and is a privately held biopharmaceutical company located north of Los Angeles in southern California. KYTHERA is focused on science and innovation in aesthetic medicine. This market is expanding rapidly driven by an aging population, increasing discretionary income, and an evolution of patient preference toward restorative and preventative care. The company uses the tools of biotechnology to develop prescription therapeutics for this emerging market.
Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of Epigenetics, a new field of science which is focused on selective regulators of epigenetic function, which are critical to controlling gene expression.

Millendo Therapeutics

Series B in 2016
Atterocor, Inc. focuses on research and development of therapeutics for adrenal disease. Atterocor, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
eFFECTOR Therapeutics is an early stage company focused on the discovery and development of new small molecule cancer therapeutics. eFFECTOR is developing translation regulators to selectively block disregulated translation impacting tumor growth and survival. The company has selected control of mRNA translation as a key point of theerapeutic intervention, providing potency and selectivity while inhibiting growth of cancer cells. eFFECTOR's novel approach provides a real opportunity to bring innovative new medicines to patients in need.

Millendo Therapeutics

Private Placement in 2018
Atterocor, Inc. focuses on research and development of therapeutics for adrenal disease. Atterocor, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Nuvation Bio

Series A in 2019
Nuvation Bio Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapies for oncology. Its portfolio includes various oncology programs with multiple drug development candidates. Nuvation Bio Inc.was formerly known as RePharmation Inc. and changed its name to Nuvation Bio Inc. in April 2019. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in New York, New York with an additional office in San Francisco, California.

Beam Therapeutics

Private Placement in 2018
Over half of the genetic errors associated with disease result from a single-letter change in the billions of bases that form the genome. In other cases, certain natural genetic variations in DNA are known to protect against disease. By changing a single letter – to eliminate errors or write in protective changes – in enough cells, base editing may help us prevent, modify, and even cure a wide range of diseases affecting patients’ lives.

Receptos

Series B in 2013
Receptos is a privately-held drug discovery and development company which utilizes pioneering G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) technology to facilitate information-driven drug design for developing best- and first-in-class drugs.
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly known as AESTHERx, Inc., was founded in August 2005 and is a privately held biopharmaceutical company located north of Los Angeles in southern California. KYTHERA is focused on science and innovation in aesthetic medicine. This market is expanding rapidly driven by an aging population, increasing discretionary income, and an evolution of patient preference toward restorative and preventative care. The company uses the tools of biotechnology to develop prescription therapeutics for this emerging market.

Siluria Technologies

Series C in 2012
Siluria Technologies is a materials innovation company solving global challenges for partners in the natural gas, chemicals and fuel industries. Integrating nanotechnology, biotechnology and chemical engineering, Siluria has developed a solution to the grand challenge of efficient manufacturing: the ability to produce chemicals and fuels from a cheaper, more abundant resource than oil. The company's economically superior, energy-efficient platform converts natural gas into the same materials manufactured today using current industry infrastructure. Siluria's world-class R&D and engineering teams are rapidly commercializing the company's technology to pilot-scale production in close dialogue with the world's largest chemical and fuel companies.Siluria's backers include Alloy Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Lux Capital, and Presidio Ventures.
Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of Epigenetics, a new field of science which is focused on selective regulators of epigenetic function, which are critical to controlling gene expression.

Cambrios Technologies

Series D in 2009
Cambrios Technologies Corp. develops electronic materials for the display industry. The company provides wet-processable transparent conductive films. Its nanostructured materials can be deposited using existing production equipment to achieve enhanced performance of display devices and components. The company was founded in 2002 as Semzyme, Inc. and changed its name to Cambrios Technologies Corp. in August 2004. Cambrios Technologies Corp. is based in Sunnyvale, California.

Siluria Technologies

Series B in 2011
Siluria Technologies is a materials innovation company solving global challenges for partners in the natural gas, chemicals and fuel industries. Integrating nanotechnology, biotechnology and chemical engineering, Siluria has developed a solution to the grand challenge of efficient manufacturing: the ability to produce chemicals and fuels from a cheaper, more abundant resource than oil. The company's economically superior, energy-efficient platform converts natural gas into the same materials manufactured today using current industry infrastructure. Siluria's world-class R&D and engineering teams are rapidly commercializing the company's technology to pilot-scale production in close dialogue with the world's largest chemical and fuel companies.Siluria's backers include Alloy Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Lux Capital, and Presidio Ventures.

Siluria Technologies

Series A in 2010
Siluria Technologies is a materials innovation company solving global challenges for partners in the natural gas, chemicals and fuel industries. Integrating nanotechnology, biotechnology and chemical engineering, Siluria has developed a solution to the grand challenge of efficient manufacturing: the ability to produce chemicals and fuels from a cheaper, more abundant resource than oil. The company's economically superior, energy-efficient platform converts natural gas into the same materials manufactured today using current industry infrastructure. Siluria's world-class R&D and engineering teams are rapidly commercializing the company's technology to pilot-scale production in close dialogue with the world's largest chemical and fuel companies.Siluria's backers include Alloy Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Lux Capital, and Presidio Ventures.

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals

Series B in 2017
Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (“sienna”) is a company focused on the discovery, clinical development and commercialization of products in aesthetics and dermatology based on scientific breakthroughs that dramatically improve patient outcomes and physicians’ practice of medicine.

Pulmatrix

Post in 2015
Pulmatrix, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops inhaled therapies for the treatment, prevention, and transmission control of infectious and progressive respiratory diseases. It offers inhaled cationic airway lining modulator drugs, which stimulate host defense mechanisms within the airway to treat and prevent influenza, rhinovirus, and chronic pulmonary diseases. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Encoded Therapeutics

Private Placement in 2019
Encoded Therapeutics is a developer of precision gene therapies intended to provide treatment for a broad range of severe genetic disorders. The company's therapy pipeline addresses devastating genetic and acquired disorders spanning multiple disease pathways including neurocircuitry, metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease, enabling medical practitioners to treat patients and improve their lives.

Sana Biotechnology

Series A in 2020
Sana Biotechnology focuses on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicine for patients. Recent scientific advances make it possible to reprogram cells in the body or replace damaged cells and tissues, creating a new class of medicines to treat a broad array of diseases. The company is a team of scientists, clinicians and biotechnology veterans focused on creating an enduring company that makes meaningful medicines and will change the approach in treating diseases.

Ring Therapeutics

Series C in 2023
Ring Therapeutics is a multi-product platform company focused on discovering and developing Anellovector therapeutics to unlock the full potential of gene therapy. Founded by Flagship Pioneering, Ring is pioneering the first redosable and targetable gene therapy platform by harnessing the biology of the human commensal virome. The company is expanding the applications of gene therapy beyond gene replacement, enabling a much wider array of modalities and mechanisms to treat previously inaccessible diseases.