Hatteras Venture Partners‘s fourth venture fund is closing in on its $125 million target and the venture capital firm has now formally launched the seed-stage portion of the fund, which will invest in seed-stage opportunities in medicine and life sciences.
Durham, North Carolina-based Hatteras has raised $74 million in the fourth fund so far. The seed-stage portion of the fund, dubbed Hatteras Discovery, will allocate roughly 20 percent of the total fund — up to $25 million — for companies working to “rapidly move new ideas to proof of concept.”
Hatteras Discovery is led by Christy Shaffer, former CEO of Raleigh, North Carolina company Inspire Pharmaceuticals. Shaffer joined Hatteras in February to become managing director of Hatteras Discovery. In May, during a forum in Research Triangle Park to discuss funding issues for small companies, Shaffer said that Hatteras Discovery plans to invest in 10 to 15 companies. Initial investments would start at $250,000 but would include follow-on money. Following the initial investments, Hatteras will determine whether to create new companies or license the discoveries to pharmaceutical companies. Shaffer said the fund will consider investing in oncology, orphan disorders and focused therapeutics areas. The fund will likely avoid cardiovascular investments.
With Hatteras’s first three funds, the firm has more than $120 million under management. Hatteras is still investing from its third fund, an $83 million early stage fund that invests in “breakthrough discoveries that impact human medicine.” Portfolio companies include Research Triangle companies CancerGuide Diagnostics, Viamet Pharmaceuticals and clinical research organization Clinipace Worldwide.
