Access Biotechnology

Investment Philosophy

Access Biotechnology invests in transformative therapies for conditions with high unmet needs and that have the potential to meaningfully impact human health.

Our approach is characterized by the following:

Broad Scope

We invest in both private and public biopharma companies across therapeutic areas, modalities, and development stages – from discovery-stage technology platforms to late-stage clinical programs.

Long-Term Orientation

Free from the constraints of a typical venture fund cycle, we aim to support the growth of our portfolio companies and build our investments over the long haul.

Flexibility

We adapt our approach to the needs of individual opportunities, while continually adjusting to shifts in the external environment.

Technical Rigor

We leverage our medical and scientific backgrounds to evaluate opportunities deeply, thoughtfully, and efficiently.

Collaborative Style

We partner with founders, management, and fellow investors to build and grow companies that are developing important new medicines.

Emphasis on Fundamental Value Creation

We invest in people, data, and innovation, not momentum or hype. We believe that financial returns will parallel the value we create for patients, caregivers, and society.

Team

Liam Ratcliffe

Head of Biotechnology

Liam Ratcliffe joined Access in April 2019 as head of biotechnology. He was previously Managing Director at New Leaf Venture Partners, where he focused on investing in therapeutic and therapeutic platform companies for 10 years. Prior to joining New Leaf, Liam was Senior Vice President and Development Head for Neuroscience, as well as Worldwide Head of Clinical Research and Development at Pfizer, where he spent a total of 12 years. Liam received his medical degree and Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Cape Town and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. He completed his internal medicine training and fellowship in Immunology at Groote Schuur Hospital and associated teaching hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa.

Portrait of Daniel

Dan Becker

Managing Director

Dan Becker joined Access Biotechnology in August 2019. Prior to Access, Dan was a Principal at New Leaf Venture Partners, where he played a key role in multiple private and public biopharma investments, and a Principal in the Health Care practice at the Boston Consulting Group, where he led projects across the health care sector with an emphasis on biopharma R&D. Dan trained clinically in internal medicine and nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. He obtained both his M.D. and Ph.D. (Cellular and Molecular Biology) degrees from the University of Michigan, and received his B.S. in Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Christine Borowski

Vice President

Christine Borowski joined Access Biotechnology as a Senior Associate in July 2019.  Prior to that she worked on therapeutics company creation at Apple Tree Partners.  Before becoming an investor, Christine worked as an editor at several high-impact scientific journals, most recently as Chief Editor of Nature Medicine.  She earned a Ph.D. in Immunology at Harvard University, studying thymocyte development in the laboratory of Harald von Boehmer.  Her postdoctoral work in the lab of Albert Bendelac at the University of Chicago focused on natural killer T cell development.

Portfolio Companies

Exited Investments

In the News

Endpoints News

No surrender: A group of marquee biotech players bets on the $350M PhIII resurrection story of a heavyweight contender

Anyone reading Biogen’s press release on the flat failure of dexpramipexole in treating ALS couldn’t overlook the note of finality then R&D chief Doug Williams used to mark its grave 10 years ago. The drug failed the primary endpoint. Follow-up analysis left no doubt about the flop. Williams recalls the readout in ALS as “a crushing blow.” And Biogen was done. Dex, though, was not. More

STAT

In early trial, drug shrinks tumors in majority of children with most common form of brain cancer

Day One Biopharmaceuticals reported Sunday that an experimental molecule shrank tumors by at least 50% in a majority of children with the most common form of childhood brain cancer, offering an early but rare glimmer of progress in a disease that has seen little over the last three decades. In the Phase 2 trial, 22 patients ages 3 to 18 with low-grade glioma who had progressed on at least three previous treatments were given a targeted drug called tovorafenib. Of those, 14 — or 64% — saw their tumors wither to less than half their size. Six others had stable disease. More

FierceBiotech

Samantha Truex did a rare thing last time she was CEO: admit defeat. She’s back with a new biotech and $200M

The last time Samantha Truex was CEO of a biotech, she did something rare: She admitted defeat. Quench Bio was wrapping up after a “successful failure” and doing so with money in the bank to hand some capital back to investors. Now, Truex is back at the helm of Upstream Bio, a new inflammatory disease biotech that has been quietly building over the past few months and is ready to reveal today with a whopping $200 million series A financing. That number is near the top in terms of funds raised this year so far, as biotechs take a beating on the market and an industry correction takes place. More

Endpoints News

Looking to run with Big Pharma, a radiopharma startup with backing from Atlas, RA thinks it has the chops to compete

Amid a renaissance in the field of radiopharmaceuticals, a growing chorus of biopharma players is rushing the stage to capitalize on tech breakthroughs. Biotech blue-chippers RA Capital and Atlas Venture, sensing an opportunity, are now setting up their own startup to challenge the big boys. Curie Therapeutics uncloaked from stealth Wednesday with $75 million in Series A funding from Atlas, RA and Access Biotechnology, with the goal of leveraging a seasoned team of experts to get the jump on the growing class of cancer therapeutics, the biotech said. More

Endpoints News

Former Blueprint vets take their new biotech out of stealth, with STAT3 in their sights

Recludix Pharma, a San Diego biotech launched by a founding team of Blueprint Medicines vets, pulled in a $60 million Series A on Monday, promising investors a path to the holy grail STAT3 mutation through what’s called the SH2 domain. Taking over as chief executive is Nancy Whiting, arriving after a 15-year run at Seagen that saw her run corporate strategy and late-stage development at various points. Investors in the round included NEA, Westlake Village BioPartners, and Access Industries. More

FierceBiotech

Nimbus raises $105M for multifront TYK2 clinical trial program

Nimbus Therapeutics has raised $105 million to put its allosteric TYK2 inhibitor through a clutch of phase 2 clinical trials. A syndicate of investors led by BVF Partners has come together to help Nimbus find out if its prospect lives up to that promise. Equipped with cash from new and existing investors including RA Capital Management, Atlas Venture, Access Biotechnology and Commodore Capital, Nimbus plans to start multiple phase 2 studies in 2021 and 2022. More

Endpoints News

Weeks out from an $80M launch, a pain and CNS startup is back with a fresh raise. Can an IPO be far behind?

Not two months after launching out of RA Capital’s incubator, Eliem Therapeutics is returning to the firm — and others — to raise another heap of cash. And this time, an IPO could potentially be in the works. Eliem has put together a $60 million Series B round co-led by RA Capital as it seeks to further advance two lead clinical candidates across four trials. Intermediate Capital Group co-led the round with RA Capital. Other investors included Access Biotechnology, Samlyn Capital, Acorn Bioventures and LifeArc. More

Endpoints News

It’s a new $DAWN for Day One as startup pivots to an IPO for more funding to back its work in pediatric cancer

Pediatric cancer biotech Day One Pharmaceuticals is headed for Nasdaq, in a move that comes less than three months after their work on a brain cancer treatment led to a nine-figure crossover round backed by some blue-chip investors. The South San Francisco-based company is penciling in $100 million as their initial IPO target, though the ultimate raise will likely be higher. More

The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego startup DTx Pharma raises $100M for platform to treat rare diseases

DTx Pharma, a 15-employee San Diego biotechnology company pursuing a platform for creating RNA-based therapies to treat genetic drivers of rare diseases, said Monday that it has raised $100 million in Series B round of financing. The early stage company, which previously raised $10.6 million in a Series A round in January 2020, is pursuing potential treatments in ophthalmology and for neuromuscular diseases initially. More

Fierce Biotech

Merck inks $1.9B Pandion takeover to square up against Amgen, Lilly and Roche

Merck has struck a $1.9 billion deal to buy Pandion. The takeover will give Merck control of a pipeline of immune modulators led by a rival to IL-2 drugs in development at Amgen, Eli Lilly and Roche. Pandion went public last year, pulling in $135 million to fund the development of a pipeline led by an engineered IL-2 mutein fused to a protein backbone. The clinical-phase drug, PT101, is designed to selectively activate and expand regulatory T cells (Tregs) and, in doing so, treat autoimmune diseases including ulcerative colitis. More

FierceBiotech

Childhood cancer-focused Day One banks $130M for pan-RAF inhibitor

It’s been a busy year for Day One Biopharmaceuticals. Just nine months after debuting with $60 million to tackle childhood cancers, the company is topping up its coffers with a $130 million series B financing. The funds will bankroll development and launch plans for its lead program, a pan-RAF inhibitor it’s developing for children with brain cancer, as well as its search for new drug programs to pick up. More

Endpoints News

With ‘rapid’ progress of pediatric brain cancer treatment, Day One sees broad excitement in new crossover round

Roughly nine months after emerging from stealth, Day One Biopharmaceuticals returned to the venture capital well and came away with a nine-figure prize. And with the hefty crossover round, it raises the big question of whether they’re prepping an S-1 to enter a hot biotech IPO market. Day One raised $130 million in a Series B, the biotech announced Wednesday, with the funding led by RA Capital. More
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