Good day. Much of the federal government ground to a halt on Wednesday after a funding lapse paused nonessential functions. Biotech venture investors will closely monitor how the shutdown affects portfolio companies' interaction with the Food and Drug Administration.

Omar Khalil, a managing director with healthcare investor Santé Ventures, said the shutdown doesn’t appear to have a significant direct effect on the firm’s early-stage biotech companies right now because the FDA has funding through user fees.

“If it’s days to weeks, it will be fine; if it starts turning into months of a shutdown, everyone’s level of concern is going to increase significantly,” Khalil said. “There’s not a lot of alarm bells going off quite yet.”

More broadly, venture capitalists worry about investor sentiment during a prolonged shutdown.

Aidan Madigan-Curtis, a partner with Eclipse, said a long-term shutdown could affect investor sentiment because of concerns about their existing portfolios and/or new potential investments.

Those concerns include pauses in federally funded contracts and delayed exits if initial public offerings or acquisitions slow as a result of market unease, she said. There could also be anxiety that other investors will pull back or hold back, which can create a chilling effect on the market overall, she added.

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And now on to the news...

Patients take charge of their health. Healthcare is fast becoming a do-it-yourself project for patients.

• With a shortage of doctors, long wait times for appointments and an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes earlier in adulthood, patients are taking a more active role in managing their own health.
   
• Similar to the way workers who once depended on employers to oversee their retirement pensions were handed the reins with 401(k) plans, patients are shouldering responsibility for diagnosing their own symptoms, tracking their own medical data and even ordering their own lab tests.
   
• The challenges aren’t unlike those of managing one’s own financial portfolio: vetting sources of information, evaluating new products and making informed decisions about complex topics. In today’s fast-evolving healthcare landscape, AI and other new technologies and services are emerging to help patients find and act on medical information.

Danish biotechnology company Genmab agreed to buy Nasdaq-listed cancer-treatment developer Merus for around $8 billion in cash, as it looks to bolster its late-stage pipeline as part of a shift toward commercializing more drugs in-house. Genmab said Monday it would pay $97 a share, a premium of around 41% on Merus’s closing stock price on Friday of $68.89. The deal will give Genmab access to the late-stage breakthrough therapy asset petosemtamab, which is in phase 3 development by Merus to treat head and neck cancer. 

People

Drug development startup Quotient Therapeutics appointed Andrew (Andy) Bayliffe as chief development officer. He was previously a venture partner at Apple Tree Partners and chief scientific officer at Marengo Therapeutics.

Cancer treatment startup Dispatch Bio appointed Mauro Avanzi as chief medical officer. He was previously CMO at Shoreline Bio.

Star Therapeutics, a South San Francisco, Calif.-based startup developing antibodies for bleeding disorders and other diseases, scored $125 million in Series D funding. Sanofi Ventures and Viking Global Investors co-led the round, which included participation from New Leaf Venture Partners, OrbiMed, Sofinnova Investments and several others. Jason Hafler of Sanofi Ventures will join Star’s board of directors.

Assort Health, a San Francisco-based agentic AI platform for patient access and experience, closed a $76 million Series B round. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the investment, with Partner Galym Imanbayev joining the board. Additional investors included Felicis, First Round Capital and A*.

Ansa Biotechnologies, an Emeryville, Calif.-headquartered DNA synthesis startup, closed on $45.2 million in Series B funding, and secured commitments for an additional $9.2 million. Cerberus Ventures led the round, with Director Chenny Zhang joining the board.

Visana Health, a Minneapolis-based virtual-first women’s health clinic, completed a $24 million Series A round led by Noro-Moseley Partners.

Predicta Biosciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based startup developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic products for blood cancers and autoimmune diseases, picked up $23.4 million in Series A funding. Engine Ventures led the investment, which included contributions from Illumina Ventures, Lightchain Capital and Mass General Brigham Ventures. Predicta also appointed Brian McKernan as the company’s new chief executive officer.

SureCo, a Santa Ana, Calif.-headquartered individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement administrator, landed $23 million in Series A funding led by Health Velocity Capital.

Aerska, a Dublin-headquartered startup developing RNA medicines to treat diseases of the brain, was seeded with a $21 million investment co-led by Age1, Backed VC and Speedinvest.

Neura Health, a New York-based virtual neurology clinic for patients with chronic conditions, grabbed $11.4 million in Series A funding. The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women venture fund led the round, which included participation from Norwest Venture Partners and others.

Folia Health, a Boston-based startup using home-reported outcomes to gain healthcare insights, closed a $10.5 million Series A round from investors including S3 Ventures and Create Health Ventures.

Confido Health, a New York-based provider of AI-powered voice agents for healthcare, collected $10 million in Series A funding led by Blume Ventures.

BeSound, a San Francisco-based breast cancer screening startup, raised nearly $6.8 million in seed funding co-led by Overwater Ventures, Kindred Ventures and Muse Capital.

• How Trump’s Drug-Buying Site ‘TrumpRx’ Will Work
   
• In Nod to MAHA, Walmart Ditches Dyes, Other Artificial Ingredients in Its Food Brands
   
• Luring U.S. Drugmakers Back From This Irish Outpost Won’t Be Easy
   
• Drug Tariffs Are a Sideshow. Trump’s Next Move Could Hit Pharma Harder.
   
• Cardinal Health to Build Indianapolis Pharma Plant to Supply Growing Distribution
   

• Leucovorin has a place in autism treatment, researcher says, but he tamps down parents’ expectations (STAT)
   
• Should the autism spectrum be split apart? (New York Times)
   
• Shutdown halts some health services as political risks test parties’ resolve (KFF Health News)
   
• MGB leaving some Medicare Advantage primary care networks, affecting 19,000 patients (Boston Globe)

This newsletter was compiled by Matthew Strozier, Zachary Cole and Brian Gormley. 

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.

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