Good day. Venture capitalists have been backing an emerging type of cellular therapy that could upend a multibillion-dollar category of cancer medicines now sold by Big Pharma. And lately, those drug industry majors have been snapping up startups pioneering the new treatment.

Known as CAR-T, the therapy harvests a patient’s own immune cells, programs them to fight cancer, then returns them to the patient. At present, companies including Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences sell CAR-T treatments, which can be highly effective, and even curative, for some blood cancers. But the process of making them is expensive and laborious.

Now, a new generation of startups seeks to short-circuit this process through drugs that prompt patients to make their own CAR-T cells. These “in vivo” therapies could treat conditions including cancer and autoimmune disease at lower cost, backers say, and unlike existing CAR-Ts could be administered to patients quickly.

Dozens of companies are pursuing the new approach. Investment bank William Blair tallied 54 in-vivo CAR-T developers in a 2025 report, up from 19 in its first report in 2023.

This week one of these startups, Orna Therapeutics, agreed to be acquired by Eli Lilly for up to $2.4 billion. That deal follows drugmaker AbbVie’s 2025 purchase of in-vivo CAR-T startup Capstan Therapeutics, for up to $2.1 billion, and Bristol-Myers’s acquisition of startup Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion also last year. Drugmakers Kite, a Gilead company, and AstraZeneca made smaller in-vivo CAR-T acquisitions in 2025.

Though the field is experimental and not yet Food and Drug Administration-approved, it is getting crowded, said Sami Corwin, an analyst at William Blair who predicts there will be consolidation among companies. “There’s not going to be room for 50-plus in this space,” she said.

Because it’s early days for in-vivo treatments, it remains to be seen if they are as effective as the older CAR-T therapy.

But “if they can achieve anywhere near that bar, then the manufacturing and administration is dramatically preferable,” said Dr. Christiana Bardon, managing partner with Orna investor MPM BioImpact.

And now on to the news...

Healthcare funds. Fundraising for healthcare venture capitalists these days is a slog—but some are overcoming a tough market to corral new investment pools.

• U.S. healthcare VCs raked in capital during the pandemic, amassing $41 billion at the peak in 2021, according to Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank.
   
• But over the next three years funding slid back to pre-pandemic levels, falling to $23 billion in 2024, then nosediving in 2025, when healthcare VCs raised an estimated $7 billion, according to SVB.
   
• Topping reasons for the collapse was the VCs’ struggle to deliver returns to their limited partners. But the pullback also reflects tighter LP budgets and a reassessment of fund sizes after the 2021 fundraising surge, SVB said. 

In an hour-long meeting in January, Food and Drug Administration career staff laid out their objections to a plan to block a new flu shot from vaccine maker Moderna. They argued that refusing to even consider the vaccine was the wrong approach to address any concerns about the product. Vinay Prasad, the head of the FDA vaccine and biologics division, overruled them—despite the agency earlier signing off on Moderna’s approach to studying the shot. Prasad told Moderna earlier this month he wouldn’t review its flu application, arguing that its clinical trial was inadequate. The Moderna decision is part of a pattern of regulatory U-turns and overruling of FDA staff by Prasad, a Covid-vaccine critic elevated by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Healthcare investor Perceptive Advisors is leading a $210 million equity and debt investment in Talkiatry to support the telepsychiatry company’s expanded offerings and technology buildout. Earlier investors Andreessen Horowitz, Blisce/, and Left Lane Capital also participated in the equity investment along with newcomer Sofina, a Belgian publicly traded investment company associated with the Boël family, a Belgian industrial and financial dynasty. Banc of California provided the debt financing. New York-based Talkiatry treats adults and children as young as 5 years old, with virtual therapy offerings to treat anxiety, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress and other conditions.

People

Vynca, a health technology and services provider focusing on serious illness and complex needs, appointed Jill Schwartz-Chevlin as chief medical officer. She was most recently at WellBe Senior Medical.

LateralCare, a revenue cycle management platform for healthcare organizations, appointed William Reau as chief executive officer and Mani Nedunchelian as chief technology officer.

Generative AI healthcare agent provider Hippocratic AI appointed Anoop Sangha as associate chief medical officer, Eduardo Reis as vice president of strategy and Niloy Sanyal as chief marketing officer.

Solace Health, a Redwood City, Calif.-based healthcare advocacy platform, scored $130 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at over $1 billion. IVP led the investment, which included participation from Menlo Ventures, SignalFire and others.

Garner Health, a New York-based platform helping patients find healthcare providers using data science and novel financial incentives, secured $118 million in Series D funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.35 billion. Kleiner Perkins led the round, which included additional support from Redpoint Ventures and others.

ILiAD Biotechnologies, a Weston, Fla.-based startup developing a whooping cough vaccine, completed a $115 million Series B round. RA Capital Management led the funding, with Mario Barro joining the company’s board.

Loyal, a San Francisco-based startup developing lifespan extension drugs for dogs, landed $100 million in Series C funding led by age1.

QuantX Biosciences, a drug discovery startup using advanced modeling and high-performance computing to design oral small molecule therapeutics, closed an $85 million Series B round from investors including Sanofi Ventures. The company has offices in Princeton, N.J. and Shanghai.

Neurent Medical, an Ireland-headquartered developer of a minimally invasive treatment for chronic rhinitis, closed on €62.5 million (about $74 million) in Series C funding. MVM Partners led the round, which saw participation from Sofinnova Partners and others.

Atlas Oncology Partners, a cancer care provider, nabbed $28 million in Series A funding led by Flare Capital Partners.

Somethings, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based digital mental health platform for teens and young adults, secured $19.2 million in Series A financing. Catalio Capital led the round, which included contributions from General Catalyst and Tusk Venture Partners.

OncoRes Medical, an Australia-based provider of real-time tumor assessment for surgeons, closed a 27 million Australian dollar (about $19 million) funding round from investors including Brandon Capital Partners.

Take2, a New York-based AI platform for healthcare staffing and recruiting, snagged $14 million in Series A funding. Human Capital led the investment, which included participation from Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, Reach Capital and others.

Seamflow, a London-based AI startup focused on the testing, inspection and certification industry, collected $4.5 million in seed funding co-led by Northzone and Initialized Capital.

• Novo Nordisk Escalates Fight Against Hims & Hers

• The Weight-Loss Price Wars Are Breaking Big Pharma’s Business Model

• Healthcare Work Propels U.S. to Strongest Job Growth in More Than a Year

• Why Doctors Can’t Agree on How to Diagnose Alzheimer’s

• More Americans Are Dealing With Memory Decline at Work

• Innovent Biologics Strikes Partnership Deal With Eli Lilly

• Trump officials push for skimpier coverage in ACA marketplaces (STAT)
   
• Four states sue administration over loss of public- health funds (New York Times)
   
• New Medicaid work rules likely to hit middle-aged adults hard (KFF Health News)
   
• Gilead dips as ‘strong’ earnings outweighed by high expectations for new HIV drug (BioPharma Dive)

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

Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, and Brian Gormley.

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