A new biotech company with big goals to transform the cancer treatment space has entered the industry and it’s led by two founders — both coincidentially named Ned.
Jupiter, the brainchild of former National Cancer Institute director Norman “Ned” Sharpless, MD, and biotech entrepreneur Nathaniel “Ned” David, PHD, launched Tuesday with a mission to fund biotech companies that address unmet cancer needs in cancer treatment and other related diseases.
Jupiter will work with emerging research and evaluate the scientific and business potential of ideas before supporting these projects with seed capital to secure intellectual property and investments. The venture closed with $70 million of initial financing.
“We built Jupiter to identify the next set of world-changing ideas and efficiently remove the risks that stand in their way. It is our mission to build companies that improve patient lives.” Sharpless said in a statement.
Both Sharpless and David have decades of experience in the healthcare industry. Together, they have secured the approval of five new medications and four IPOs.
Sharpless served as head of the NCI for nearly five years under two presidents, briefly served as acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in 2019 and was a scientific founder of G1 Therapeutics, which focuses on optimizing chemotherapy and was recently acquired by Pharmacosmos.
David, a PhD in molecular and cellular biology, previously co-founded biotech firms like Syrrx and UNITY Biotechnology.
The Jupiter venture attracted co-founding investors like the Mayo Clinic as well as Mission BioCapital, a life science venture capital firm — both of whom are committed to working with the team to invest in innovative ideas that last.
“Mayo Clinic is committed to producing meaningful, effective change that transforms health and medicine. Clinical excellence requires continual discovery, translation and innovation. We’re eager to see what innovations show promise through this unique biotech model,” said Vijay Shah, MD, Kinney Executive Dean for Research at the Mayo Clinic, in a press release.
Additionally, Sharpless and David have secured other investors like Alexandria Venture Investments, Bioventure Partners, Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property, the CU Healthcare Innovation Fund and more.
In addition to the capital raise and strategic partners, the pair have assembled a formidable leadership team, too.
Jupiter’s board of directors include Dr. Fred Eshelman, founder of Eshelman Ventures LLC, which invests in private healthcare firms, as well as Nirdesh K. Gupta, PhD, managing partner of Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Company, whose work has led to the formation of companies like Prometheus Biosciences and others.
Together, the team aims to work on disrupting the biotech space with their model of investing in ideas and letting companies “fail fast” in an attempt to weed out investment in ideas that won’t last in the space.
“Jupiter’s approach to biotechnology company formation is a truly disruptive innovation, and I’m excited to be part of it,” Eshelman stated.