Longwood Fund

What Longwood Fund does

Longwood Fund is a Boston-based venture capital firm founded in 2010 by Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD, and Rich Aldrich, MBA, that creates and invests in science-based healthcare companies developing novel therapies for serious medical problems. The firm's distinctive operating model centers on active co-founding: Longwood partners typically take operating roles — Co-Founder, CEO, Chair, Executive Chair, CBO, or President — at portfolio companies rather than serving as passive financial backers. The team is supported by a Strategic Advisory Board that includes Nobel Laureate Phil Sharp, Lasker Award winners Stephen Elledge and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, and former CEOs of Alnylam, Vertex, Genzyme, Takeda, Biogen, Lundbeck, and Sage Therapeutics, plus senior R&D leaders from Novartis, Amgen, Bayer, and Dana-Farber.

The firm's "technology" is its company-creation engine and convening platform rather than any proprietary scientific asset. Longwood sources deals through deep relationships with scientific co-founders at MIT, Harvard, Dana-Farber, University of Pennsylvania, Telethon TIGEM, Baylor, and Scripps, and reinforces this network through the Longwood Healthcare Leaders conference series — a quarterly invitation-only forum for biotech executives, scientific leaders, and government officials. Portfolio platforms span induced-proximity small molecules (Photys PHICS), bispecific ADCs (Sidewinder), molecular glue degraders (Neomorph), dual-AAV gene therapy (AAVantgarde), engineered B-cell therapies (Be Biopharma), in vivo CAR-T (Interius), macrophage-mediated oncology (DEM Bio CHoMP), CNS therapeutics (Newleos), AI-driven discovery (Xaira), and more. 25 companies have been co-founded, generating $170–190B in sustained market/exit value, 20+ FDA-approved drugs, and 5,000+ Boston-area jobs.

The revenue model is that of a traditional venture capital firm: management fees on committed/invested capital from limited partners, plus carried interest on profitable exits from portfolio companies. Recent and historical exits include the $1.4B Invitae acquisition of ArcherDX, $350M Gilead/Kite acquisition of Interius (August 2025), $225M+ Astellas acquisition of Mitobridge, and Eli Lilly's acquisition of Alnara. Portfolio company licensing and co-development deals with Boehringer Ingelheim alone (Rectify $448M, Immunitas $478M, Sitryx $500M+) plus partnerships with Bayer, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, and AstraZeneca provide multiple liquidity pathways. The GTM motion is relationship-driven and ecosystem-anchored: Longwood does not "sell" a product but originates deals through scientific co-founder networks, the Strategic Advisory Board, and the conference platform, then participates in each company's investor syndicate often as lead investor.

Name

Longwood Fund

Legal name

Longwood Fund

Website

http://www.longwoodfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Longwood Fund is a Boston-based venture capital firm that co-founds and actively operates science-based biotech companies developing novel therapies. Partners serve as CEO, Chair, or lead investor, supported by an elite Scientific Advisory Board and the Longwood Healthcare Leaders conference platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund returns: Longwood Fund is a venture capital firm that raises capital from limited partners (LPs) and invests in biotech companies, generating revenue primarily through management fees on committed/invested capital and carried interest (carry) on profitable exits from portfolio companies. The firm co-founds and operates companies, often as lead investor or chair, and exits via IPO (e.g., Alnylam, Momenta, Acceleron, Sirtris, Verastem, TScan), M&A (e.g., Alnara to Lilly, Mitobridge to Astellas, Interius to Gilead/Kite, ArcherDX to Invitae), or other liquidity events.
2. Realized exits and IPO value capture: Longwood captures upside from portfolio company IPOs and acquisitions across therapeutic areas, including FDA-approved products from Verastem (COPIKTRA/duvelisib; AVMAPKI/FAKZYNJA combination), Alnylam (RNAi medicines), and others, contributing to $170–190B+ in sustained market/exit value across co-founded companies.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Longwood Fund is a Boston-based venture capital firm that creates and invests in science-based healthcare and biotechnology companies developing novel therapies for important medical problems. The firm differentiates itself by co-founding companies alongside world-class scientific founders and taking active operating roles (Co-Founder, CEO, Chair, Exec Chair, CBO, or President) at portfolio companies, providing value-add operational and strategic partnership beyond capital. Longwood's portfolio spans oncology, neuroscience, rare/genetic disease, women's health, immunology, fibrosis, gene/cell therapy, and AI-driven drug discovery.

Product overview

Longwood Fund is a venture capital firm dedicated to creating and investing in novel healthcare companies. Rather than offering a single unified software product, the firm's offerings are organized as a platform-plus-modules architecture of co-founded and invested biotech portfolio companies, augmented by the Longwood Healthcare Leaders conference program. Its active portfolio spans oncology (e.g., Avenzo Therapeutics, Pyxis Oncology, Werewolf Therapeutics, Verastem, TScan Therapeutics, Crystalys Therapeutics), targeted protein degradation and genetic medicines (e.g., Neomorph, AAVantgarde Bio, Carbon Biosciences, Be Biopharma), immunology and fibrosis (e.g., Evommune, Mediar Therapeutics, Lassen Therapeutics, Sitryx), CNS therapeutics (e.g., Newleos Therapeutics), and AI-driven drug discovery (e.g., Xaira Therapeutics), along with other programs (e.g., Photys Therapeutics, Rectify Pharmaceuticals, Interius BioTherapeutics, DEM Bio, Coultreon Biopharma, Engrail Therapeutics, Sidewinder Therapeutics, Progentos, BBOT, Immunitas Therapeutics, XyloCor, Solu Therapeutics). Earlier co-founded companies include Vertex, Alnylam, Momenta, Acceleron, Sirtris, Concert, and Axial. The Longwood Healthcare Leaders conference is a separately hosted program that complements the investment activity by convening industry executives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Longwood Healthcare Leaders: Industry-leading conference series co-founded and run by Arielle Jackson and Christoph Westphal, convening top industry thought leaders, executives, and government officials for quarterly off-the-record, invitation-only forums.

Products and services

• Longwood Venture Capital Funds Pooled venture capital funds that invest in early-stage and clinical-stage biotech and therapeutic companies across multiple therapeutic areas (oncology, neuroscience, rare/genetic disease, women's health, immunology, fibrosis, gene/cell therapy, and AI-driven drug discovery), with Longwood taking operating roles (Co-Founder, CEO, Chair, CBO, President) and exiting via IPO or M&A.
• Company Co-Founding and Operating Partnership

Quantifiable outcome

• $190 billion in sustained market/exit value across co-founded companies
• +11 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered merger partner, flagship pharma partner, asset source partner and co-investor, strategic pharma partner, founder partner, manufacturing partner, co-founder, acquirer, asset in-license partner, flagship asset source partner, delivery technology partner, spin-out partner, academic partner, acquirer of portfolio asset and acquirer (historical exit).

• Rallybio Corporationmerger partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Avenzo Therapeutics (Longwood portfolio company developing next-generation oncology therapies including CDK2/CDK4 inhibitors and bispecific ADCs) announced a merger agreement with Rallybio and a concurrent $215 million private placement to advance next-generation oncology therapies.
• Boehringer Ingelheimflagship pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2026Boehringer Ingelheim licensed a preclinical antibody program from Longwood portfolio company Immunitas Therapeutics to advance treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases, in a deal worth up to $478M (€407M) in biobucks.
• Galapagos NVasset source partner and co-investorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2026Galapagos originally developed COL-5671 (Coultreon's lead oral SIK3 inhibitor) and fully transferred it to Coultreon in April 2025 with an initial seed investment. Galapagos also participated in Coultreon's $125M Series A as an investor.
• Boehringer Ingelheimflagship pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Boehringer Ingelheim acquired an exclusive license from Longwood portfolio company Sitryx Therapeutics for a preclinical small molecule program targeting immune diseases, in a deal potentially worth $500M+. The partnership leverages Sitryx's metabolism-focused immunology platform.
• Eli Lillystrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2026Eli Lilly has an existing deal with Mediar Therapeutics for MTX-463, which is in a Phase 2a study for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Eli Lilly previously acquired Longwood co-founded Alnara Pharmaceuticals in July 2010.
• Boehringer Ingelheimflagship pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 December 2025Boehringer Ingelheim entered a collaboration with Longwood portfolio company Rectify Pharmaceuticals to advance first-in-class treatments for chronic kidney disease using Rectify's Positive Functional Modulators (PFMs) targeting ABC transporters. The deal is worth up to $448M in future milestones.
• Telethon Foundation (TIGEM)founder partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2025AAVantgarde Bio was co-founded by Professor Alberto Auricchio at TIGEM (Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine) in Naples, Italy, and Telethon Foundation. The foundation is a co-founder and scientific partner behind the company's dual-AAV vector gene therapy platforms targeting inherited retinal diseases.
• AGC Biologicsmanufacturing partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2025AGC Biologics announced an agreement to manufacture AAVantgarde's dual-vector gene therapies for inherited retinal disorders, supporting clinical development of AAVB-039 (Stargardt) and AAVB-081 (Usher 1B).
• Novo Venturesco-founderStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2025Crystalys Therapeutics was co-founded by Novo Ventures and Catalys Pacific as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company transforming gout treatment, raising $205 million Series A to fund global Phase 3 trials of dotinurad, a next-generation URAT1 inhibitor.
• Catalys Pacificco-founderStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2025Catalys Pacific co-founded Crystalys Therapeutics alongside Novo Ventures, providing biotech creation expertise for the gout-focused biopharmaceutical company advancing dotinurad in global Phase 3 trials.
• Gilead Sciences / Kite PharmaacquirerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2025Gilead's Kite Pharma acquired Interius BioTherapeutics, a Longwood Fund portfolio company developing in vivo CAR-T gene therapy, in a $350 million transaction to advance Kite's in vivo cell therapy platform.
• Polymedasset in-license partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2025Photys Therapeutics entered into an exclusive license agreement with Polymed for a Phase 1-ready IRAK4 degrader, furthering the proximity-based pipeline and mission of the Longwood portfolio company.
• Rocheflagship asset source partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Roche licensed CNS drug assets to Longwood Fund-formed Newleos Therapeutics, providing the scientific foundation for the company's pipeline. Newleos was created with these licensed Roche assets and is developing next-generation neuropsychiatric therapies including NTX-1955 for generalized anxiety disorder.
• Novo Nordiskflagship pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2024Novo Nordisk entered into a research collaboration with Longwood portfolio company Photys Therapeutics to develop induced proximity PHICS technology for cardiometabolic diseases. The deal is worth up to $186 million in milestones and combines Photys' proprietary bifunctional small molecule platform with Novo Nordisk's cardiometabolic expertise.
• SmartCelladelivery technology partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 July 2024XyloCor Therapeutics (Longwood portfolio company) entered into a license agreement with SmartCella to use the Extroducer delivery technology to administer XyloCor's novel gene therapy XC001 to the heart for coronary artery disease.
• BridgeBio (parent)spin-out partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024BBOT was initially formed as a subsidiary of BridgeBio and completed a $200M private financing with external investors in 2024 to advance its pipeline of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting RAS and PI3K malignancies, including BBO-10203 (RAS:PI3Kα breaker).
• Bayerstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2023Bicycle Therapeutics entered a $1.7B strategic collaboration with Bayer to develop bicyclic peptide-based medicines, the second major Big Pharma partnership Bicycle signed within two months in 2023.
• Novartisstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 March 2023Bicycle Therapeutics (Longwood portfolio company) announced a strategic collaboration with Novartis to discover, develop, and commercialize Bicycle Radio-Conjugates, leveraging Bicycle's bicyclic peptide platform for targeted radiopharmaceuticals.
• AstraZenecastrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2021GRAIL (Longwood portfolio company) announced a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop early cancer detection tests leveraging GRAIL's methylation-based multi-cancer early-detection technology.
• IlluminaacquirerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 August 2021Illumina acquired GRAIL (Longwood portfolio company) to accelerate patient access to life-saving multi-cancer early-detection tests. The acquisition was completed in 2021 and GRAIL was subsequently divested.
• Ionis Pharmaceuticalsstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 July 2021Bicycle Therapeutics entered an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Ionis Pharmaceuticals to develop targeted oligonucleotide therapeutics using Bicycle's bicyclic peptide technology.
• University College London (UCL)academic partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2020ArcherDX extended its TRACERx Program collaboration with UCL to evaluate cancer evolution using ArcherDX's Anchored Multiplexed PCR chemistry and bioinformatics platform.
• Invitae CorporationacquirerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2020Invitae acquired ArcherDX (Longwood portfolio company developing next-generation sequencing companion diagnostics) for $1.4 billion in October 2020 to create a global leader in comprehensive cancer genetics and precision oncology.
• Bristol-Myers Squibbstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2020ArcherDX entered a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb to apply Personalized Cancer Monitoring (PCM) to clinical research, advancing cancer mutation identification and companion diagnostics.
• Secura Bioacquirer of portfolio assetStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2018Verastem (Longwood co-founded company, NASDAQ: VSTM) sold its COPIKTRA (duvelisib) asset to Secura Bio in September 2020. Verastem subsequently received FDA approval for the AVMAPKI FAKZYNJA combination therapy as the first-ever treatment for adult patients with KRAS-mutated recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer in May 2025.
• Astellas Pharmaacquirer (historical exit)Strategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2018Astellas Pharma completed its acquisition of Mitobridge (Longwood portfolio company) in January 2018, having exercised its November 2017 exclusive option to purchase Mitobridge for $225 million plus future contingent payments up to $225 million based on clinical program advances.
• Bioverativstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Bicycle Therapeutics (Longwood portfolio company) has entered into strategic partnerships with Biogen-spinout Bioverativ, AstraZeneca, and ThromboGenics leveraging its proprietary bicyclic peptide (Bicycle®) product platform.
• ThromboGenicsstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Bicycle Therapeutics has entered into strategic partnerships with ThromboGenics (now Oxurion) alongside Bioverativ and AstraZeneca, leveraging Bicycle's bicyclic peptide technology to address therapeutic needs unreachable with existing modalities.
• Merckstrategic pharma partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2017KalVista Pharmaceuticals (Longwood portfolio company) signed a deal with Merck for $37M upfront and milestone payments up to $715M plus a 9.9% equity stake for development of plasma kallikrein inhibitors. Merck also acquired Longwood co-founded Acceleron Pharma.
• Eli Lillyacquirer (historical exit)Strategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2010Eli Lilly acquired Alnara Pharmaceuticals, a Longwood Fund I co-founded company developing liprotamase for cystic fibrosis pancreatic enzyme replacement, approximately six months after Longwood I invested. Alnara was founded in 2008 by Christoph Westphal, Rich Aldrich, and Alexey Margolin.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Atlas Venture: Boston-based biotech VC that builds and co-founds early-stage therapeutic companies with active operating involvement. Closest peer to Longwood by model, geography, and stage focus, with co-investments visible in multiple Longwood deals (e.g., AAVantgarde Bio $141M Series B).
• Flagship Pioneering: Cambridge-based biotech creation engine that originates and co-founds platform companies (e.g., Moderna). Comparable to Longwood as a co-founder-led firm building science-based companies, though Flagship operates at much larger AUM scale.
• Third Rock Ventures: Boston-based biotech VC that co-founds and operates therapeutic companies from inception (e.g., Foundation Medicine). Comparable to Longwood through its founder-led company-creation model in the Boston ecosystem, often competing for the same scientific founders.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Long-standing biotech creation firm that co-founds and leads deep-tech life sciences companies (e.g., Illumina, Alnylam co-investor). Highly comparable as a founder-led biotech VC with track record of building platform companies, though larger and more diversified across modalities.
• 5AM Ventures: Early-stage biotech VC focused on forming companies around breakthrough science. Comparable to Longwood in stage focus and Boston presence, with shared portfolio company relationships (e.g., Lucy Liu's prior fellowship at 5AM).
• Versant Ventures: Healthcare-focused VC that builds biotech companies across multiple therapeutic areas. Comparable to Longwood by stage and operating involvement, with similar portfolio focus on oncology, rare disease, and platform therapeutics.
• Frazier Life Sciences: Biopharma-focused VC investing across all stages of therapeutic development. Directly comparable as a lead investor in clinical-stage biotech (e.g., co-led Sidewinder $137M Series B with Longwood participation), with similar pharma partnership orientation.
• MPM Capital: Biotech-focused VC that invests across early and late-stage therapeutic companies. Comparable to Longwood by stage and therapeutic area focus (oncology, rare disease), with similar founder-led deal flow.
• RA Capital Management: Boston-based healthcare-focused investment firm founded by Rich Aldrich (also Longwood's Founding Partner). Highly comparable by portfolio overlap, founder relationship, and biotech deal flow, with crossover fund capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• OrbiMed: Largest healthcare-dedicated investment firm globally, with venture, growth, and credit strategies across biotech, medtech, and healthcare services. Comparable as a Boston/globally-active biotech VC, though operating at significantly larger AUM scale than Longwood.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/longwoodfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments75 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Longwood Fund