CTI Life Sciences Fund

What CTI Life Sciences Fund does

CTI Life Sciences Fund is a Montreal-based venture capital limited partnership founded in 2006 that operates as a biotech company builder rather than a passive financial investor. The firm invests in pre-clinical and clinical-stage life sciences companies, primarily in Canada with selective US exposure, and has executed more than 30 investments across multiple fund vehicles (Fund I through Fund IV, with disclosed committed capital exceeding C$234 million). Approximately one-quarter of those investments were companies created from inception by CTI and its partners, including DalCor, Find Therapeutics, Precithera, Epitopea, Oligon Therapeutics, and others sourced from Quebec academic hospitals and research institutes such as the Montreal Heart Institute and IRICoR at the University of Montreal.

CTI's investment strategy spans therapeutic areas and modalities that include gene therapy (enGene), siRNA (Oligon), GPCR-targeting antibodies (Kainova Therapeutics, formerly Domain Therapeutics), mTORC1 inhibitors (Aeovian), tumor-specific antigen cancer vaccines (Epitopea), substrate replacement therapy (Glycomine), and AI-driven tumor stroma targeting (Phenomic AI). The firm has produced 10+ exits including four billion-dollar outcomes: Enobia ($1.1B to Alexion in 2012), TargeGen ($638M to Sanofi in 2010), Amolyt Pharma ($1.05B to AstraZeneca in 2024), and VectivBio ($1.2B to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in 2023). It has also taken portfolio companies public on NASDAQ and NYSE, including Zymeworks, Vaxcyte, and enGene.

The fund's economics follow a standard VC structure: management fees on committed capital during the investment period, declining during harvest, plus carried interest (typically 20% of profits above a hurdle) from exits. Limited partners are predominantly Quebec institutional investors, including FIER Partners, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Desjardins, and Investissement Québec. The firm is staffed by seven investment professionals with deep operating backgrounds in pharmaceutical R&D and biotech corporate development, working out of a single Montreal headquarters at 1 Place Ville-Marie.

Name

CTI Life Sciences Fund

Legal name

CTI Life Sciences Fund, L.P.

Website

http://www.ctisciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CTI Life Sciences Fund is a Montreal-based venture capital firm founded in 2006 that builds and invests in early-stage biotech companies, primarily in Canada, with disclosed committed capital exceeding C$234 million across multiple fund vehicles and a track record of 10+ exits including four billion-dollar acquisitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Venture Capital

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Biotech investments
• Life sciences fund
• Early stage investing
• Company building services

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: CTI Life Sciences Fund generates returns through management fees on committed capital and carried interest (typically 20% of profits) from successful portfolio company exits including acquisitions and IPOs. The fund has achieved significant exits including Amolyt Pharma acquired by AstraZeneca for $1.05B, Enobia Pharma acquired by Alexion for $1.1B USD, and VectivBio acquired by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals for $1.2B USD.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CTI Life Sciences Fund is a Montreal-based venture capital limited partnership that manages multiple fund vehicles (Fund I through Fund IV) and makes equity investments in early-stage life sciences companies in biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, and medical devices, primarily in Canada with select US investments. The firm operates as a company builder, actively creating and developing portfolio companies from inception through inflection, and provides operational expertise, strategic guidance, and network access in addition to capital.

Product overview

CTI Life Sciences Fund is a venture capital firm operating as a 'Company Builder' that manages multiple investment funds (CTI LSF I, II, III, and Fund IV) totaling over $100 million in committed capital. Rather than a unified software platform, the firm offers fund management and company-building services, actively creating and developing portfolio companies from inception through inflection. The firm steers investments toward meaningful exits by leveraging deep industry expertise and an expansive network, with a dual-pronged approach focusing on long-term value creation and expedited exit timelines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CTI Life Sciences Fund (Fund vehicles I, II, III, and IV) A series of venture capital fund vehicles that make equity investments in early-stage biotech companies, primarily in Canada with select US investments, offering institutional Limited Partners access to specialized life sciences venture exposure.
• Company-Building Services Active company creation and operational support services for nascent biotech companies, including deal sourcing from academic institutions, due diligence, structuring, negotiating, and closing of transactions, plus ongoing board-level portfolio management and strategic guidance to drive portfolio companies toward exit.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% hit rate on investments with 10+ successful exits
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Montreal Heart InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource of DalCor's precision cardiology asset, providing Phase 3-ready technology that CTI used to build the portfolio company. The institute is a leader in cardiology research in Canada.
• adMare BioInnovationsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCTI team members including Laurence Rulleau and Youssef Bennani serve on adMare's board and have established 5 new companies through the organization, supporting Quebec biotech ecosystem development.
• University of Montreal / IRICoRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource of Epitopea's novel tumor-specific antigen discovery platform from IRICoR at University of Montreal, enabling CTI to create a cancer vaccine company.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TVM Capital Life Sciences: International venture capital firm focused on life sciences investments with company creation approach in biotech. Direct peer given parallel company builder model and early-stage clinical investment focus.
• Lumira Ventures: Canadian healthcare and life sciences venture capital firm investing in early and growth-stage biotech and medtech companies across North America. Direct peer given similar focus on Canadian biotech ecosystem and comparable fund size to CTI.
• Genesys Capital: Toronto-based Canadian venture capital firm focused on emerging healthtech and biotech companies. Direct peer operating in the same Canadian life sciences VC ecosystem with similar early-stage investment thesis.
• Amplitude Ventures: Canadian life sciences venture capital firm that creates, builds, and invests in precision medicine companies. Direct peer given similar company-builder model and Canadian biotech focus.
• Forbion: European life sciences venture capital firm focused on late-stage biotech and company creation. Direct peer given parallel approach of building biotech companies (Forbion SPAC took enGene public) and clinical-stage investment focus.
• Atlas Venture: Boston-based early-stage life sciences venture capital firm that builds biotech companies from inception. Direct peer given parallel company builder model and pre-clinical/clinical investment focus, though with significantly larger fund sizes.
• Versant Ventures: Healthcare-focused venture capital firm with deep biotech investment practice and company creation approach. Direct peer given parallel sector focus and company building methodology.

Regional players

• adMare BioInnovations: Canadian biotech company builder that creates new companies from academic research, with CTI team members on its board. Strategic partner and regional peer in the Canadian biotech ecosystem, with overlapping company creation focus but different operating model (institute vs fund).

Broad incumbents

• OrbiMed: Large global healthcare-dedicated investment firm across venture, growth, debt, and public equities. Broad incumbent with overlapping biotech investment focus but vastly larger fund sizes and broader stage range than CTI.
• Frazier Healthcare Partners: US-based healthcare-focused venture and growth capital firm investing across biotech and medical devices. Broad incumbent peer with similar company creation approach but larger fund sizes and broader geographic presence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cti-lsf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments44 records

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

Frequently asked questions about CTI Life Sciences Fund