What Apple Tree Partners does

Apple Tree Partners (ATP) is a life sciences venture capital firm founded in 1999 by Seth L. Harrison, MD, headquartered in New York with additional offices in Cambridge, South San Francisco, London, and Branford, Connecticut. The firm creates and invests in biotechnology companies across modalities including RNA exon editing (Ascidian Therapeutics), self-replicating RNA (Replicate Bioscience), IL-2 therapeutics (Aulos Bioscience), T-cell receptor targeting (Marengo Therapeutics), pulsed electric field ablation (Galvanize Therapeutics), selective protein-synthesis termination (Initial Therapeutics), AI-driven drug discovery (Deep Apple Therapeutics), and opioid-use-disorder treatment (Braeburn). ATP supports approximately 30 portfolio companies spanning pre-IP ideation through IPO, drawing on $2.65 billion in committed capital, an in-house ATP R&D Labs facility in Branford for preclinical research, and a team of venture partners with prior leadership roles at Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Amgen, Biogen, Novartis, and Sanofi Genzyme.

The firm's revenue model is traditional venture capital: management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on successful exits. Documented realizations include Akero Therapeutics acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 billion, Chinook Therapeutics acquired by Novartis for $3.2 billion, and prior exits to Medtronic (HeartWare), Abbott (Tendyne), Alexion (Syntimmune), and Johnson & Johnson (VytronUS). In December 2025, ATP Life Science Ventures, L.P. filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware following a dispute with major limited partner Rigmora Holdings (the Rybolovlev family trust) over capital-call obligations, despite reporting assets exceeding $1 billion against liabilities of less than $500,000. The Delaware Chancery Court subsequently ordered Rigmora to pay $97 million, and Oaktree Capital Management is evaluating a $300 million investment as part of a potential reorganization.

Customer segments are two-sided: life-sciences entrepreneurs and academic founders seeking pre-IPO capital and company-creation infrastructure on one side, and institutional investors and family offices seeking life-sciences venture exposure on the other. The firm goes to market primarily through direct networking, scientific advisory relationships, industry-conference presence (ASCO, AACR, ASGCT, J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference), and the visible clinical and commercial progress of its portfolio companies, rather than traditional marketing channels.

Name

Apple Tree Partners

Legal name

ATP Life Science Ventures, L.P.

Website

https://appletreepartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Apple Tree Partners is a life sciences venture capital firm founded in 1999 that creates and funds biotechnology companies from pre-IP ideas through IPO. It manages $2.65 billion in committed capital across approximately 30 portfolio companies spanning RNA editing, srRNA, TCR therapy, PEF ablation, and AI-driven drug discovery for institutional LPs and biotech founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: ATP generates returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies. The firm manages multiple fund vehicles with committed capital from limited partners and earns management fees and carried interest on successful exits.
2. Portfolio Company Equity: Direct equity investments in life sciences companies from seed through IPO and beyond, with successful exits including acquisitions by Novo Nordisk (Akero Therapeutics for $5.2B, Corvidia Therapeutics), Medtronic (HeartWare International), Abbott (Tendyne), Alexion (Syntimmune), and others.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Apple Tree Partners (ATP) is a life sciences venture capital firm that creates and invests in biotechnology and medical technology companies, from pre-IP ideas and asset spinouts through seed stage to IPO and beyond. The firm provides flexible capital, strategic insight, and operational resources to its portfolio, including in-house R&D services through ATP R&D Labs in New Haven, Connecticut.

Product overview

Apple Tree Partners (ATP) is a life sciences venture capital firm founded in 1999 that creates and invests in biotechnology companies starting at various stages from pre-IP ideas to asset spinouts. ATP does not offer a single unified product but rather operates a portfolio of portfolio companies across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology (Aulos Bioscience, Marengo Therapeutics, Aethon Therapeutics), genetic medicine (Ascidian Therapeutics, Initial Therapeutics), infectious disease (Replicate Bioscience, Red Queen Therapeutics), medical devices (Galvanize Therapeutics), CNS/addiction (Braeburn, Nine Square Therapeutics), and others. ATP provides flexible capital, strategic insight, and operational resources through its team of venture partners and in-house ATP R&D Labs facility. The portfolio spans from seed stage through IPO and beyond, with companies at various stages from preclinical to commercialized products like Braeburn's BRIXADI.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Life Sciences Venture Capital Fund Management Management of life sciences-focused venture capital fund vehicles (e.g., ATP Life Science Ventures, L.P.) with $2.65 billion in committed capital, providing equity capital and strategic support to biotech and medtech companies from seed through IPO.
• ATP R&D Labs In-house incubator and accelerator facility in New Haven/Branford, Connecticut offering compound screening, cellular and molecular assays, data analytics, and preclinical pharmacology services to ATP portfolio companies, using in vivo and in vitro methodologies to discover and evaluate small molecules.

Quantifiable outcome

• Akero Therapeutics acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 billion
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Eli Lilly and CompanymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2026Ascidian Therapeutics (ATP portfolio company) entered a global research collaboration and licensing agreement with Lilly to discover and develop RNA exon editor therapies for undisclosed monogenic kidney diseases. Ascidian is eligible to receive up to $1.9 billion including upfront, development and commercial milestone payments, and tiered royalties.
• University of Pennsylvania Institute for Immunology and Immune HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2025Marengo Therapeutics entered multi-year collaboration with University of Pennsylvania Institute for Immunology and Immune Health to advance next wave precision T cell immunology research in oncology and autoimmune diseases.
• Novo NordiskmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2025Replicate Bioscience entered partnership with Novo Nordisk to unlock self-replicating RNA therapies for obesity and diabetes. Also, Deep Apple Therapeutics announced collaboration with Novo Nordisk to discover and develop oral therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases.
• Forge BiologicscoreTechnology or Integration · 7 January 2025Ascidian Therapeutics and Forge Biologics announced manufacturing partnership to advance RNA editing therapy for Stargardt disease.
• Instituto ButantancoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 December 2024Replicate Bioscience entered collaborative agreement with Instituto Butantan to develop and commercialize Replicate's self-replicating RNA (srRNA) rabies vaccine in Latin America.
• Gilead SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 September 2024Marengo Therapeutics announced clinical study collaboration with Gilead Sciences to evaluate Invikafusp alfa (STAR0602) and Trodelvy in both metastatic TNBC and metastatic HR+/HER2- breast cancers.
• RochemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2024Ascidian Therapeutics entered collaboration with Roche for discovery and development of RNA exon editing therapeutics targeting neurological diseases.
• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, GermanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2024Aulos Bioscience entered clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck KGaA to study combination of Bavencio with AU-007.
• IpsenmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2024Ipsen and Marengo Therapeutics announced second strategic partnership to advance precision T cell engagers from Marengo's Tri-STAR platform. Second drug candidate nomination from strategic collaboration.
• NYU Langone Health / Perlmutter Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 January 2023ATP and NYU Langone Health co-founded Aethon Therapeutics with $30M Series A ($25M from ATP). Research partnership with NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center for HapImmune immunotherapy platform.
• Biolojic DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded Aulos Bioscience with Biolojic Design, which provides AI/machine learning capabilities for antibody design. Biolojic Design's computational platform designed AU-007.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OrbiMed: One of the largest dedicated healthcare-focused investment firms globally, investing across biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics. Directly comparable to ATP in life sciences venture mandate, fund size, and company-creation approach.
• Atlas Venture: Early-stage life sciences venture firm that builds biotech companies from inception. Direct peer to ATP's company-creation model, with similar therapeutic breadth and focus on seed/Series A formation rounds.
• Versant Ventures: Healthcare-focused venture firm with dedicated in-house discovery engine (Inception Sciences) mirroring ATP R&D Labs. Direct peer on company-creation model and multi-modality biotech investing.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Pioneering biotech VC firm creating and backing breakthrough life sciences companies from inception through IPO. Comparable to ATP in scale, scientific depth, and long-duration company-building approach.
• Third Rock Ventures: Healthcare venture firm that builds biotech companies around innovative science. Direct peer in the company-creation model, with strong academic founder networks and full operational support model.
• 5AM Ventures: Early-stage life sciences venture firm investing in platform technologies and therapeutic assets. Comparable to ATP in fund size, stage focus, and broad therapeutic-area coverage.
• RA Capital Management: Life sciences-focused investment firm with crossover fund capabilities. Direct peer for late-stage private/public biotech investing and is also a frequent co-investor with life sciences VCs.
• Flagship Pioneering: Biotech company-creation platform that originates and grows breakthrough life sciences companies. Direct peer to ATP's company-creation model, with comparable in-house R&D infrastructure and multi-modality investment approach.

Broad incumbents

• New Enterprise Associates (NEA): One of the largest venture firms globally with a dedicated healthcare practice. Broader incumbent investor with overlapping life sciences activity across stages and modalities.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Multi-stage venture firm with a meaningful life sciences practice. Broader incumbent with comparable biotech deal activity but less concentrated than pure-play life sciences VCs like ATP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apple-tree-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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

M&A

Investments79 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Apple Tree Partners