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Axial VC

San Francisco, CA · Invests in US · Website

Thesis

Back exceptional inventors building their own enduring businesses in life sciences. Founders who design the initial conditions of a company have superior odds of creating transformative value.

Likely not a fit for

Non-founder-led teams, late-stage companies, consumer health without scientific basis, teams without deep domain expertise

How they invest

Lead or follow
Usually leads
Typical decision
~1 week
Warm intro
Preferred
Involvement
Takes a board seat
Fund status
Actively deploying
Decision process
Partnership vote

Partners & team

1 contact on file

JE

Joshua Elkington

General PartnerFounder and General Partner · Primary contact

+ Pitch

LinkedIn profile

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Portfolio

Aperiam BioBiotech Life Sciences

Aperiam Bio utilizes advanced computer vision algorithms to identify and optimize protein structures, enhancing their performance for various applications including therapeutics and cosmetics.

Appia BioBiotech Life Sciences

Appia Bio is a biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic cell therapies.

Adaptyv BiosystemsBiotech Life Sciences

Adaptyv is the cloud lab for protein designers, providing automated lab services to generate experimental data for AI models in protein design.

Arda TherapeuticsBiotech Life Sciences

Arda Therapeutics is focused on targeting pathogenic cells to treat chronic diseases using advanced single-cell data analysis to design therapies that specifically eliminate these cells.

Attivare TherapeuticsBiotech Life Sciences

Attivare Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative immunotherapies to treat tumors with low immunogenicity and infectious diseases using its proprietary ATTImmune platform.

BluumBioBiotech Life Sciences

BluumBio is a biotech company that rapidly cleans soil, air and water using natural enzymes found in fungi, tropical trees, and bacteria to remove industrial chemicals from the environment.

Bristle HealthHealthcare Digital

Bristle Health offers an at-home oral health test that provides insights into oral microbiome health, helping users identify the root causes of oral health issues and offering personalized care plans.

Catena BiosciencesBiotech Life Sciences

Catena Biosciences is focused on revolutionizing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with its CysTyr™ Conjugation Platform, enabling the creation of Multi-Payload Conjugates (MPCs) that deliver dual payloads for treating solid tumors.

Charm TherapeuticsBiotech Life Sciences

CHARM Therapeutics is pioneering a new generation of menin inhibitors for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), focusing on overcoming resistance mutations and improving efficacy and safety profiles.

Colorado BiofactoryBiotech Life Sciences

ZymeCO creates advanced bio-solutions inspired by nature’s recyclers, transforming organic matter into rich soil and boosting plant growth for sustainable agriculture and turf management.

Concerto BiosciencesBiotech Life Sciences

Concerto Biosciences is focused on creating safe, effective microbial products for human health, leveraging deep ecological insights and advanced AI technologies to develop innovative solutions for skincare, chronic diseases, and nutrition.

Deciduous TherapeuticsBiotech Life Sciences

Deciduous Therapeutics aims to positively impact human health span through the development of novel medicines that activate the endogenous immune mechanism responsible for the elimination of senescent cells.

Recent activity

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Research briefRead more
Axial VC Research Investment Thesis Axial VC is a specialized early-stage life sciences investment firm founded in 2019 by Joshua Elkington, a Harvard graduate with deep expertise in biotech entrepreneurship. The firm describes itself as an "Agency for great inventors" and is fanatical about partnering with rare inventors who are compelled to build their own enduring businesses. Axial invests in e

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