- Mondego Bio is a new Portuguese startup developing breakthrough cancer treatments.
- Mondego Bio was founded by these three investors and represents Biovance Capital Fund I’s inaugural investment.
LISBON, Portugal, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Biovance Capital Partners, a biotech venture capital firm based in Lisbon, Portugal, alongside co-investors OrbiMed, a leading healthcare investment firm, with over $17 billion in assets under management and Torrey Pines Investment, a specialty life-science investment company, announced today the Series A funding of Mondego Bio. Headquartered in Portugal’s main biotech park, Biocant, Mondego Bio is developing best-in-class protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 2 (PTPN2) inhibitors, providing a potential immuno-oncological therapy with an improved safety and tolerability profile.
As a critical negative regulator of the JAK-STAT pathway, PTPN2 functions to directly regulate signaling through cytokine receptors, including IFNγ receptor. Thus, enhancing IFNγ sensing and signaling through the inhibition of PTPN2 is a potential therapeutic strategy to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy regimens.
“This marks the first investment by Biovance Capital Fund I, which looks to provide crucial capital to develop transformational therapies for unmet medical needs, and attract world-class scientists and investors to Portugal,” said Ricardo Perdigão Henriques, PhD, Managing Partner of Biovance Capital, the investment firm leading the round. “We are excited to join forces with top-tier US healthcare investors to help accelerate safer, more effective treatments—and, ultimately, better outcomes for patients battling cancer,” added João Incio, MD PhD, General Partner of Biovance Capital. “We see this investment as an great excellent opportunity to advance a groundbreaking innovation with the potential to reshape current immunotherapy in oncology,” said André Albergaria, PhD, Principal of Biovance Capital.
“With very compelling science, we are excited to back Mondego Bio’s work on PTPN2 inhibitors in immuno-oncology, marking our first investment in Southern Europe and a successful collaboration with OrbiMed and Biovance Capital,” said Nikolay Savchuk, PhD, Managing Partner of Torrey Pines Investment.
“It is great to have Biovance Capital as a local partner in Portugal supporting the development of this company,” added Iain Dukes, PhD, Venture Partner at OrbiMed.
The lead programs are based on research initially developed by Eilean Therapeutics, an AI/ML supported oncology platform co-founded by OrbiMed and Torrey Pines.
About Biovance Capital
Biovance Capital is Portugal’s leading life sciences venture capital firm. The company manages Biovance Capital Fund I, a new venture capital fund with a total of € 57 million from the European Investment Fund, the largest Portuguese pharmaceutical company BIAL, the national promotional bank Banco Português de Fomento, the European Commission through the Portugal Tech and Invest EU programs, and private investors from Portugal and abroad. The fund invests in early-stage drug development companies across Europe, with a special focus on Southern Europe. For more information, please visit www.biovancecapital.com.
About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with over $17 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, London, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets. For more information, please visit www.orbimed.com.
About Torrey Pines Investment
Torrey Pines Investment, based in San Diego, CA, has focused on early to commercial-stage breakthrough medicines since 2002. Its therapeutic interests include oncology, neurodegenerative and cardiometabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and more. For more information, please visit www.torreypinesinv.com.
Media and Investor Contact:
Ana Agostinho
Office Manager,
Biovance Capital Partners
t: +351 21 982 93 60, e: [email protected]
Sanja Tomovska, PhD
Venture Partner,
Torrey Pines Investment
t: +41 795416216, e: [email protected]
SOURCE Mondego Bio
