IMPT-314

在生物医药创新生态中，女性创始人正扮演着日益重要的角色。尽管2025年全球风险投资环境从2021年的峰值回落，但女性创始的生物制药公司依然展现出强大的韧性与吸引力。根据PitchBook数据分析，自2008年以来，拥有女性创始的生物制药公司已通过3375笔交易，累计贡献641亿美元的风险投资资金。 12月3日，BioSpace回顾了过去20年中，风险投资（VC）融资规模最大的五家由女性参与的创始生物制药公司，本文将回顾其高光融资时刻，并探讨它们后续的发展轨迹与行业启示。 一、融资格局：从疫情峰值回归理性稳定 2025年，女性创始的生物制药公司融资活动显示出企稳迹象。截至2025年，女性创办的生物制药公司已通过203笔交易获得了48亿美元的资金。这一数字虽远低于2021年127亿美元（412笔交易）的历史峰值，但反映了后疫情时代整个生物制药行业风险投资从狂热回归理性的普遍趋势。 从数据来看，女性创办生物药企的VC融资呈现三大特征： 一是地域集中，美国的波士顿-剑桥地区和旧金山-奥克兰两大生物科技枢纽是绝对的资本聚集地，分别斩获244亿美元（759笔交易）和163亿美元（618 笔交易）； 二是阶段均衡，在融资轮次分布上，早期、晚期和天使轮融资基本持平，覆盖企业全生命周期； 三是联合创办为主，女性与男性联合创办的生物药企募资达564亿美元（2866 笔交易），纯女性创办企业募资77亿美元（509笔交易）。 二、五大顶级融资案例：高光时刻与后续征程 BioSpace回顾了自2008年以来排名前五的企业以及这些公司目前的状况，深刻刻画了女性创始人在生物制药领域的影响力与创业历程。 1.EQRx：雄心勃勃的“平价药”梦想与转折 融资情况：2021年1月B轮融资5.7亿美元（历史最高单轮纪录） 创始人：Alexis Borisy、Melanie Nallicheri、Robert Forrester、Susan Hager、Peter Bach 和 Sandra Horning 发展轨迹：作为女性创办生物药企的最大单笔VC融资案例，EQRx在2021年1月完成5.7亿美元B轮融资。公司以“开发既创新又负担得起的药物”的宏伟使命而备受关注，并于2021年8月通过特殊目的收购公司（SPAC）的形式上市，募资18亿美元，累计融资达19.7亿美元。 但临床现实却击碎了美好预期：核心抗体药物sugemalimab临床试验受挫，公司被迫调整管线、放弃低成本目标，员工规模腰斩，最终在2023年8月被Revolution Medicines收购，所有资产终止并退回合作伙伴，曾经的募资巨头以黯然退场告终。 2.Neumora：神经疾病领域的坚守与挑战 融资情况：2021年A轮融资5亿美元 创始人：Paul Berns、Kristina Burow、Robert Nelsen、Mike Poole、Morgan Sheng 和 Carol Suh 发展轨迹：2021 年 ，聚焦神经科学的Neumora完成5亿美元A轮融资，成为当年第四大生物药企 VC 融资案例。公司凭借与安进（Amgen）的合作，专注于神经退行性疾病疗法开发。其累计融资9.87亿美元，包括2023年9月2.5亿美元的IPO。 然而，其发展之路布满荆棘：2024年4月，其精神分裂症资产因临床前安全信号被FDA暂停试验；2025年1月，抗抑郁药物navacaprant三期试验失败，公司被迫推迟研发时间表至 2026年。目前，Neumora正等待阿尔茨海默病候选药NMRA-511的关键数据，有望成为扭转局面的核心。 3.Lyell Immunopharma：攻克细胞疗法难题的持久战 融资情况：2020年3月C轮融资4.93亿美元 创始人：Rick Klausner、Crystal Mackall 和 Stan Riddell 发展轨迹：Lyell致力于通过解决T细胞耗竭和持久性问题，开发下一代CAR-T疗法。2020年3月，公司完成4.93亿美元C轮融资；2021年6月，完成4.25亿美元的IPO。 但细胞疗法赛道竞争激烈，Lyell的发展并非一帆风顺：其与GSK的2.5亿美元合作仅维持数月便终止；2024年，其实体瘤CAR-T疗法LYL797因严重不良反应终止开发。随后公司收购了ImmPACT Bio，获得了双靶点CAR-T候选药物ronde-cel，现已启动2项关键试验。 4.Laronde：短暂闪耀的eRNA梦想与重组 融资情况：2021年B轮融资4.4亿美元 创始人：Avak Kahvejian、Noubar Afeyan、Nicholas Plugis、Erica Weinstein、Sophie Boer 发展轨迹：Laronde背靠Flagship Pioneering（Moderna孵化者），于2021年完成4.4亿美元B轮融资。公司主打Endless RNA（eRNA）平台，号称可编程合成任意蛋白，被视为“下一代mRNA”。 其试图复制Moderna的成功，但2023年6月被曝存在数据完整性问题，临床前数据无法复制，引发信任危机。随后，其砍掉两款核心项目，CEO等核心团队离职，最终在2023年10月被Flagship并入旗下的Senda Biosciences，整合为Sail Biomedicines，原有的eRNA项目虽得以保留，但至今尚未进入临床试验阶段。 5.BioNTech：mRNA技术引领，逆袭成行业巨头 融资情况：2019年1月融资4.25亿美元（非典型轮次） 创始人：Ugur Sahin、Özlem Türeci和Christoph Huber 发展轨迹：BioNTech在2019年1月完成4.25亿美元后期融资，投资方包括辉瑞风投（3.335 亿美元）和赛诺菲（0.915亿美元）。7月，公司进行了总额达到3.25亿美元的B轮融资。这些资金为公司后续研发奠定坚实基础。凭借新冠疫苗积累的资本与技术，BioNTech持续拓展管线，如今已在肿瘤、传染病等领域多点布局，从曾经的融资企业逆袭为行业巨头。 三、启示与展望：募资成功只是起点，持续创新与风险管控是关键 这五大顶级VC融资案例，展现了女性创办生物药企的机遇与挑战，也为行业带来深刻启示。 从成功要素来看，技术创新性与赛道前景是吸引资本的核心：BioNTech的mRNA技术、Laronde的新型RNA平台、Lyell的下一代CAR-T技术，均瞄准了高潜力领域；而EQRx的“平价创新药”愿景、Neumora的脑部疾病布局，也切中了未满足的临床需求。 但生物制药行业的高风险性决定了募资成功并非终点。巨额融资是重要的助推器，但并非成功的绝对保证。科学的严谨性、临床验证以及灵活的战略调整能力同样至关重要。 尽管面临挑战，女性创始人及其公司继续在生物制药领域做出不可忽视的贡献。资本流向的稳定化表明，投资者依然认可由女性领导的企业所带来的创新价值。随着更多女性创业者踏入这一领域，她们将继续推动科学边界，为应对全球健康挑战提供新的解决方案。 参考资料：Top 5 VC Raises by Women-Founded Biopharmas.BioSpace By Annalee Armstrong.December 3, 2025. 识别微信二维码，可添加药时空小编 请注明：姓名+研究方向！

iStock, Vanz Studio Venture capital flow to women-founded companies has stabilized in the post-pandemic environment. BioSpace looks back at five companies that have nabbed the most over the past two decades. Biopharmas with women founders have contributed $64.1 billion in venture capital dollars across 3,375 deals since 2008, according to a recent analysis by PitchBook . 2025 has been a particularly good year for female-founded companies across all sectors, with $103.7 billion invested across 2,528 deals so far, according to PitchBook. Zeroing in on biopharma, the capital flow suggests that investment in female-founded companies is stabilizing in the post-pandemic environment. In 2025 so far, female-founded biopharmas have taken in $4.8 billion across 203 deals. This is a significant drop from the peak in 2021, when $12.7 billion in venture capital was recorded for this category across 412 transactions. Since then, the numbers have declined as the sugar buzz wore off—a trend that is reflected across biopharma, regardless of the gender of the founders. Much of the cash for women-founded biopharmas has centered in the U.S.’ two key biotech hubs: the Boston-Cambridge area, which saw $24.4 billion in investment across 759 total deals, and San Francisco-Oakland, where 618 deals netted $16.3 billion. Investment rounds were split equally across early, late and angel rounds. Female-only founded companies took in $7.7 billion in 509 deals, compared to $56.4 billion over 2,866 deals for biopharmas co-founded by women and men. The largest deal in the 16 years for which PitchBook has data was EQRx, which brought in $570 million in a series B in January 2021. The company, which has since gone out of business, had six founders including Melanie Nallicheri, Susan Hager and Sandra Horning. Below, BioSpace looks back at the top five rounds since 2008 and where the companies are today. EQRx Deal Size: $570 million Round: B Founders: Alexis Borisy, Melanie Nallicheri, Robert Forrester, Susan Hager, Peter Bach and Sandra Horning After a massive fundraising push over three years that raised a total of $1.97 billion, the ending for EQRx was not happy. The company emerged with a big goal : to develop medicines that were not just innovative, but affordable. EQRx jumped to the markets quickly through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in August 2021, picking up another $1.8 billion in proceeds. But the lofty goal quickly met with clinical reality. The biotech’s antibody sugemalimab stumbled in the clinic, leaving executives reeling. EQRx pivoted to two other candidates, then ditched the low-cost goal. The staff was slashed in half, and EQRx later sold itself to Revolution Medicines in August 2023, preserving $1 billion in capital for that company. All of EQRx’s assets were terminated and returned to partners. Neumora Deal Size: $500 million Round: A Founders: Paul Berns, Kristina Burow, Robert Nelsen, Mike Poole, Morgan Sheng and Carol Suh Believe it or not, a $500 million series A was not enough to earn Neumora the title of largest VC fundraise of 2021. Abogen’s whopping $700 million round nabbed that top slot. But that’s the nature of that year, when investors flocked to the sector buoyed by the hopeful innovation of COVID-19 vaccines that arrived at the end of 2020 to combat the pandemic. Neumora was the fourth largest VC round of 2021—and that still made waves in the sector . The company emerged with the cash and a partnership with Amgen to develop therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. It has now raised a total of $987 million, including a $250 million IPO in September 2023, according to PitchBook data. The path has not been a straight line for Neumore, however. In April 2024, the FDA slapped a clinical hold on the biotech’s schizophrenia asset as preclinical safety signals emerged. But Neumora plowed on, unfortunately revealing a Phase III failure for the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonist navacaprant in major depressive disorder in January this year. With two additional trials expected to readout for the drug this year, Neumora changed things up in March and pushed out the timeline to 2026. After fielding all these challenges, Neumora is now on the cusp of releasing key Alzheimer’s disease data for NMRA-511. This could be the moment that $500 million seems worthwhile for investors. Lyell Immunopharma Deal Size: $493 million Round: C Founders: Rick Klausner, Crystal Mackall and Stan Riddell Lyell Immunopharma was ahead of the pandemic-influenced biotech funding curve with a massive $493 million series C round in March 2020. Since then, the company has continued to battle in the tough cell therapy space, using its influx of cash from various fundraising mechanisms to bring in new approaches to address the modality’s limitations. Founded by a team of cell therapy experts, Lyell has promised to develop next generation CAR T cell therapies for blood cancer and solid tumors by addressing T cell exhaustion and durability. Riding the wave of biotechs heading for the public markets in 2021, Lyell pulled off a massive $425 million IPO in June. Lyell’s GSK-partnered T cell receptor therapy hit the clinic the next year, but the success was short lived as the Big Pharma walked away from the $250 million three-year partnership months later. Continuing on, Lyell reported mixed Phase I data for the CAR T therapy LYL797 in solid tumors in June 2024. The results revealed strong response rates across patients, but a death and high rates of cytokine release syndrome marred the readout. The asset was discontinued in October 2024, just as Lyell bought ImmPACT Bio for $30 million in cash plus shares. The heart of that deal was an autologous dual-targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T, now known as rondecabtagene autoleucel (ronde-cel). Lyell began a pair of pivotal trials for the candidate this year, including a head-to-head test pitting ronde-cel against approved CD19 CAR T cell therapies, including Bristol Myers Squibb’s Breyanzi or Gilead’s Yescarta. Lyell also followed the biopharma trend and picked up a new CAR T cell candidate from China’s Innovative Cellular Therapeutics . Laronde Deal Size: $440 million Round: B Founders: Avak Kahvejian, Noubar Afeyan, Nicholas Plugis, Erica Weinstein, Sophie Boer This Flagship Pioneering–backed startup vowed to champion a new form of RNA medicines called Endless RNA upon launch in 2021 . The company rode the success of Moderna—the star of Flagship’s portfolio—to a $440 million series B months after the public debut in July 2021. But the journey was short lived. In June 2023, STAT published an expose on data integrity issues at the biotech. The company could not replicate the preclinical data that had underpinned the massive raise. Laronde cut two programs and many employees were forced to resign, including CEO Pablo Cagnoni. Flagship folded the embattled biotech into another of its portfolio companies, Senda Biosciences, to form Sail Biomedicines in October 2023. That biotech is continuing the eRNA mission but has yet to enter the clinic. BioNTech Deal Size: $425 million Round: N/A Founders: Ugur Sahin, Özlem Türeci and Christoph Huber BioNTech’s story has been told over and over—the Pfizer-partnered pandemic savior developed one of the two COVID-19 vaccines that helped bring the world back from the crisis. This generated billions in revenue and has helped fuel the biotech’s next phase. But step back to January 2019, when the German mRNA company raised a remarkable $425 million, and you’ll see that BioNTech always had big ambitions. This later-stage round involved just two pharma entities: Pfizer Ventures with $333.5 million in cash and Sanofi with $91.5 million, according to Pitchbook data. The company followed that year with a more traditional series B in July that totaled $325 million . These fundraises primed the biotech to enter the first year of the pandemic fully charged and ready for some R&D. .responsive-container { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; border: 1px solid #ededed; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } .column-left { flex: 1; max-width: 45%; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } .column-right { flex: 2; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } @media (max-width: 768px) { .column-left, .column-right { max-width: 100%; flex: 100%; padding: 10px 0; } } Subscribe to BioPharm Executive! 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