Ascenta Capital, a West Palm Beach-based venture firm investing in development-stage biotechnology companies, has announced the $325 million close of its inaugural fund.
Ascenta was founded in 2023 by Evan Rachlin and Lorence Kim, both MDs and former Moderna executives who bring both deep biotech operating and investment expertise. Members of Ascenta’s 14-person team have played critical roles in more than 30 approved medicines during their careers, the firm says.
The firm has led or co-led six investments in multi-medicine biotech companies at the early stages of human trials. Ascenta has deployed more than $100 million of capital into the six biotechs that collectively are active in 14 clinical trials and have more than 40 pipeline programs.
Current portfolio companies include ADARx Pharmaceuticals, Iambic Therapeutics, Odyssey Therapeutics, Cardurion Pharma, OrsoBio, and Alpha9 Oncology.
Ascenta says its investment strategy is to support companies at the nexus of two core pillars: early clinical development and multi-medicine therapeutic platforms that balance risk through diversified pipelines.
“By focusing on a small number of exceptional biotechs, we can concentrate our thought-partnership on clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, scientific, and capital strategy. Investing at this stage is inherently a collaborative effort, not just with biotechs but also other world-class investors in our syndicates.” said Dr. Rachlin, in the announcement of the fund.
“We take a deliberate approach with every one of our portfolio companies, who understand that we don’t want to simply act as a financial partner,” added Dr. Kim. “We want to earn both our board positions and the companies’ trust, and we do that through our team’s deep, technical, interdisciplinary expertise across clinical, scientific, and financial dimensions.”
Investors in the flagship fund include family and multi-family offices, endowments & foundations, and high net-worth individuals.
South Florida is developing into a hub for medical technology, including biotech, in its own right. For the past six years, medical technology has been one of South Florida’s strongest sectors for venture capital. In 2024, South Florida companies in the sector attracted $572.5 million across 45 deals, including Insightec’s $150 million raise. In the first half of this year however, with the lack of a megadeal, funding in the sector struggled – $142 million across 22 deals. Yet, in Q3, medtech sector fundings have included DermaSensor, Virtual Vision Health, Osigu and Health Advocates Network, among others.
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