_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Origin

In a time of capital scarcity, Cancer Focus Fund was formed as a beacon of opportunity—equipped with capital to invest in first-in-class drugs ready to advance into clinical trials at the nation’s leading cancer center.

The idea began at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, recognizing an unmet need to support promising therapies and an opportunity to invest in those therapies for evaluation at MD Anderson, which has the world’s largest oncology clinical trials program.

The idea was original. Believing in the vision, Ross Barrett worked to launch the fund with scientific collaboration from MD Anderson. Mr. Barrett had started several VC funds, including one that had invested in a cancer drug that was tested at MD Anderson.

In August 2019, the Board of Regents of The University of Texas approved MD Anderson’s participation in Cancer Focus Fund, LP, and Fund 1 was launched three months later. In May 2025, the Board of Regents of The University of Texas approved MD Anderson’s participation in Cancer Focus Fund II, LP.

Cancer Focus Fund has invested in drugs that are based on cell therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies and radio-therapeutics.

Strategic partners in the first fund include MD Anderson Cancer Center; Ochsner Health—the largest health care operator in the Gulf South with 43 hospitals and clinics; and LSU Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. 

  • Nectin Therapeutics develops a series of novel immunotherapeutic biological drugs, targeting receptors from the nectin protein family across various solid and hematological cancers. [More]

  • Eisbach Bio is focused on precision oncology. Based in Germany, the firm develops drugs that aim to disrupt tumor growth, going after genetic vulnerabilities within cancer cells. Eisbach pioneers first-in-class therapies with fewer side effects. [More]

  • Based in the Netherlands, ISA is developing fully synthetic immune therapies against cancer and persistent virus infections. The company has built a proprietary platform based on its synthetic long peptide technology. [More]

  • KAHR is leveraging proprietary technology to unmask cancer and simultaneously recruiting a targeted immune response. [More]

  • Mereo BioPharma develops innovative therapeutics for rare diseases. The firm trades on NASDAQ under the stock symbol MREO. [More]

  • Based in Houston, Texas, March Biosciences is a clinical-stage company in the cell therapy field focused on developing CAR-T cell strategies to address the most challenging hematological cancers. [More]

  • ImmunoGenesis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company re-envisioning the treatment of cold tumors, which account for more than half of all cancers. [More]

  • Starget Pharma is an early-stage clinical company developing a new class of Smart Targeted Radioligands for precision oncology of hard-to-heal cancers. [More]