Managers of a new venture fund are casting their eyes toward the Triangle.

Connecticut-based Tullis-Dickerson & Co. closed its fourth and largest fund, Capital Focus III, at $122 million earmarked for seed and mid-stage biotechnology, healthcare information technology start-ups nationally – including RTP.

Lyle Hohnke, resident principal of the funds southeastern offices in Birmingham, AL, tells Local Tech Wire, the Research Triangle area is a fertile and productive source of these technologies.”

He says the firm will consider business plans from the area.

Hohnke says the fund does not actually exclude any areas. “We have investments in California, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas,” he says.

The fund plans to make investments of from $5 million to $10 million in about 15 seed stage and mid-stage companies.

TD III has already invested in four companies:

  • Adams Laboratories in Dallas, Texas, which makes and sells pharmaceutical products for the ear, nose, throat, and respiratory markets;
  • BioRexis Pharmaceutical Corp, Philadelphia, PA, which is developing unique protein engineering to make cost-efficient biopharmaceuticals;
  • Replicon NeuroTherapeutics, Danville, CA, which uses non-replicating RNA particles to treat central nervous system cancers;
  • And, DermaCo Inc., which develops and markets skin care products.

Contact information for the fund is on its Web site at:
www.tullisdickerson.com