What We Do Portfolio Team

Catalyzing
Therapeutics Innovation
in North Carolina

Cape Fear BioCapital is an early-stage VC backing the next generation of therapeutics companies emerging from North Carolina's world-class research ecosystem.

Our Approach

Our Focus

Funding and creating
investable innovation

We partner with founders at the earliest stages — before most institutional capital is available — bringing deep operational experience, hands-on company building, and a network of resources to turn science into medicine.

01

Pre-Seed to Seed Stage

We write first checks and join syndicates in therapeutics companies — focused on creating seed-ready opportunities from promising academic science and early-stage innovation.

02

Dedicated to North Carolina

We focus on companies rooted in NC — leveraging technology and talent from Duke, UNC, NC State, and the broader NC life sciences corridor.

03

Compelling Science

We invest where the biology is genuinely differentiated — validated mechanisms, novel modalities, and platforms with the potential to create new therapeutic categories.

04

Platforms & Assets

We back both platform companies with multi-indication potential and single-asset programs with a clear path to clinical development.

05

Near-Term Clinical Milestones

We target companies within three years of an IND filing, where our capital can meaningfully accelerate the path to the clinic.

Our Companies

Portfolio

We invest in NC companies that are category leaders with practice-changing potential. Click any company to learn more.

Company Focus Area Stage Location Origination
Thoracic Innovations Cardiothoracic Surgery · MedTech Pre-Seed Durham, NC Duke →

Medical device company developing novel surgical tools for cardiothoracic surgery.

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Ten63 Therapeutics Oncology · AI Drug Discovery Series A Durham, NC Duke →

AI-enabled drug discovery company leveraging its proprietary BEYOND platform to design small molecules against historically undruggable oncology targets.

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Incyclix Bio Oncology · Small Molecule Series B Durham, NC UNC →

Clinical-stage oncology company advancing INX-315, a potent and selective CDK2 inhibitor, for CDK4/6 inhibitor-resistant breast cancer and CCNE1-amplified solid tumors.

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iOrganBio Cell Biology · AI-driven Lab Platform Pre-Seed Durham, NC →

Cell manufacturing platform company using its proprietary CellForge system to combine AI-driven prediction with automated control for reproducible production of human cells and organoids.

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EnFuego Therapeutics Oncology · RNAi Pre-Seed Chapel Hill, NC UNC →

Early-stage oncology company developing a breakthrough siRNA platform to target undruggable cancer pathways.
Eldec Pharmaceuticals Respiratory · Peptide Pre-Seed Chapel Hill, NC UNC →

Peptide therapeutics company developing ELD615, a first-in-class Orai1 modulator with the potential to reverse existing lung damage in chronic respiratory disease.

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The Team

Operators turned investors

We've built and run biotech companies in NC. We know what it takes to go from research to clinical — and we bring that experience to every company we back.

Ed Field, General Partner
Ed Field
General Partner

Ed has 25+ years of senior leadership and operational experience in the biotechnology industry with 3 exits to date, raising over $200M in capital, advancing greater than 10 therapeutics programs into clinical development, and successfully spinning out several university innovations.

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Jimmy Melton, General Partner
Jimmy Melton
General Partner

Jimmy has 30+ years experience founding and leading numerous life science enterprises across the NC ecosystem & universities, including as Managing Director of Carolina Research Ventures, a university venture fund with 3 side funds and 15+ investments in early-stage companies.

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Dave Ousterout, General Partner
Dave Ousterout, PhD
General Partner

Dave has 15+ years experience as a founder, scientist, and executive creating and advising life sciences companies in the Research Triangle area, and is a co-founder and former CSO of Locus Biosciences, a venture-backed biotech spun out of NC State & Duke with over $150M raised.

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