Best Life Sciences Companies in Richmond, United States
The 41 best Life Sciences companies in Richmond, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: JOINN Biologics.
Our analysis of 164 Life Sciences companies
$34.7b in tracked funding; 83% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Life Sciences companies in Richmond
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Web popularity | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JOINN Biologics Provider of biological research services | $210M | 60 mo ago | 83 83 → 47 (-43%) | Shusheng Geng Co-Founder | — | — | — | 1 partnership |
| 2 | kaleo Innovating drug-device combinations and auto-injector technology for patient security and peace of mind | $165M | 148 mo ago | 220 | — | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+18 | Top 10M | 289 patents Prefilled syringe and auto‑injector drug delivery device design and manufacturing | — |
| 3 | Sangamo BioSciences Developing Zinc finger nuclease based therapeutics for monogenic diseases and HIV | $90M | 89 mo ago | 337 | — | WordPressDrupalApple iCloud Mail+30 | Top 5M | 1,158 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 4 | DiaCarta Provider of in vitro diagnostic tests for precision medicine | $53M | 102 mo ago | 100 | — | Cart FunctionalityWooCommerceWordPress+26 | Top 10M | 29 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 5 | Novacea Serotonin (5-HT) inhibitor drugs for cancer | $35M | 271 mo ago | — | Eckard Weber Founder & CEO | — | — | 95 patents Vitamin D analogs and N‑oxide chemotherapeutics for cancer and radiation‑induced organ toxicity | — |
| 6 | BRAINBox Solutions Provider of blood bio-marker for patient recovery | $30M | 20 mo ago | 12 | Donna J Edmonds CEO | WordPressMySQLPHP+17 | Top 50M | 39 patents Biomarker-driven diagnosis and monitoring of brain injury and neurodegeneration using multimodal imaging and AI | — |
| 7 | CellPoint Diagnostics Developer of circulating tumor cell analyzers for lung cancer | $25M | 218 mo ago | — | Mike Grisham Founder & CEO | — | — | 20 patents Microfluidic enrichment and analysis of rare cells, especially circulating tumor and fetal cells | — |
| 8 | Qnovia Developer of inhaled drug delivery devices to deliver a broad range of pharmaceuticals | $20M | 22 mo ago | 10 | Mario Danek Founder & CTO | WordPressMySQLPHP+16 | Top 10M | 46 patents Advanced vaping devices and aerosol liquids with pressure-sensing and diaphragm technology. | — |
| 9 | Illexcor Therapeutics Developer of therapeutics for hematologic diseases | $17M | 4 mo ago | — | Andrew Fleischman Co-Founder & CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | iHealthScreen AI-powered screening tools for early detection of retinal diseases | $4M | 16 mo ago | 25 | Alauddin Bhuiyan Founder & CEO | YouTubeBootstraptoastr+13 | Top 50M | 8 patents AI-powered retinal image analysis for glaucoma, hypertensive retinopathy, AMD screening | — |
| 11 | Pascal Developer of synthetic polymer hydrogels for orthopedic surgeries | $3M | 21 mo ago | — | Travis Massey Co-Founder | — | — | 10 patents Design and safety components for electronic vaping (e‑cigarette) devices | — |
| 12 | Health Diagnostic Laboratory Provides blood tests to detect cardiovascular diseases at early stages | $2M | 206 mo ago | 743 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | Light Switch Bio Developing light-activated chemotherapies to reduce toxicity and improve drug efficacy | $867K | 16 mo ago | — | Alex Ratti Founder & CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Grenova Provider of automated pipette tip washers and lab consumables | $550K | 85 mo ago | 50 | Ali Safavi Founder & CEO | — | — | 49 patents Automated cleaning and sterilization of laboratory consumables and well plates | 1 partnership |
| 15 | Meru Biotechnologies Developer of a label-free assay platform for molecular quantification | $411K | 63 mo ago | 4 | Dan Rodenhaver Co-Founder & CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Resolys Bio US-based, early-stage biotech developing exotoxin treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury | $250K | 38 mo ago | 4 | Richard Sandberg CEO & Co-Chairman | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Abalone Bio Developer of antibody drugs for pain management and cancer | $125K | 29 mo ago | 20 | Richard Yu Co-founder and CEO | — | — | — | — |
Top 12 Life Sciences companies in Richmond
#1
Series A · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2020$17.3Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics for hematologic diseases. The company is focused on developing oral Hemoglobin S polymerization inhibitors that can provide profound disease-modifying clinical benefits of sickle cell disease.
- Apr 2026Series A$13M
- Mar 2025Seed—
- Jan 2021Grant (prize money)$1.9M
- Aug 2020Grant (prize money)$2.2M
#2
Series B · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2016 · 12 employees$30.1Mraised▾
BRAINBox provides solutions and platforms for blood biomarkers for point of care and recovery of the patient. It offers a panel of blood biomarkers, neurocognitive testing, and point of care instruments.
- Jan 2025Grant (prize money)$471.8K
- Oct 2023Series B$7.1M
- Jun 2022Grant (prize money)$471.8K
- Mar 2022Grant (prize money)$3.5M
#3
Series B · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2018 · 10 employees$19.9Mraised▾
Developer of inhaled drug delivery devices to deliver a broad range of pharmaceuticals. The company's products include "RespiRx" a combination drug product for first inhalable prescription NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) for smokers trying to quit smoking and a vibrating mesh nebulizer for optimal delivery to the lungs.
- Oct 2024Series B$16M
- Jun 2023Series A$2.9M
- Sep 2022Series A$17M
- Jan 2020Seed$2.2M
#4
Funding Raised · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2015 · 25 employees$3.5Mraised▾
AI-powered screening tools for early detection of retinal diseases. This company develops and provides artificial intelligence-based solutions for healthcare, specifically focused on preventing blindness through early detection of retinal diseases. They offer AI-based screening for Diabetic Retinopathy, Age-related Macular Degeneration, and Glaucoma. Their technology includes Electronic Health Record (EHR) solutions, AI-based telemedicine services, and image analysis tools for retinal pathology and vessel assessment. They also provide online health risk prediction systems for diabetic, stroke, and heart attack patients. Their iPredict system analyzes retinal images to diagnose disease status and recommend referrals, aiming to make screening accessible and affordable in primary care settings. This is a B2B tech company with a social impact business model.
- Apr 2025Grant (prize money)$3.5M
#5
Funding Raised · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2018$867.4Kraised▾
Developing light-activated chemotherapies to reduce toxicity and improve drug efficacy. They are pioneering targeted therapies controlled by light, repurposing toxic systemic drugs into light-targeted pro-drugs. This innovative approach aims to minimize off-target toxicities, simplify care for physicians, and revive the value of underutilized drugs. Their technology involves using "photocages" to block drug activity until activated by light, enabling precise targeting. They offer pre-clinical development services, including safety and efficacy testing in cells and animal models, formulation modification, and dosimetry system development. They also provide pharmaceutical pipeline recycling services, partnering with developers to revive lost market value from drugs limited by toxicity. Their expertise includes pre-clinical right-to-try programs and clinical licensing programs, offering consultation and analytic services to optimize patient selection and dosimetry regimes. This is a B2B, pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, research and development company.
- May 2025Grant (prize money)$461.2K
- Aug 2023Grant (prize money)$406.2K
#6
Seed · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2022$2.6Mraised▾
Developer of synthetic polymer hydrogels for orthopedic surgeries. It offer products is designed for the orthopedic, spine and neurosurgery to seal surgical and traumatic leaks, and release antibiotics onto surgical sites.
- Dec 2024Seed$2.6M
#7
Series B · Richmond, California · founded 2018 · 83 employees$209.9Mraised▾
JOINN Biologics is a provider of biological research services. Its services include drug discovery assessment, cell line development, process development, analytics, and formulations among others. It also provides manufacturing services to research organizations.
- Aug 2021Series B$150M
- Dec 2019Series A$59.9M
#8
Acquired · Richmond, Virginia · founded 2005 · 220 employees$165Mraised▾
Innovating drug-device combinations and auto-injector technology for patient security and peace of mind. The company is a global leader focused on redefining medical technologies with innovative solutions. They specialize in drug-delivery device technology and auto-injector innovation, providing patients with security and peace of mind through human ingenuity. The Aerio™ Auto-Injector Platform offers flexibility across disease categories and environments, incorporating Human Factors Engineering and fully automated manufacturing. They partner with pharmaceutical and government agencies, offering custom-designed drug-delivery devices. Their marketed auto-injector medicines are designed to be easy-to-use for urgent medical needs. The company is committed to integrity, compliance, and improving quality of life and strengthening global health security.
- Apr 2014Conventional Debt$150M
- May 2012Conventional Debt$15M
#9
Public · Richmond, California · founded 1995 · 337 employees$89.7Mraised▾
Sangamo BioSciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company involved in gene therapy that is researching ways of commercializing Zinc finger nucleases that modify a cell's DNA at an exact location thereby correcting or disrupting a specific gene. The Company's proprietary In Vivo Protein Replacement Platform (IVPRP) approach is focused on monogenic diseases, including hemophilia and lysosomal storage disorders. Based on its proprietary IVPRP approach, Sangamo is initiating Phase 1/2 clinical trials for hemophilia B, the first in vivogenome editing application cleared by the FDA, and MPS I. In addition, Sangamo has a Phase 2 clinical program to evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel ZFP Therapeutics for the treatment of HIV/AIDS (SB-728).
- Mar 2019Post IPO$15.5M
- Sep 2013Post IPO$74.2M
#10
Series B · Richmond, California · founded 2011 · 100 employees$53Mraised▾
Provider of in vitro diagnostic tests for precision medicine. The proprietary QClamp platform uses a sequence-specific xeno-nucleic acid clamp that helps in the targeted suppression of wild-type DNA. The applications include the detection of oncogenic tumor drivers and therapy resistance. Also, has platform technologies SuperbDNA for its cervical cancer test, and multiplex barcoding for its DigiPlex genotyping tests.
- Feb 2018Series B$45M
- Jan 2015Series A$8M
- Mar 2013Grant (prize money)$594.7K
- Mar 2012Grant (prize money)$594.7K
#11
Acqui-Hired · Richmond, California · founded 2001$35Mraised▾
Novacea Pharmaceuticals was focussed on in-licensing and developing cancer therapies. It had two product candidates, including Asentar which was in phase 3 trials for the treatment of androgen-independent prostate cancer and in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer; and AQ4N, a hypoxia-activated prodrug in Phase 1b/2a trial for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. In September 2008, Transcept Pharmaceuticals acquired Novacea and merged to form new company.
- Jan 2004Series C$35M
#12
Series A · Richmond, California · founded 2004$24.7Mraised▾
Developer of circulating tumor cell analyzers for lung cancer. Its proprietary platform isolated CTCs from tissue samples, and used immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization for further analysis. Its initial application was an assay for identifying and monitoring EGFR mutations in lung cancer patients, in order to predict patient response to the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib.
- 2008Series A$5M
- Oct 2007Series A$11.2M
- 2006Series A$8.5M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Life Sciences coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Biotechnology is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Biotechnology — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 6,260 United States-affiliated papers.
- Harvard University209
- Cornell University177
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga140
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute126
- Johns Hopkins University121
- Gene33→164
- Transcription (linguistics)11→79
- Antibody11→62
- Genome6→56
- Mutation7→56
- Gene8→110
- Cell culture3→62
- Gene expression3→62
- Fermentation2→54
- Downregulation and upregulation1→50
- Agriculture19→58
- Antibiotic resistance15→45
- Public health4→31
- Gene6→30
- Production (economics)5→29
Where biotechnology is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing biotechnology patents in the United States
United States biotechnology patent filing is accelerating — 457,918 filings from 8,000 assignees (2016–2025), led by Genentech, UNIV California, Regeneron Pharma; annual filings 36884→44446.
- Genentech18078
- UNIV California17948
- Regeneron Pharma16082
- Amgen10495
- Monsanto Technology9742
- UNIV Pennsylvania8521
- Harvard College7460
- UNIV Texas7378
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.