Vie Ventures Convenes Inaugural Therapeutics Advisory Council to Advance Collaboration Among Autoimmune Disease Ecosystems

Vie Ventures welcomes additional strategic collaborators, expanding the coalition to more than ten leading disease philanthropies focused on autoimmune and inflammatory disease

BOSTON, Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --  Vie Ventures, a new life sciences investment firm focused on bridging venture capital and disease philanthropy to develop breakthrough therapies for patients, today announced the successful convening of its inaugural Therapeutics Advisory Council (TAC). The event brought together leaders from disease-focused philanthropy, industry, and venture capital to shape a new model for advancing therapies in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Held on September 9, 2025, in New York City, the TAC is designed as a coalition where foundations and investors collaborate to identify common biology, de-risk therapeutic development, and accelerate cures across autoimmune disease.

Vie Ventures also announced the expansion of its Strategic Collaborator network, with new organizations joining the inaugural members. The new collaborators include American Diabetes Association, Arthritis Foundation, Beyond Celiac, Food Allergy Fund, Immune Boost Capital, and National Psoriasis Foundation. These organizations join Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Lupus Research Alliance, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Scleroderma Research Foundation, and Sjögren's Foundation.

The expanded group represents leading organizations spanning multiple autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, providing unmatched expertise, patient networks, and research infrastructure in alignment with Vie Ventures' strategy to unite venture capital and disease foundation expertise to accelerate therapies for autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases. Together, these organizations underscore the TAC's role as a unique cross-disease coalition committed to advancing innovation and improving patient outcomes.

"We launched the Therapeutics Advisory Council to create a forum where foundations, industry innovators, and investors can work side by side to accelerate progress in autoimmune disease," said Steven St. Peter, MD, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vie Ventures. "This first meeting demonstrated the power of that collaboration, surfacing shared challenges and opportunities that no single organization could address alone. We are especially pleased to welcome the new Strategic Collaborators, expanding our coalition of disease-focused philanthropies whose expertise and patient networks will be essential as Vie Ventures seeks to advance the development of cutting-edge solutions across a range of autoimmune diseases."

"The inaugural TAC meeting clearly demonstrated the value of bringing foundations together with industry and venture capital to accelerate progress in autoimmune disease," said Luke Evnin, PhD, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor to Vie Ventures, and Chairman of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. "By sharing insights across diseases and working collectively, we have the opportunity to address the heterogeneity and complexity that too often slows innovation."

"To my knowledge an endeavor like the TAC, which was organized to unite two powerful but often siloed forces, with its mission-driven commitment and market-driven innovation, has not been done at such scale and certainly not across autoimmunity. The opportunity here is immense," said Lou DeGennaro, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to Vie Ventures.

The following is a recap of key topics from the event:

The TAC's first scientific discussion –"Fibrosis Across Autoimmune Diseases" – focused on fibrosis as a common pathway across autoimmune diseases, providing a forum to explore shared biology and therapeutic gaps. Presenters emphasized the absence of approved anti-fibrotic therapies, the need for reliable biomarkers and clinical endpoints, and the regulatory challenges of measuring fibrosis across organs. The session underscored the value of cross-disease collaboration, as many mechanisms and trial design hurdles are common across indications, offering opportunities to accelerate drug development by sharing expertise and data.

The afternoon panel – "The Funding Environment: Discovery Research, Venture Capital, Public Markets and Partnering with Big Pharma" – involved experts from academia, finance, and industry discussing the state of biomedical innovation. Panelists highlighted challenges in U.S. research funding and the markets, noting that capital scarcity and investor risk aversion are reshaping company formation and financing. They emphasized the opportunity for innovative funding vehicles and novel collaborations backed by pharma, which remains a consistent buyer of innovation, making close alignment essential for success.

The closing session brought together disease philanthropy CEOs and senior leaders to reflect on the day's discussions. Speakers emphasized opportunities to leverage shared infrastructure like biorepositories and trial networks, while also acknowledging the challenges of disease heterogeneity and diagnostic gaps. The session closed with a strong sense of momentum and a collective commitment to advancing therapies more effectively together.

About the Therapeutics Advisory Council
The Therapeutics Advisory Council was established by Vie Ventures to provide a structured forum for disease-focused philanthropies, scientists, and investors to collaborate on the advancement of treatments for autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases. Founding discussions centered on the collective mission to align patient-focused philanthropies and venture capital to advance innovation and accelerate the development of therapies across autoimmune disease. To learn more, visit  vieventures.com.

About Vie Ventures
Vie Ventures is a life sciences investment firm operating at the intersection of venture capital and disease philanthropy. Vie Ventures invests alongside other leading venture capital investors and strategic partners in private biotech companies focused on advancing novel therapeutics for autoimmune disease and other disorders of the immune system, an area of significant unmet medical need. Our team leverages decades of experience, a proven track record in life sciences venture capital, a returns-oriented approach, and a network of strategic collaborators from across the biotech and disease philanthropy ecosystems to advance life-changing therapies and cures for patients. To learn more, visit vieventures.com

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