–  Hatteras holds first closing of Hatteras Opportunity Fund II (HOF II) –

–  HOF II closing brings capital under management to over $1 billion –

September 30, 2026 – Durham, N.C. – Hatteras Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on transformative healthcare innovation, has appointed two longtime healthcare leaders to senior roles as it builds its next generation of companies and expands support for later-stage portfolio businesses.

Sir Andrew Witty, former Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and UnitedHealth Group, has been named Chairman of Hatteras Venture Partners. Norman “Ned” Sharpless, M.D., a former director of the National Cancer Institute, a former Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and co-founder of G1 Therapeutics (acquired by Pharmacosmos A/S), has joined Hatteras as Managing Director of Hatteras Discovery Innovation (HDI). Both appointments build on longstanding relationships with the firm. Witty previously served as a Venture Partner at Hatteras from 2017 to 2019. Sharpless’s relationship with Hatteras dates to the founding of G1 Therapeutics, in which Hatteras was the first institutional investor.

“To build great healthcare companies, you must have a great team. The addition of Andrew and Ned brings a complementary set of relationships and experiences to our longstanding and next-generation partners,” said Clay Thorp, a founding General Partner of Hatteras Venture Partners. “Andrew has a rare breadth of perspective across pharmaceuticals, healthcare delivery, and global health. Ned is an accomplished oncologist, scientist, founder, and public-sector leader, making him the ideal person to lead a new generation of company creation at Hatteras.”

Sharpless will lead a renewed Hatteras Discovery strategy modeled on the original initiative launched in 2012. That effort seeded 11 companies and contributed to multiple public listings, acquisitions, and two FDA-approved, novel medicines, Cosela^® and Xipere^®.

Hatteras also announced the first closing of Hatteras Opportunity Fund II (HOF II), which is targeting $100 million in capital commitments. HOF II will make concentrated follow-on investments in selected Hatteras portfolio companies as they approach important clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones.

Together, these initiatives expand Hatteras’s ability to support healthcare companies from their earliest scientific foundations through later stages of growth.

“Hatteras has always paired scientific ambition with discernment and a practical understanding of how enduring healthcare companies are built,” said Witty. “I am pleased to return and help the team extend that approach at an important moment for the firm and the healthcare industry.”

The next-generation Hatteras Discovery strategy will draw opportunities from the firm’s academic and industry relationships. Sharpless and the Hatteras team will evaluate seed-stage discoveries, form companies based on the most promising programs, and accelerate their development.

“Hatteras took an early bet on G1 Therapeutics and worked alongside us for years to turn an academic insight into a public biotechnology company with an approved medicine,” said Sharpless. “That experience is central to what we want to recreate through HDI: find exceptional science early, bring the right people and resources around it, and build companies capable of producing meaningful therapies.”

HOF II builds on the success of Hatteras Opportunity Fund I (HOF I), which made high-conviction investments in selected later-stage portfolio companies as they reached critical points in their development. For example, HOF I invested in HistoSonics, Inc. and Perfuse Therapeutics 2.5 years and 1.5 years, respectively, before major exits for both companies. HOF II will continue this strategy, enabling Hatteras to double down on the most promising companies within its core funds as they approach significant milestones and potential exits.

About Hatteras Venture Partners

Hatteras Venture Partners is a venture capital firm based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., investing in transformative healthcare opportunities across biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and health technology. With more than $1 billion in capital under management, Hatteras supports companies from formation and seed-stage development through later stages of clinical, regulatory, and commercial growth. Hatteras combines deep scientific expertise, extensive industry relationships, and hands-on company-building experience to transform promising discoveries into businesses capable of improving patient care. The firm is led by an experienced team of entrepreneurs, operators, scientists, and investors with a long track record of company creation and healthcare investing. To learn more, visit www.hatterasvp.com and follow Hatteras on LinkedIn.

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Media Contact:                                                       

Robin Fastenau                                                      

robin@hatterasvp.com