How Lumira Ventures Returned Capital in 19 of 20 Years

This episode is a masterclass in how world-class life sciences investors think about risk, conviction, and real patient impact.

This week on Leading Beyond The Lab, Lawrence Rose sat down with Nikhil Thatte, Partner at Lumira Ventures, a leading Canadian life sciences venture capital firm, with over a decade of experience backing transformative biotech and medtech companies across North America.

In this conversation, Nikhil shares how Lumira Ventures has built a top-quartile VC track record over multiple market cycles, investing across therapeutic areas including oncology, gene editing, gene therapy, immunology, cardiometabolic disease, and medical devices. He also reflects on his journey helping scale globally impactful healthcare companies while staying grounded in patient outcomes.

In this episode, Nikhil covers:

• How Lumira Ventures evaluates investment opportunities in today’s biotech market, including why clinical data, valuation discipline, and a clear path to liquidity now matter more than ever (08:38)

• Lessons from Lumira’s major exit successes, including Histosonics and Endotronix, and what made these companies stand out from an investor perspective, with insights into leadership, timing, and execution alongside Mike Blue at Histosonics (02:33)

• What truly differentiates exceptional founders and management teams, with real examples of conviction moments backing leaders such as Joanna Stanicka at Axonis and Jade Doucet-Martineau at Puzzle Med (22:08)

• Why Canada punches above its weight in life sciences innovation, the structural challenges holding the ecosystem back, and what must change to retain value domestically, including reflections on Canadian success stories discussed throughout the episode (17:40)

• The vision behind the Cancer Breakthrough Fund, Lumira’s partnership with the Terry Fox Foundation, and how this model brings new capital, clinical expertise, and impact-driven investors into oncology innovation (31:08)

If you want a rare, honest look inside how top life sciences VCs assess opportunity, leadership, and long-term value creation, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

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Nikhil Thatte

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhil-thatte-72372333/

Lawrence Rose

Director at ARTO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencerose/

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Nikhil Thatte and Lumira Ventures

02:33 Major exits including Histosonics and Endotronix

05:30 Fund V and what drives LP conviction today

08:38 How Lumira evaluates deals in the current biotech market

17:40 Canada’s competitive advantages and ecosystem challenges

22:08 Backing exceptional founders and leadership teams

31:08 The Cancer Breakthrough Fund and Terry Fox Foundation partnership

37:00 Technologies and trends shaping the next 5–10 years

41:16 Patient impact and what ultimately motivates long-term investing

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