Updated:
Evommune
Evommune was founded in 2020 by dermatology researcher and physician Eugene Bauer alongside a syndicate of life-science investors.
Evommune
Evommune was founded in 2020 by dermatology researcher and physician Eugene Bauer alongside a syndicate of life-science investors. The firm set out to address chronic inflammatory skin diseases by acquiring mid-stage clinical assets that larger pharmaceutical companies had sidelined — not because the science was broken, but because the commercial calculus shifted. Bauer, who previously co-founded Dermira and Neosil, brought both domain expertise and a repeat-track record to the venture. The firm builds its pipeline through asset acquisitions and targeted development. Its lead candidate, EVO756, is an oral MRGPRX2 antagonist for chronic inducible urticaria — a mast-cell-driven condition with no approved oral therapy. A second program, EVO101, addresses atopic dermatitis via a topical retinoid pathway. In April 2024, Evommune dosed the first patient in a Phase 2 trial for EVO301, a peptide therapy licensed from Eli Lilly that targets psoriatic arthritis. The firm operates from Los Altos, California, and runs clinical sites across the United States and Europe (per the firm's official communications). Evommune disclosed a $115 million Series B round in December 2023 co-led by RA Capital Management and existing investors including Pivotal BioVentures, bringing total disclosed funding above $150 million. The firm employs a lean development model, outsourcing clinical operations to CROs while keeping asset selection and trial design in-house. Adjacent vehicles or philanthropic arms have not been disclosed. In April 2024, pipeline updates confirmed advancement across all three clinical programs and launch of a second Phase 2 trial for the atopic dermatitis asset. Evommune's structural bet is that dermatology immunology — specifically mast cell and itch biology — is under-invested relative to oncology and rare disease. By licensing deprioritized clinical assets from large pharma and funding focused Phase 2 trials, the firm compresses the timeline from in-license to proof-of-concept readout. This positions Evommune not as a drug-discovery engine but as a clinical-translation layer, a model that depends on disciplined asset selection and capital efficiency rather than proprietary platform science.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2020
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Altos
Corporate office
Los Altos, CA, United States
Principals
Luis Peña
Chief Executive Officer
Eugene Bauer
Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder
Hans Hofland
Chief Scientific Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment and clinical decisions at Evommune?
Luis Peña, the firm's founding CEO, oversees corporate strategy and capital allocation. Clinical development decisions flow through Chief Medical Officer Eugene Bauer, a dermatologist and serial biotech founder who co-founded the firm in 2020, and Chief Scientific Officer Hans Hofland. The board includes representatives from RA Capital and Pivotal BioVentures, the Series B co-leads, who hold influence over financing and portfolio prioritization.
How does Evommune source its clinical assets?
The firm in-licenses deprioritized clinical-stage assets from large pharmaceutical companies. Its EVO301 peptide program was licensed directly from Eli Lilly (per the firm's clinical trial registrations, 2024). Evommune targets assets that have cleared Phase 1 safety and shown early efficacy signals but lost internal prioritization at the originator — a sourcing model that skips discovery risk and moves straight to proof-of-concept trials.
Is Evommune structured as a family office or a venture-backed biotech?
Evommune is a standard venture-backed clinical-stage biotech, not a family office. Its capitalization comes from institutional life-science venture investors, including Pivotal BioVentures and RA Capital Management, which co-led the $115 million Series B in December 2023. Ownership is distributed among founders, management, and institutional backers — no single-family wealth source is involved.
Does Evommune participate in fund commitments or only direct clinical development?
Evommune is an operating company that directly runs clinical development programs. It does not make fund commitments, invest in external biotech startups, or operate as an investment vehicle. All capital raised goes toward licensing assets and funding in-house clinical trials, with CRO-managed execution.
What investment stages does Evommune typically target?
Evommune targets clinical-stage assets, specifically those ready for Phase 2 proof-of-concept trials. The firm avoids discovery-stage and preclinical programs entirely, as well as Phase 3 registration studies that require large-scale commercial infrastructure. This mid-stage focus limits scientific risk while keeping capital requirements below those of a fully-integrated pharmaceutical company.
Which therapeutic areas does Evommune focus on, and which does it explicitly avoid?
The firm concentrates exclusively on chronic inflammatory skin diseases — chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis, and psoriatic arthritis constitute the current disclosed pipeline. Evommune does not pursue oncology, rare disease, neurology, or infectious disease, and has not disclosed any interest in indications outside dermatology and related inflammatory conditions.
What is Evommune's known posture on partnerships and co-development?
The firm licenses assets from large pharma but has not disclosed co-development partnerships with other biotech companies. Evommune retains full operational control over its clinical programs and outsources execution to contract research organizations. There is no public record of the firm acting as a co-investor alongside other venture funds or forming joint ventures for specific assets.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on asset managers?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: