Updated:
TIO Bioventures
Tio Bioventures is a boutique venture creation firm focused on funding the advancement of biotechnology companies that are guided by its principles of...
TIO Bioventures
Tio Bioventures is a boutique venture creation firm focused on funding the advancement of biotechnology companies that are guided by its principles of employing rigorous, research-driven science to create first-in-class cancer medicines that improve survival and quality of life. Unlike a traditional venture fund, TIO Bioventures leverages its internal TIO Discovery and development engine to efficiently drive its portfolio companies through key catalysts with a ‘hands-on’ approach in partnership with its founding scientists. The TIO Discovery engine is a fully functioning organization, featuring drug discovery, R&D and early stage clinical development capabilities that provide deep support for TIO Bioventures companies as they move into further stages of development. Currently the firm has multiple portfolio companies in development including a clinical-stage oncology company, Treadwell Therapeutics, a biologics focused oncology company with lead candidates identified, and a differentiated T cell therapy company. TIO Bioventures takes a control shareholder position in each of its portfolio companies.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2019
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Additional offices
Toronto, Canada
Principals
Shane Burgess
Co-founder and Managing Director; CEO of Treadwell Therapeutics
Tak Mak
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at TIO Bioventures?
Co-founders Shane Burgess and Tak Mak lead investment decisions. Burgess serves as Managing Director and CEO of TIO-incubated Treadwell Therapeutics. Mak — a co-founder of Agios Pharmaceuticals and a leading immunologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre — provides scientific direction and access to academic networks.
Is TIO structured as a venture fund or a company creation platform?
TIO operates as a company creation platform more than a traditional venture fund. It conducts translational research through its TIO Discovery Engine, identifies therapeutic candidates, and forms separate legal entities — such as Treadwell Therapeutics and Normunity — to advance them toward the clinic.
What investment stages does TIO target?
TIO focuses on preclinical and early-clinical oncology programs. The firm funds the bridge between academic discovery and institutional Series A, often incubating programs through its internal discovery engine before a company is formally launched and management recruited.
Which sectors does TIO explicitly focus on?
Oncology is the central focus, spanning cell-cycle inhibitors, immuno-oncology, and small-molecule drug discovery. The TCRypt platform, licensed from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, represents a core technology band capable of generating multiple therapeutic candidates.
How is TIO Bioventures related to Treadwell Therapeutics and Normunity?
Both are TIO-incubated biotechs. Treadwell, led by Burgess as CEO, develops cancer therapies from UHN-licensed targets. Normunity, run by former TIO R&D head Rachel Humphrey, M.D., pursues novel immunotherapies. TIO serves as the founding investor and operational architect for each.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Source record modified: . Public records carry source-specific dates where available. No population-wide measured refresh cadence or universal verification deadline is established here. Page modified, source captured, fact observed, entity verified and aggregate measured describe different events. Check the date attached to the relevant claim; a missing verification date means unknown. Stored source history does not establish a customer-facing historical-analysis interface. To correct this record or make a privacy request, send the page URL and your evidence to privacy@altss.com; corrections are free.
Need institutional-grade insight on venture capital firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: