Investments
47Portfolio Exits
13Service Providers
1About Alafi Capital
Alafi Capital is a private venture capital firm that has been active in healthcare investing for over 25 years. Early and mid-stage investments in the U.S. and Europe are considered, with emphasis on product-oriented biotechnology, life science technologies, imaging and diagnostics, and medical devices. Included among Alafi Capital's past successes are Amgen, Biogen, Molecular Devices, Tanox, Qiagen, Novocor, Oxford Glycosciences, and Applied Biosystems.

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Latest Alafi Capital News
Dec 29, 2022
Dr. Stanley Cohen claimed to have discovered the biological process that causes Huntington's disease by Eli Walsh / Bay City News Service Uploaded: Thu, Dec 29, 2022, 8:54 am 0 Time to read: about 2 minutes Stanford University genetics professor Dr. Stanley Cohen paid $29.2 million to settle a lawsuit over misleading claims he made about Nuredis Inc., his now-dissolved biotechnology company. Embarcadero Media file photo by Sinead Chang. A Stanford University genetics professor has paid nearly $30 million in restitution after a judge determined that he misled investors in a now-dissolved biotechnology company he founded. In a judgement issued in June in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Dr. Stanley Cohen was ordered to pay $29.2 million to the Emeryville-based venture capital firm Alafi Capital and the Christopher Alafi Family Trust, the only two investors in Cohen's company Nuredis Inc. Cohen, according to court documents, claimed to have discovered the biological process that causes the neurodegenerative condition Huntington's disease. According to a lawsuit filed in 2018 by Alafi Capital and the Alafi Family Trust, Cohen contacted former Alafi Capital partner Moshe Alafi and his son Christopher Alafi, also an executive with the firm and a longtime friend of Cohen, to seek their investment in Nuredis. The Alafis ultimately invested $20 million into the company in 2016. Christopher Alafi was also named president of the company and held a position on the company's board of directors through 2018, when Nuredis was dissolved. Help sustain the local news you depend on. Your contribution matters. Become a member today. According to court documents, Cohen also claimed to the Alafis that he was developing a drug to combat the supposed cause of Huntington's disease and that the drug had previously been approved by federal regulators to treat an unrelated skin condition and, as a result, would have a cheaper and more efficient path to the start of clinical testing. Cohen did not disclose, however, that even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in 1975, it was permanently removed from the market less than a year later due to multiple cases of severe blood clotting that led to death and loss of limbs. Cohen still retained some $13 million of the Alafis' investment when Nuredis closed in 2018, according to court documents, but declined to return the remaining funds and instead used it for legal fees. The court described Cohen's conduct as "negligent misrepresentation" to secure the Alafis' investment, which is seen as "a species of actual fraud and a form of deceit" under California law. Cohen was ordered to repay the $20 million investment as well as $9.2 million in interest. Stay informed "The payment by Cohen of over $29 million to my clients demonstrates that in California the law applies equally to elite professors as it does to ordinary defendants," said Michael Gardener, the lead attorney for the Alafis and their investment firm in their lawsuit. Cohen remains employed as a genetics professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. Cohen and his attorney in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Stanford University said the university was unaware of the lawsuit and Cohen's work with Nuredis was outside his scope of responsibilities to the university. "We understand from the court's decision in this case that Nuredis tried to sell its (intellectual property) and, when unsuccessful, donated it to Stanford," university spokesperson Luisa Rapport said in a statement. "Stanford has not further developed nor licensed or commercialized the donated IP." Most Viewed Stories Get uninterrupted access to important local health news. Become a member today. Dr. Stanley Cohen claimed to have discovered the biological process that causes Huntington's disease by Eli Walsh / Bay City News Service Uploaded: Thu, Dec 29, 2022, 8:54 am A Stanford University genetics professor has paid nearly $30 million in restitution after a judge determined that he misled investors in a now-dissolved biotechnology company he founded. In a judgement issued in June in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Dr. Stanley Cohen was ordered to pay $29.2 million to the Emeryville-based venture capital firm Alafi Capital and the Christopher Alafi Family Trust, the only two investors in Cohen's company Nuredis Inc. Cohen, according to court documents, claimed to have discovered the biological process that causes the neurodegenerative condition Huntington's disease. According to a lawsuit filed in 2018 by Alafi Capital and the Alafi Family Trust, Cohen contacted former Alafi Capital partner Moshe Alafi and his son Christopher Alafi, also an executive with the firm and a longtime friend of Cohen, to seek their investment in Nuredis. The Alafis ultimately invested $20 million into the company in 2016. Christopher Alafi was also named president of the company and held a position on the company's board of directors through 2018, when Nuredis was dissolved. According to court documents, Cohen also claimed to the Alafis that he was developing a drug to combat the supposed cause of Huntington's disease and that the drug had previously been approved by federal regulators to treat an unrelated skin condition and, as a result, would have a cheaper and more efficient path to the start of clinical testing. Cohen did not disclose, however, that even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in 1975, it was permanently removed from the market less than a year later due to multiple cases of severe blood clotting that led to death and loss of limbs. Cohen still retained some $13 million of the Alafis' investment when Nuredis closed in 2018, according to court documents, but declined to return the remaining funds and instead used it for legal fees. The court described Cohen's conduct as "negligent misrepresentation" to secure the Alafis' investment, which is seen as "a species of actual fraud and a form of deceit" under California law. Cohen was ordered to repay the $20 million investment as well as $9.2 million in interest. "The payment by Cohen of over $29 million to my clients demonstrates that in California the law applies equally to elite professors as it does to ordinary defendants," said Michael Gardener, the lead attorney for the Alafis and their investment firm in their lawsuit. Cohen remains employed as a genetics professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. Cohen and his attorney in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Stanford University said the university was unaware of the lawsuit and Cohen's work with Nuredis was outside his scope of responsibilities to the university. "We understand from the court's decision in this case that Nuredis tried to sell its (intellectual property) and, when unsuccessful, donated it to Stanford," university spokesperson Luisa Rapport said in a statement. "Stanford has not further developed nor licensed or commercialized the donated IP."
Alafi Capital Investments
47 Investments
Alafi Capital has made 47 investments. Their latest investment was in Resolve Biosciences as part of their Series B on October 10, 2022.

Alafi Capital Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/24/2022 | Series B | Resolve Biosciences | $71M | No | Alafi Capital, EDBI, NRW.Bank Venture Fund, Patient Square Capital, PS Capital Partners, and Undisclosed Investors | 11 |
4/26/2021 | Series A - II | Edifice Health | $12M | Yes | 3 | |
12/10/2020 | Series A | Resolve Biosciences | $24M | Yes | 3 | |
12/28/2015 | Series C | |||||
6/4/2015 | Series B |
Date | 10/24/2022 | 4/26/2021 | 12/10/2020 | 12/28/2015 | 6/4/2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Series B | Series A - II | Series A | Series C | Series B |
Company | Resolve Biosciences | Edifice Health | Resolve Biosciences | ||
Amount | $71M | $12M | $24M | ||
New? | No | Yes | Yes | ||
Co-Investors | Alafi Capital, EDBI, NRW.Bank Venture Fund, Patient Square Capital, PS Capital Partners, and Undisclosed Investors | ||||
Sources | 11 | 3 | 3 |
Alafi Capital Portfolio Exits
13 Portfolio Exits
Alafi Capital has 13 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was NxThera on March 21, 2018.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3/21/2018 | Acquired | 4 | |||
8/4/2016 | Acquired | 1 | |||
6/13/2016 | Acq - Fin | 1 | |||
Date | 3/21/2018 | 8/4/2016 | 6/13/2016 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | Acquired | Acq - Fin | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | |||||
Sources | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Alafi Capital Service Providers
1 Service Provider
Alafi Capital has 1 service provider relationship
Service Provider | Associated Rounds | Provider Type | Service Type |
---|---|---|---|
Counsel |
Service Provider | |
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Associated Rounds | |
Provider Type | Counsel |
Service Type |
Partnership data by VentureSource
Alafi Capital Team
2 Team Members
Alafi Capital has 2 team members, including current Chief Financial Officer, Bill Weiss.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Bill Weiss | Chief Financial Officer | Current | |
Name | Bill Weiss | |
---|---|---|
Work History | ||
Title | Chief Financial Officer | |
Status | Current |
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