罗如澍
Robert Luo Founding and Managing Partner

Dr. Luo founded HM Venture Partners in 2018. He has over 25 years of professional experience in investment, entrepreneurship, operations and management, life sciences research, and clinical practice.

Dr. Luo co-founded HM Healthcare Management Services (HMHMS) with Hillhouse Investment Group and Mayo Clinic in 2014 and has been serving as the CEO. He subsequently started several influential healthcare platform companies in China, such as HM Technology and HM Digital Technology. Under his guidance, HMHMS also practiced diversified healthcare investments globally.

Prior to founding HMHMS, Dr. Luo was a senior investment officer at Mayo Clinic and led multi-billion dollar investments globally. Earlier, Dr. Luo worked on neural stem cell research for 5 years at the Neurobiotechnology Center at the Ohio State University and completed his ophthalmology residency training at Peking Union Hospital in Beijing.

Dr. Luo received his MBA from the Ohio State University and MD from Peking University Health Science Center.

Jane Lindner
Jane Lindner Vice President

Jane is a serial entrepreneur and operating executive who has launched 7 technology startups as well as advised numerous clients, from multinationals to early commercialization stage companies whose missions are to make significant healthcare and/or environmental impacts.

Prior to joining HM Venture Partners, Jane served as VP Strategy and Business Development of Senseer Health, a developer of smart medical device therapies for chronic conditions. Jane joined Senseer from UrLoop, a software engagement platform for senior living, where she served as CEO and orchestrated its sale to Senseer.

Jane co-founded merchant bank, Jane Capital Partners in 2001. Startups launched by Jane Capital where Jane served on the boards include Smart Wires Inc. (private) and Zenergy Power plc (IPO). Investee companies raised over $300M. Earlier in her career, Jane served as Executive Director of venture fund, WI Harper Group.

Jane holds a BS from Syracuse University and an MS from the University of Connecticut.

鲁东成
Peter Lu Venture Partner

Dr. Lu has more than three decades of hands-on experience in cross border investments in biotech, medtech, and healthcare services. Dr. Lu joined HM Venture Partners as a venture partner in 2022.

Dr. Lu was the Founding and Managing Partner of New Vision Ventures (NVV). Prior to that, Dr. Lu served as a Partner for Israel Infinity Group and an Executive Director for Toucan Capital (USA). He has previously invested in over 30 companies.

Formerly Dr. Lu was a senior research scientist at Yale School of Medicine and participated in translational research on therapeutic antibody drugs and anti-virus vaccines. In addition, Dr. Lu practiced cardiology in China for years.

Dr. Lu received his MBA from Yale School of Management (SOM) and Ph.D. of Medical Science Peking University Health Science Center.

郭奕
Yi Guo Chief Scientist Officer

Dr. Guo has more than 20 years of biological research experience. She joined HM Venture Partners in 2022, mainly responsible for conducting scientific research review of the potential investment companies and deal sourcing.

Prior to joining HM Venture Partners, Dr. Guo served as an assistant professor at Mayo Clinic for ten years, guiding independent laboratories to engage in scientific research on fat metabolism, fatty acid lipotoxicity and liver cancer.

Previously, Dr. Guo worked as a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, San Francisco. Her representative works were published in Nature, Cell Metabolism and other peer reviewed top scientific research journals.

Dr. Guo received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University and B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking University.

郭奕
Harry Hoffman Venture Partner

Mr. Hoffman has over 30 years of professional investment experience as both a capital allocator and direct investor. As the former Chief Investment Officer at Mayo Clinic for over 25 years, he developed Mayo’s global multi-asset investment strategy and helped Mayo achieve top tier long term performance. He also co-founded Mayo’s in-house venture co-investment program which has grown significantly. In addition, Harry served as Treasurer for Mayo and oversaw issuance of debt and banking, insurance and risk management relationships. Robert Luo, HMVP’s founder and CEO, worked under Mr. Hoffman before leaving Mayo Clinic to found HM Healthcare Management Services and HM Venture Partners.

Mr. Hoffman is Co-Founder and Co-Manager of Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners, which manages two seed and early-stage venture capital funds that back high potential Minnesota medtech and life sciences start-ups, including many with Mayo Clinic roots. The Funds’ investors include many Mayo Clinic physicians and business leaders as well as high net worth individuals and investment professionals from across the U.S.

Mr. Hoffman currently sits on the boards of several SMCF portfolio companies and is an investment advisor to a large family office. Previously, he served on the boards of Latigo Petroleum, Okabena Company, the Rochester Economic Development Agency, the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester, The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), and the Endowment Board of the American Red Cross.

Mr. Hoffman received his BA degree from the University of Minnesota and his MBA from the Yale School of Management.

郭奕
David Herbert Venture Partner

Mr. Herbert has over 30 years of leadership experience in the life sciences sector, spanning start-ups, strategic collaborations, international operations, and venture investing.

Over a 21-year career at Mayo Clinic, Mr. Herbert served as Chief Administrative Officer of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, one of the largest specialty medical reference laboratories in the world, serving clients in over 100 countries. In addition, he led the New Ventures and Technology Commercialization divisions at Mayo Clinic Ventures and later served as Chair of Mayo Clinic Global Business Solutions, charged with extending Mayo Clinic products and services globally.

Mr. Herbert is Co-Founder and Co-Manager of Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners, which manages two seed and early-stage venture funds that back high potential Minnesota medtech and life sciences start-ups, including many with Mayo Clinic roots. The Funds’ investors include many Mayo Clinic physicians and business leaders as well as high net worth individuals and investment professionals from across the U.S.

Since 2015, Mr. Herbert has served on the board and as Treasurer of the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation, the world’s largest patient organization focused solely on myotonic dystrophy. Since 2014, David has been the Head Coach of the Rochester Nordic Ski Team, which coaches ski technique and racing for an all-city cross country ski team with over 107 athletes and 30 coaches.

Mr. Herbert holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

ABOUT

Founded in 2019, HM Venture Partners is a healthcare venture capital firm that works with high growth biotech and medtech companies globally and in all stages. Currently HM has 3 funds under management with AUM in excess of $600M. The third fund, HM Healthcare Fund I, was recently launched to primarily invest in healthcare breakthroughs in the US. HM’s funds consistently demonstrate robust results. The team of HM Venture Partners successfully started and managed HM Healthcare Management Services, a joint venture between Hillhouse Investment Group and Mayo Clinic.

Areas of Expertise

  • In-depth domain knowledge and a global perspective: Our seasoned team is dedicated to identifying the most innovative opportunities to address significant unmet needs globally and to working with extraordinary entrepreneurs to harness the power of breakthroughs.

  • An unparalleled ecosystem: Our network of academic institutions, physician networks, and renown industry experts and related operating entities enable unique access to proprietary deal flow, industry insights, prime clinical trial sites, cross-border business development, collaborations and partnerships.

  • Cycle-tested financing strategies: We leverage previous successes in structuring flexible transactions across capital cycles to create significant post-value increases.

TEAM

  • Robert Luo

    Founding and Managing Partner

  • Harry Hoffman

    Venture Partner

  • David Herbert

    Venture Partner

  • Peter Lu

    Venture Partner

  • Yi Guo

    Chief Scientist Officer

  • Jane Lindner

    ​​Vice President

PORTFOLIO

HM Venture Partners is a healthcare venture capital firm, committed to helping early and growth-stage healthcare companies achieve accelerated development by leveraging HM team’s expertise and extensive global ecosystem.

We invest around the world from our offices in San Francisco (CA), Rochester (MN), and Beijing.

Here’s what a few of our successful entrepreneurs have to say:

  • urotronic

    “HM was invaluable in helping secure FDA approval for our urologic device products. Their support included helping strategize negotiations with a strategic investor, advising on operational efficiencies and team communication, and leveraging their clinical network and distribution channels to access the massive Chinese market. HM’s contributions have made a huge difference for us.”

    David Perry, CEO

  • oncoimmune

    “HM has played a crucial role in providing financial and operational support at the most opportune times for OncoImmune and OncoC4. We greatly value HM as an investor and trusted partner in both OncoImmune and OncoC4."

    Dr. Yang Liu, Founder and CEO

  • osteal_orig

    “HM Venture Partners has been an outstanding partner for Osteal. Their support both financial and operational has been critical to successfully achieving our goals over the last 18 months. We look forward to a highly productive ongoing partnership as we enter our next phase of growth.”

    David Thompson, CEO

  • cbp_1

    “We rate HM as an extraordinary investor. They guided Coherent through a tough bear market in securing enough funding to continue our global clinical trials, providing access to highly relevant industry experts, and making introductions to valuable clinical trial sites and potential collaborations with global business partners. We look forward to their ongoing leadership and guidance for Coherent’s success.”.

    Dr. Robert Huang, Founder and CEO

USD Investments

Biotech

  • Acquired by Merck

  • Acquired by Novo Nordisk

  • IPO

Medtech

RMB Investments

Biotech

Medtech

Healthcare AI / Healthcare IT

IVD

CRO & Others

CASE STUDY

    We are passionately committed to the success of our companies, delivering superior results for our investors, and improving the quality of life of patients. 

    Oncolmmune Inc.

  • urotronic

    OncoImmune Inc. is an innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology and immune diseases. The pipeline covers viral pneumonia, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), autoimmune diseases, tumor immunotherapy, etc., all of which are the world's First-in-Class or First-in-Mechanisms of Action drug candidates. HM identified the company through its global ecosystem and led the investment in the company 2 months prior to the acquisition by Merck & Co., with an upfront payment of $425M, milestone payments, sales-based payments, plus shares of spin-off companies. In addition, HM supported the management team identify clinical trial sites for fast patient enrollment in the pandemic and convinced shareholders of an acquisition due to prime market timing.

    OncoC4 Inc.

  • urotronic

    Founded in Dec 2020 in Maryland, US, OncoC4 is a spin-off company from OncoImmune, which was acquired by Merck & Co. in 2020. All pipelines are First-in-Class or First-in-Mechanisms of Action candidates. The co-founders are serial entrepreneurs and reputable scientists in the field of immunotherapy. HM has built trusted relationship with the management team through the previous investment in OncoImmune and HM was the only institutional investor invited by the management team for additional investment in OncoC4. HM analyzed the preclinical and clinical data of all CTLA4 drugs thoroughly and believed that ONC-392 has the potential to become Best-in-Class with high expected peak sales. In addition, the other products in the pipeline have potential to become blockbuster drugs. Taking advantage of the bear market, HM also obtained favorable deal terms.

    Within 9 months of HM’s investment, BioNTech and OncoC4 announced a strategic collaboration to co-develop and commercialize novel checkpoint antibody in multiple solid tumor indications. OncoC4 will receive $200 million upfront and is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and double-digit tiered royalties.

    Airiver Medical Inc.

  • urotronic

    Founded in 2022, Airiver Medical Inc. develops Drug Coated Balloons (DCB) for recurring airway stenosis and asthma. The product solves unmet medical needs with a large potential market size and is expected to become the first-line therapy. Previously HM had successfully invested in 2 DCB technology companies started by the same entrepreneur, Urotronic for urology stenosis and GIE for gastrointestinal stenosis.

    As a result, HM actively explored the application of DCB technology in the respiratory tract with systematic and in-depth internal research. With encouraging research outcomes, HM convinced the entrepreneur to incubate a new company, Airiver, which is the first company applying the DCB-based product to respiratory tract related diseases in the world. HM assisted the entrepreneur in the spin-off of Airiver and helped the entrepreneur structure the deal with a reasonable valuation.

NEWS

  • Contact Us
  • Email: info@hmventurepartners.com
  • Address: 4 Embarcadero Center, Suite 1400, San Francisco, CA 94111

Robert Luo

Founding and Managing Partner

Dr. Luo founded HM Venture Partners in 2018. He has over 25 years of professional experience in investment, entrepreneurship, operations and management, life sciences research, and clinical practice.

Dr. Luo co-founded HM Healthcare Management Services (HMHMS) with Hillhouse Investment Group and Mayo Clinic in 2014 and has been serving as the CEO. He subsequently started several influential healthcare platform companies in China, such as HM Technology and HM Digital Technology. Under his guidance, HMHMS also practiced diversified healthcare investments globally.

Prior to founding HMHMS, Dr. Luo was a senior investment officer at Mayo Clinic and led multi-billion dollar investments globally. Earlier, Dr. Luo worked on neural stem cell research for 5 years at the Neurobiotechnology Center at the Ohio State University and completed his ophthalmology residency training at Peking Union Hospital in Beijing.

Dr. Luo received his MBA from the Ohio State University and MD from Peking University Health Science Center.

Jane Lindner

Vice President

Jane is a serial entrepreneur and operating executive who has launched 7 technology startups as well as advised numerous clients, from multinationals to early commercialization stage companies whose missions are to make significant healthcare and/or environmental impacts.

Prior to joining HM Venture Partners, Jane served as VP Strategy and Business Development of Senseer Health, a developer of smart medical device therapies for chronic conditions. Jane joined Senseer from UrLoop, a software engagement platform for senior living, where she served as CEO and orchestrated its sale to Senseer.

Jane co-founded merchant bank, Jane Capital Partners in 2001. Startups launched by Jane Capital where Jane served on the boards include Smart Wires Inc. (private) and Zenergy Power plc (IPO). Investee companies raised over $300M. Earlier in her career, Jane served as Executive Director of venture fund, WI Harper Group.

Jane holds a BS from Syracuse University and an MS from the University of Connecticut.

Peter Lu

Venture Partner

Dr. Lu has more than three decades of hands-on experience in cross border investments in biotech, medtech, and healthcare services. Dr. Lu joined HM Venture Partners as a venture partner in 2022.

Dr. Lu was the Founding and Managing Partner of New Vision Ventures (NVV). Prior to that, Dr. Lu served as a Partner for Israel Infinity Group and an Executive Director for Toucan Capital (USA). He has previously invested in over 30 companies.

Formerly Dr. Lu was a senior research scientist at Yale School of Medicine and participated in translational research on therapeutic antibody drugs and anti-virus vaccines. In addition, Dr. Lu practiced cardiology in China for years.

Dr. Lu received his MBA from Yale School of Management (SOM) and Ph.D. of Medical Science Peking University Health Science Center.

Yi Guo

Chief Scientist Officer

Dr. Guo has more than 20 years of biological research experience. She joined HM Venture Partners in 2022, mainly responsible for conducting scientific research review of the potential investment companies and deal sourcing.

Prior to joining HM Venture Partners, Dr. Guo served as an assistant professor at Mayo Clinic for ten years, guiding independent laboratories to engage in scientific research on fat metabolism, fatty acid lipotoxicity and liver cancer.

Previously, Dr. Guo worked as a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, San Francisco. Her representative works were published in Nature, Cell Metabolism and other peer reviewed top scientific research journals.

Dr. Guo received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University and B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking University.

Harry Hoffman

Venture Partner

Mr. Hoffman has over 30 years of professional investment experience as both a capital allocator and direct investor. As the former Chief Investment Officer at Mayo Clinic for over 25 years, he developed Mayo’s global multi-asset investment strategy and helped Mayo achieve top tier long term performance. He also co-founded Mayo’s in-house venture co-investment program which has grown significantly. In addition, Harry served as Treasurer for Mayo and oversaw issuance of debt and banking, insurance and risk management relationships. Robert Luo, HMVP’s founder and CEO, worked under Mr. Hoffman before leaving Mayo Clinic to found HM Healthcare Management Services and HM Venture Partners.

Mr. Hoffman is Co-Founder and Co-Manager of Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners, which manages two seed and early-stage venture capital funds that back high potential Minnesota medtech and life sciences start-ups, including many with Mayo Clinic roots. The Funds’ investors include many Mayo Clinic physicians and business leaders as well as high net worth individuals and investment professionals from across the U.S.

Mr. Hoffman currently sits on the boards of several SMCF portfolio companies and is an investment advisor to a large family office. Previously, he served on the boards of Latigo Petroleum, Okabena Company, the Rochester Economic Development Agency, the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester, The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF), and the Endowment Board of the American Red Cross.

Mr. Hoffman received his BA degree from the University of Minnesota and his MBA from the Yale School of Management.

David Herbert

Venture Partner

Mr. Herbert has over 30 years of leadership experience in the life sciences sector, spanning start-ups, strategic collaborations, international operations, and venture investing.

Over a 21-year career at Mayo Clinic, Mr. Herbert served as Chief Administrative Officer of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, one of the largest specialty medical reference laboratories in the world, serving clients in over 100 countries. In addition, he led the New Ventures and Technology Commercialization divisions at Mayo Clinic Ventures and later served as Chair of Mayo Clinic Global Business Solutions, charged with extending Mayo Clinic products and services globally.

Mr. Herbert is Co-Founder and Co-Manager of Southeast Minnesota Capital Partners, which manages two seed and early-stage venture funds that back high potential Minnesota medtech and life sciences start-ups, including many with Mayo Clinic roots. The Funds’ investors include many Mayo Clinic physicians and business leaders as well as high net worth individuals and investment professionals from across the U.S.

Since 2015, Mr. Herbert has served on the board and as Treasurer of the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation, the world’s largest patient organization focused solely on myotonic dystrophy. Since 2014, David has been the Head Coach of the Rochester Nordic Ski Team, which coaches ski technique and racing for an all-city cross country ski team with over 107 athletes and 30 coaches.

Mr. Herbert holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

ABOUT

Founded in 2019, HM Venture Partners is a healthcare venture capital firm that works with high growth biotech and medtech companies globally and in all stages. Currently HM has 3 funds under management with AUM in excess of $600M. The third fund, HM Healthcare Fund I, was recently launched to primarily invest in healthcare breakthroughs in the US. HM’s funds consistently demonstrate robust results. The team of HM Venture Partners successfully started and managed HM Healthcare Management Services, a joint venture between Hillhouse Investment Group and Mayo Clinic.

Areas of Expertise

  • In-depth domain knowledge and a global perspective: Our seasoned team is dedicated to identifying the most innovative opportunities to address significant unmet needs globally and to working with extraordinary entrepreneurs to harness the power of breakthroughs.

  • An unparalleled ecosystem: Our network of academic institutions, physician networks, and renown industry experts and related operating entities enable unique access to proprietary deal flow, industry insights, prime clinical trial sites, cross-border business development, collaborations and partnerships.

  • Cycle-tested financing strategies: We leverage previous successes in structuring flexible transactions across capital cycles to create significant post-value increases.

TEAM

  • Robert Luo

    Founding and Managing Partner

  • Harry Hoffman

    Venture Partner

  • David Herbert

    Venture Partner

  • Peter Lu

    Venture Partner

  • Yi Guo

    Chief Scientist Officer

  • Jane Lindner

    Vice President

PORTFOLIO

HM Venture Partners is a healthcare venture capital firm, committed to helping early and growth-stage healthcare companies achieve accelerated development by leveraging HM team’s expertise and extensive global ecosystem.

We invest around the world from our offices in San Francisco (CA), Rochester (MN), and Beijing.

Here’s what a few of our successful entrepreneurs have to say:

  • urotronic

    “HM was invaluable in helping secure FDA approval for our urologic device products. Their support included helping strategize negotiations with a strategic investor, advising on operational efficiencies and team communication, and leveraging their clinical network and distribution channels to access the massive Chinese market. HM’s contributions have made a huge difference for us.”

    David Perry, CEO

  • oncoimmune

    “HM has played a crucial role in providing financial and operational support at the most opportune times for OncoImmune and OncoC4. We greatly value HM as an investor and trusted partner in both OncoImmune and OncoC4."

    Dr. Yang Liu, Founder and CEO

  • osteal_orig

    “HM Venture Partners has been an outstanding partner for Osteal. Their support both financial and operational has been critical to successfully achieving our goals over the last 18 months. We look forward to a highly productive ongoing partnership as we enter our next phase of growth.”

    David Thompson, CEO

  • cbp_1

    “We rate HM as an extraordinary investor. They guided Coherent through a tough bear market in securing enough funding to continue our global clinical trials, providing access to highly relevant industry experts, and making introductions to valuable clinical trial sites and potential collaborations with global business partners. We look forward to their ongoing leadership and guidance for Coherent’s success.”.

    Dr. Robert Huang, Founder and CEO

USD Investments

Biotech

  • Acquired by Merck

  • Acquired by Novo Nordisk

  • IPO

Medtech

RMB Investments

Biotech

Medtech

Healthcare AI / Healthcare IT

IVD

CRO & Others

CASE STUDY

    We are passionately committed to the success of our companies, delivering superior results for our investors, and improving the quality of life of patients. 

    Oncolmmune Inc.

  • urotronic

    OncoImmune Inc. is an innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology and immune diseases. The pipeline covers viral pneumonia, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), autoimmune diseases, tumor immunotherapy, etc., all of which are the world's First-in-Class or First-in-Mechanisms of Action drug candidates. HM identified the company through its global ecosystem and led the investment in the company 2 months prior to the acquisition by Merck & Co., with an upfront payment of $425M, milestone payments, sales-based payments, plus shares of spin-off companies. In addition, HM supported the management team identify clinical trial sites for fast patient enrollment in the pandemic and convinced shareholders of an acquisition due to prime market timing.

    OncoC4 Inc.

  • urotronic

    Founded in Dec 2020 in Maryland, US, OncoC4 is a spin-off company from OncoImmune, which was acquired by Merck & Co. in 2020. All pipelines are First-in-Class or First-in-Mechanisms of Action candidates. The co-founders are serial entrepreneurs and reputable scientists in the field of immunotherapy. HM has built trusted relationship with the management team through the previous investment in OncoImmune and HM was the only institutional investor invited by the management team for additional investment in OncoC4. HM analyzed the preclinical and clinical data of all CTLA4 drugs thoroughly and believed that ONC-392 has the potential to become Best-in-Class with high expected peak sales. In addition, the other products in the pipeline have potential to become blockbuster drugs. Taking advantage of the bear market, HM also obtained favorable deal terms.

    Within 9 months of HM’s investment, BioNTech and OncoC4 announced a strategic collaboration to co-develop and commercialize novel checkpoint antibody in multiple solid tumor indications. OncoC4 will receive $200 million upfront and is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and double-digit tiered royalties.

    Airiver Medical Inc.

  • urotronic

    Founded in 2022, Airiver Medical Inc. develops Drug Coated Balloons (DCB) for recurring airway stenosis and asthma. The product solves unmet medical needs with a large potential market size and is expected to become the first-line therapy. Previously HM had successfully invested in 2 DCB technology companies started by the same entrepreneur, Urotronic for urology stenosis and GIE for gastrointestinal stenosis.

    As a result, HM actively explored the application of DCB technology in the respiratory tract with systematic and in-depth internal research. With encouraging research outcomes, HM convinced the entrepreneur to incubate a new company, Airiver, which is the first company applying the DCB-based product to respiratory tract related diseases in the world. HM assisted the entrepreneur in the spin-off of Airiver and helped the entrepreneur structure the deal with a reasonable valuation.

NEWS

  • Contact Us
  • Email: info@hmventurepartners.com
  • Address: 4 Embarcadero Center, Suite 1400, San Francisco, CA 94111