Vivere Oncotherapies Secures Over $10M to Develop Immune-Activating Cancer Therapies

There is a certain confidence that only shows up when science stays quiet for a long time, then clears its throat and speaks in data. Vivere Oncotherapies just did that. Berkeley born, Bakar Bio Labs raised, and built for the cancers that refuse to cooperate, the company announced $10M+ in new funding to push engineered oncolytic viruses directly at solid tumors that stay cold, hidden, and resistant to the usual immunotherapy conversation.

Vivere means "to live," and the wordplay earns its keep. Cold tumors survive by staying invisible. Vivere's platform does the opposite. Directed viral vector evolution, 25+ yrs of UC Berkeley research, and an IV delivered oncolytic virus called OV-151 designed to enter the tumor, replicate where it matters, and wake the immune system up like it owes rent. Preclinical colorectal cancer data shows better tumor distribution, reduced tumor burden, and increased survival. No smoke. Just biology behaving with intent.

The round was led by YK Bioventures, joined by Pillar, Berkeley Frontier Fund, Freeflow Ventures, and backed in parallel by the National Cancer Institute through SBIR funding. Capital matters, but context matters more. This team operated for 3+ yrs on $1.45M before crossing eight figures. That is not frugality cosplay. That is discipline, scientific conviction, and knowing exactly what problem deserves to exist in the world.

The leadership bench reads like a lab where ego never got past security. Melissa Kotterman, Ph.D., CEO, brings hard earned experience from building gene therapy platforms that actually move toward patients. David V. Schaffer, Ph.D., John Dueber, Ph.D., Hyuncheol Lee, DVM, Ph.D., Adam Schieferecke, Ph.D., Juan Eduardo Hurtado, and Wanichaya Noiwangklang built the science where it belongs, inside experiments, not slogans. Advisory depth from Phung Gip, Ph.D., Mark Selby, Ph.D., and David H. Raulet, Ph.D. keeps the work clinically grounded and intellectually honest.

OV-151 is advancing through IND enabling studies with a 2026 to 2027 target, while manufacturing and GMP scale up get real attention early, when mistakes are cheapest. Colorectal cancer leads, ovarian cancer follows, and the broader cold tumor landscape waits its turn. Roughly 60–70% of solid tumor patients do not respond to checkpoint inhibitors. That is not a rounding error. That is a mandate.

This is how meaningful biotech gets built. Patient first science, lean capital, and teams who understand credibility is earned one dataset at a time. Vivere Oncotherapies is not chasing noise. It is engineering presence. In oncology, that distinction can be the difference between surviving and actually living.