# Brian Axe

> Brian Axe is a private equity investor at Novaquest Capital Management backing Veterinary. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Novaquest Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/novaquest-capital-management)
- Location: Raleigh, United States
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Dec 2025
- Lead investor: 67%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-axe-77305712/

Brian Axe is a Principal at NovaQuest Capital Management.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Veterinary | 3 | 50% |
| Biotechnology | 3 | 50% |
| Pet | 2 | 33% |
| Medical | 2 | 33% |
| Aquaculture | 1 | 17% |

11 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Private Equity | 2 | 33% |
| Series A | 1 | 17% |
| Series B | 1 | 17% |
| Series C | 1 | 17% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 3 | 50% |
| New Zealand | 1 | 17% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 17% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mirna | Mirna is a veterinary diagnostics company that specializes in the development of veterinary disease testing technology. | $3.6M | Series A | Dec 10, 2025 |  |
| Gallant | Gallant is developing a scalable stem cell therapy platform that will allow any veterinarian to routinely treat pets in a primary care setting, improving the lives of pets and their people. By systematically addressing challenges that previously hindered stem cell therapy adoption, the company aims to make stem cell products accessible in order toelevate the quality of life for all pets and the people that love them. | $18M | Series B | Mar 15, 2025 |  |
| Mirna | Mirna is a veterinary diagnostics company that specializes in the development of veterinary disease testing technology. | $4.1M | Series A | Jul 02, 2024 |  |
| TARGAN | Applied LifeSciences & Systems is a bio-systems company focused on improving animal health and productivity in the poultry, livestock, and aquaculture industries. ALS-S is developing a solution that revolutionizes current vaccination methods. Our technology will detect, target, and deliver vaccines to each and every chick, ensuring effectivevaccination. This one-of-a-kind accuracy and consistency in the vaccination process boosts the natural immune response to diseases, improves overall flock health, and provides for a cleaner, healthier chick. | $35M | Series C | May 25, 2022 |  |
| Dermavant Sciences | Dermavant Sciences is a biotechnology company focused on dermatology. | $160M | Private Equity | Jun 07, 2021 |  |
| Argenta | Argenta is a contract research organization (CRO) and contract manufacturing organization (CMO) specializing in animal health. | $30M | Private Equity | May 20, 2021 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Animal Health Angels](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/animal-health-angels) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Equity Gap](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/equity-gap) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Gabriel Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gabriel-investments-2) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Scottish Enterprise](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/scottish-enterprise) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Veterinary Angel Network For Entrepreneurs](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/veterinary-angel-network-for-entrepreneurs) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Ani.VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ani-vc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Novaquest Capital Management

VC Fund · Raleigh, United States

NovaQuest Capital Management, LLC (NovaQuest) manages product and company investments in the global healthcare industry. Its primary focus is structured finance investments in late-stage clinical and commercialized biopharmaceutical products. NovaQuest invests side-by-side with global companies in their most strategic product programs, ensuringalignment with the biopharmaceutical companies. These customized, product transactions are an alternative to standard biopharmaceutical industry deal-making and help companies maximize the value of their product portfolios. In addition, NovaQuest invests in select private equity and other company securities, with a consistent focus on late-stage clinical and commercialized products.The NovaQuest team has worked together for over 12 years, investing over $1 billion into the global healthcare industry. The team began pursuing its strategy in 2000 as an investment group within Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc. (Quintiles). Today, NovaQuest Capital Management is an independent firm managing global investment capital. It is backed by investors whose relationships with NovaQuest date back to the group’s inception. NovaQuest is meeting the evolving needs of global healthcare companies and its investors with a consistent strategy, developed over multiple years and transactions, that draws on a customized mix of investment and return elements and securities.

5 contacts available at Novaquest Capital Management.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Brian Axe | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brian-axe |
| Dennis Gillings | Executive Chairman | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dennis-gillings |
| Derek Winstanly | Chief Customer & Governance Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/derek-winstanly |
| James Erlinger | General Counsel | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/james-erlinger |
| Paula Brown Stafford | president | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/paula-brown-stafford |

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
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- [YFM Equity Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/yfm-equity-partners) — VC Fund
- [Fondaction](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fondaction) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Brian Axe invest in?

Brian Axe invests primarily in Veterinary, Biotechnology and Pet startups, most often at Private Equity and Series A stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Brian Axe last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Brian Axe closed in Dec 2025. Shizune tracks 6 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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