# Donald Parfet

> Donald Parfet is a Series A investor at Apjohn ventures backing Biotechnology and Health Care. See 7 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Apjohn ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/apjohn-ventures)
- Location: Kalamazoo, United States
- Total investments: 7
- Last investment: Nov 2016
- Lead investor: 29%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-parfet-0bb490

Donald Parfet is a Series A investor at Apjohn ventures in Kalamazoo focused on Biotechnology and Health Care. Don Parfet has over thirty years of experience in all aspects of life sciences business launch, management, and exit. It was his vision to launch the Apjohn Group in 2001 to bring talent and seed capital together to exploit the biotech opportunities in the Midwest region. Don is active in sourcing, assessing, and governing our pipeline andportfolio. He served as founding CEO of Afmedica and serves as Chairman of the Board at ProNAi.Don's responsibilities over his career at Pharmacia included running all of the Associated Businesses (Animal Health, Diagnostics, Pharmaceutical Commercial Services and Plasma Products). Don also had overall Site Management responsibilities for the company's operations in Kalamazoo and spent many years in the Corporate finance group of The Upjohn Company. He has successfully created a new company through the formation of a joint venture between Amersham and Pharmacia Biotech. He also led a successful $150 million IPO by "spinning out" 60% ownership to the public of Biacore International of Sweden (NASDAQ: BCOR) which has been subsequently acquired by GE.Don is a trustee of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and Bronson Healthcare Group as well as Chair of the Kalamazoo College Board of Trustees. He also serves as a Board Member of Southwest Michigan First and the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center. He is a Director of MPI Research, a preclinical research facility in Mattawan Michigan as well as board member at Kelly Services, Inc (KELYA) and Rockwell Automation, Inc (ROK).Don received his BA degree in economics from the University of Arizona in 1975 and his M.B.A. degree in finance from the University of Michigan in 1977.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 3 | 43% |
| Health Care | 2 | 29% |
| Life Science | 2 | 29% |
| Therapeutics | 2 | 29% |

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 29% |
| Series D | 1 | 14% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 14% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 2 | 29% |
| Canada | 1 | 14% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tetra Therapeutics | Tetra Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing a portfolio of therapeutic products that will bring clarity of thought to people suffering from Fragile X syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, and other brain disorders. | $5M | Series A | Nov 29, 2016 |  |
| Tetra Discovery | Tetra Discovery Partners provides consulting services in drug discovery and development. They partner with Universities to commercialize intellectual property and conduct proprietary research on diseases affecting the central nervous system.Their research focuses on developing new treatments for depression and schizophrenia. Severe forms ofdepression affect 2–5% of the US population, while mood disorders impact 7% of the world’s population and rank among the top ten causes of disability. | $5M | Series A | Nov 29, 2016 |  |
| Sierra Oncology | Sierra Oncology is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to deliver targeted therapies that treat rare forms of cancer. The company harnesses its deep scientific expertise to identify compounds that target the root cause of disease. Sierra Oncology's team takes an evidence-based approach to understand the limitations of currenttreatments and explore new ways to change the cancer treatment paradigm. Sierra Oncology is transforming promise into patient impact. | $59.5M | Series D | Apr 21, 2014 |  |
| Sierra Oncology | Sierra Oncology is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to deliver targeted therapies that treat rare forms of cancer. The company harnesses its deep scientific expertise to identify compounds that target the root cause of disease. Sierra Oncology's team takes an evidence-based approach to understand the limitations of currenttreatments and explore new ways to change the cancer treatment paradigm. Sierra Oncology is transforming promise into patient impact. | $12.5M |  | May 30, 2008 |  |
| Sierra Oncology | Sierra Oncology is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to deliver targeted therapies that treat rare forms of cancer. The company harnesses its deep scientific expertise to identify compounds that target the root cause of disease. Sierra Oncology's team takes an evidence-based approach to understand the limitations of currenttreatments and explore new ways to change the cancer treatment paradigm. Sierra Oncology is transforming promise into patient impact. | $2.5M |  | May 23, 2005 |  |
| Sierra Oncology | Sierra Oncology is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to deliver targeted therapies that treat rare forms of cancer. The company harnesses its deep scientific expertise to identify compounds that target the root cause of disease. Sierra Oncology's team takes an evidence-based approach to understand the limitations of currenttreatments and explore new ways to change the cancer treatment paradigm. Sierra Oncology is transforming promise into patient impact. | $1.1M |  | Mar 14, 2005 |  |
| Sierra Oncology | Sierra Oncology is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to deliver targeted therapies that treat rare forms of cancer. The company harnesses its deep scientific expertise to identify compounds that target the root cause of disease. Sierra Oncology's team takes an evidence-based approach to understand the limitations of currenttreatments and explore new ways to change the cancer treatment paradigm. Sierra Oncology is transforming promise into patient impact. | $775K |  | Dec 16, 2004 |  |

7 of 7 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Grand Angels](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/grand-angels) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alzheimers-drug-discovery-foundation) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Dolby Family Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dolby-family-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Frazier Healthcare Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/frazier-healthcare-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Capital Midwest Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/midwest-capital-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Orchard Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sigvion-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Apjohn ventures

VC Fund · Kalamazoo, United States

Apjohn Ventures Fund is a new venture capital firm based in Kalamazoo, Michigan established to invest primarily in early stage life sciences companies across the Midwest. The goal of the Fund is to provide investors with superior financial returns by making equity investments in innovative life sciences companies with sustainable and outstandinggrowth potential.

3 contacts available at Apjohn ventures.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Donald Parfet | Founder and General Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/donald-parfet |
| Deb Cronkite | Controller | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/deb-cronkite |
| Mina Patel Sooch | Founder and General Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mina-sooch |

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## FAQ

### What does Donald Parfet invest in?

Donald Parfet invests primarily in Biotechnology, Health Care and Life Science startups, most often at Series A and Series D stage. Most of the 7 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 Donald Parfet last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Donald Parfet closed in Nov 2016. Shizune tracks 7 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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